CHARLOTTE — Life became a little clearer for school-aged children across the region this week. The David and Nicole Tepper Foundation has partnered with Vision to Learn to provide tens of thousands of students in Mecklenburg and Charleston counties with eye care – at no cost to the children or their families.

As blue confetti rained down on gyms in the Carolinas this week, students aged kindergarten to eighth grade looked on in awe, many expressing shock at seeing the details around them for the first time.

"There was one kid over there that had glasses on," Panthers rookie linebacker Trevin Wallace, on hand for Tuesday's celebration in his own glasses, shared. "He had them on, kept taking them off, putting them on. He was like, 'I can see now!' I was like, that's amazing, seeing a smile on the kids face when they put the glasses on."

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, representatives from the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte Football Club, along with Vision to Learn and The Dave and Nicole Tepper Foundation, saw the mission take its first big steps, providing prescription eyeglasses to over 250 students in the Carolinas; over 175 students at Matilda F. Dunston Elementary School in North Charleston, South Carolina and over 80 students at Renaissance West STEAM Academy in Charlotte.

"More than 3 million children across the country go to school every day without the glasses they need. When children come to school hungry, we feed them. We make sure students have the books and school materials they need. Why not glasses?" said Vision To Learn Founder Austin Beutner. "Every child in every school, everywhere in the country, should have the glasses they need to succeed in school and in life. The David & Nicole Tepper Foundation's support will help ensure more children in the Carolinas get the help they need."

With this partnership, The David & Nicole Tepper Foundation has committed $1.5 million over five years to help school children in the Carolinas access critical eye care, exams, and prescription glasses.

"For years, Vision to Learn has been making a meaningful impact with school children across the country, fighting to ensure that every student has access to the eye care they deserve," said Nicole Tepper. "Education is a core pillar of our work at The David & Nicole Tepper Foundation, and we are proud to partner with Vision To Learn to support eye care efforts for thousands of school children in the Carolinas. Our children deserve the ability to see the future in front of them, and it's our shared mission to make sure that they see it as clearly as possible."

"Vision to Learn's program is a powerful intervention for our many students who may not have or be able to receive eyecare," said Renaissance West STEAM Academy Principal Demetrus McDaniel. "As my Social Worker, Mrs. Alyse Bell shared with the staff, this event is comparable to a medical appointment for a student. The benefit of this event being at the school is it prevents students from missing an entire day of school. We appreciate the partnership and the willingness to have the event here at the school. The students who are receiving the glasses today are thrilled to have this opportunity to receive new glasses with the help of the Panthers and Charlotte FC."

During Monday's event in North Charleston, Nicole Tepper, Sir Purr and Minty were on hand to see close to 200 students experience corrected vision for the first time.

"It's been amazing seeing every student at Dunston Elementary get vision care from Vision To Learn, but today was even better - watching the students try on their glasses for the first time with the help of the Panthers and Charlotte FC," said Matilda F. Dunston Elementary School Principal Stephanie Mitchell. "I know it's a day our kids will never forget, and I know these glasses will help our kids achieve their dreams through education."

Athletes from both the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte FC were on hand Tuesday to encourage, interact and help explain to the students why proper eye care was so important.

Wallace shared with the students how he was bullied at first in school for wearing glasses, but realized it didn't matter because, "I could see!"

Charlotte FC forward Patrick Agyemang echoed the sentiment and praised the movement to provide proper prescription eyecare in a life changing way.

"It's great to see that because me growing up, like I always had that stigma where I felt as if me wearing glasses, I felt different and maybe I didn't feel that's cool," Agyemang began. "But to see (Trevin and me) wearing glasses and to appreciate the fact that it's not only good for you, but it helps in the long run in terms of reading, learning and education in general, you shouldn't be ashamed of it.

"And I think at times it's a stigma about it but nah, it should never be a stigma. I think it's fire."

Vision To Learn operates the most comprehensive and cost-effective school-based program for children's eye care in the Carolinas. Since its 2019 launch in Charlotte, Vision To Learn has helped nearly 105,000 children in Charleston, Dorchester, and Mecklenburg counties, providing eye exams to 36,000, and glasses to 32,000, at no cost to the children or their families.

The David & Nicole Tepper Foundation has supported Vision To Learn's work in the Carolinas since 2019. Pete Silverman, Chief Growth Officer with Vision to Learn, estimated that now with an official partnership alongside The David and Nicole Tepper Foundation, the organization will soon be able to screen 30,000 kids on site in the schools, taking the eye exams to them. From there, around 8,500 will receive glasses.

"We'll make sure all those kids that needs this care, get it, and we could not have done that without the support of The David and Nicole Tepper Foundation," Silverman said.

About 1 in 4 children need glasses, but in many low-income communities, children often go without access to eye care. In South Carolina, an estimated 200,000 students lack the glasses they need.

Through Vision to Learn and The David and Nicole Tepper Foundation, that number is shrinking bit by bit.