TOMS Eyewear Launches "Summer of Sight" Campaign to Help Save and Restore Sight to 100,000 People in Need

LOS ANGELES, May 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- This summer, the One for One™ company, TOMS, is launching a new campaign to help it reach its goal of saving and restoring sight to 100,000 people around the world.  TOMS' Summer of Sight kicks off on May 10, timed with the anticipated arrival of new TOMS Eyewear product that will hopefully make shoppers look as good as the good they are doing.

Of the Summer of Sight campaign, TOMS Founder Blake Mycoskie said 'When we launched last year, we had no idea we could get anywhere near helping 100,000 people in such a short amount of time.  We're truly proud, yet humbled, that the response to TOMS Eyewear has been so positive.  The goal of 100,000 people returning to work or school, rejoining their communities and regaining their independence is something all of us at TOMS – and our fans – are excited about."

TOMS Eyewear launched in June 2011, and with every purchase, one person buys, and one person is helped.  TOMS helps give sight to people in need through prescription eyeglasses, sight-saving surgery, and medical treatment, administered by the company's sight giving partner, Seva Foundation.  Based in northern California, Seva has been implementing sustainable blindness prevention and sight restoration programs for over 30 years. Seva programs and partners have helped nearly three million people worldwide to see again. In less than one year, the TOMS One for One movement is now helping save and restore sight in 11 countries, including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Guatemala, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Paraguay, Tibet and the United States.

This past spring through Seva, TOMS partnered with ChildSight®, the domestic program of Helen Keller international (HKI), and visited schools in impoverished communities around Los Angeles and New York.  ChildSight provided students with vision screenings and gave new prescription glasses to those who needed them.  For many of the kids, this was their first pair of eyeglasses.  Since 1994, ChildSight has provided vision screening and prescription eyeglasses to at-risk students living in urban and rural communities.  Each year, 2 million children in the United States have undiagnosed or uncorrected vision problems. Without glasses, children with poor vision struggle in school.

Available at www.TOMS.com, Nordstrom and other select retailers across the U.S., TOMS Eyewear now comes in many styles, shapes and colors.  The newest exciting additions to the TOMS Eyewear collection include:

• The unisex Bamako Classic 102, featuring a bolder frame front, alloy hinge-pin accents and solid lenses to complement frame colors ranging from translucent to solid to patterned.
• The Kinshasa 202, an oversized lens fashioned with vintage butterfly angles that blends the iconic style of the 60's and the free spirit of the 70's. These frames complement a variety of faces, while the different color schemes feature gradient or solid lenses to match.
• The unisex Masaru Classic 302, which takes flight with the traditional pilot lens and adds sleek angles for a modern interpretation. Silver, gold and gunmetal alloy eye wires establish a sharp contrast to the vibrant selection of lens colors.

TOMS Eyewear is also introducing polarized lenses across a variety of styles, which are enhanced with filters to block harmful glare and UV rays.  These – along with the entire collection – can be tried on using the brand's new online virtual try-on at www.toms.com/eyewear/tryon. 

About Seva Foundation:
Seva Foundation is most widely known for its innovative eye care programs in Asia, Africa, and other parts of the world, which have helped over three million people see again through affordable cataract surgery. Seva is part of the leading global initiatives to reduce blindness and visual impairment. Seva also works with major academic institutions in developing countries to train tomorrow's eye care specialists.  In the U.S., Seva partners with Native American communities that are committed to building healthy communities, sustaining cultural values, and protecting the environment.  (www.seva.org)

About TOMS: 
In 2006, American traveler Blake Mycoskie befriended children in a village in Argentina and found they had no shoes to protect their feet. Wanting to help, he created TOMS, a company that would match every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need. One for One.  Last year, TOMS evolved from a shoe company into the One for One company, and is now addressing an entirely new need in addition to shoes through eyewear – helping give sight to people in need.

SOURCE TOMS