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February 2024 Newsletter From ISPB & PBIL



CONGRATULATIONS to the National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health (NCCVEH) as they celebrate their 15th year of service! Please visit them for more information and to stay up to date.


AMD/Low Vision Awareness Month

ISPB and PBIL have once again declared February as Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and Low Vision Awareness Month. We offer a variety of free educational resources to the public and professionals, including fact sheets and social media graphics in English and Spanish, as well as dedicated online resources and informative videos.

AMD is a retinal disease that affects part of the back of the eye called the macula. When AMD damages the macula, the center part of a person’s vision may become blurred or wavy, and a blind spot may develop. According to the National Eye Institute, 11 million people in the United States have AMD.Low vision is defined as vision loss that cannot be corrected by medical or surgical treatments or conventional eyeglasses, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology. More than 7 million Americans have low vision.

For more information visit HERE


Community Happenings

Our staff, team of interns, and volunteers provide eye health education and outreach at all types of community events – including health fairs, presentations and screenings!

We will be continuing our efforts during these dates:

February 24, 2024
10:00am – Boys + Girls Club Health Fair: Freeport, IL

March 17, 2024
1:00pm – Pop Up Farmer’s Market: Chicago, IL`

March 25, 2024
1:00pm – Waukegan Township Presentation: Waukegan, IL

April 30, 2024
1:00pm – Centennial Activity Center Presentation: Park Ridge, IL

For more information, please contact rbarraza@preventblindness.org


Total Eclipse is April 8, 2024

The next total solar eclipse in North America will occur across most of the United States on April 8, 2024, including a small band of total solar eclipse stretching from southwest to northeast across much of the continent. Prevent Blindness hopes you enjoy taking part in this important astronomical and cultural event. Before you do, please take the time to learn about the dangers to your vision and how to protect your eyes from injury during the eclipse.

 To learn more visit HERE


Welcome Jessica Babu!

Jessica Babu is joining the PBIL/ISPB team this Spring as our Community Outreach Intern for Urbana-Champaign! Jessica is graduating this May with a Bachelor’s of Science in Community Health with a minor in Business and Health Administration. Welcome to the team, Jess!


Copyright © 2017 Illinois Society for the Prevention of Blindness

Contact Us
Illinois Society for the Prevention of Blindness | http://eyehealthillinois.org/
Prevent Blindness Illinois https://preventblindness.org/contact-us/




February Newsletter From ISPB & PBIL

Retinopathy of Prematurity Awareness Week February 24 - March 2 Among babies who are born prematurely in the United States, about 14,000 children will be diagnosed with ROP each year.

ISPB grant applications are due on May 1, 2025 by midnight.

Those who are interested should visit: https://eyehealthillinois.org/research-grants/ Any questions can be emailed to efineman@preventblindness.org

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