Austin Eyemart Express Stores Launch Holiday Initiative

AUSTIN, TX — The optical retailer Eyemart Express is poised to launch a holiday initiative linking its sites with charities in providing gifts to the less fortunate at its 200-plus stores nationwide, including a pair of locations in Austin.

The company is kicking off its “Let’s Give Back” campaign this month for the sixth consecutive year, which involves all 211 stores nationwide. The program enables Eyemart Express stores to select a local charity and work closely with a representative to identify items of need. Store teams then create in-store donation centers for contributions from employees, customers, and neighboring eye doctor offices.

“Showing compassion for others and giving back are fundamental elements of our corporate culture,” Michael Bender, Eyemart Express CEO, said in a prepared statement. “The key to our ‘Let’s Give Back’ campaign is the emphasis on local communities. Beyond our ongoing national philanthropic programs, we have an opportunity to make a difference in each of the communities nationwide that have embraced us for their optical needs.”

Over the past six years, Eyemart Express stores have supported nonprofits including children’s hospitals, food banks, homeless shelters, and local Boys & Girls Clubs through this holiday program, officials noted.

“We have donated thousands of blankets, toys, and cans of food that were collected over the years thanks to the generosity of our customers and employees,” Gianna Venturi, Eyemart Express chief people officer, said in a prepared statement. “It’s fun to see how creative our stores get with their donation centers and how positively our customers respond to them. The enthusiasm grows each year — we’ve seen everything from life-sized snow globes to gingerbread houses and trains.”

Throughout 2019, Eyemart Express has given back to a variety of causes, by donating:

• More than $14,000 from SU2C frame collection sales, in partnership with Visual Eyes Eyewear, to support Stand Up To Cancer’s mission to accelerate cancer research so that all cancer patients can become long-term cancer survivors.
• More than $9,000 to Petfinder Foundation, a nonprofit that works to prevent the euthanasia of adoptable pets by assisting animal shelters and rescue groups, by donating $1 from every pet-themed lens cloth 3-pack purchased.
• More than 2,000 glasses to Cedar Springs Vision, a Dallas-based nonprofit that provides vision services and eye care to those who could not otherwise afford it.
• A Welch Allyn Spot™ Vision Screener to Okaloosa County School District to assist with the district’s annual screening of more than 27,000 students.

Visit your local Eyemart Express now through Friday, Dec. 13, to support a nonprofit in your community: EyemartExpress.com/get-glasses. In Austin, the two participating stores are located at 5775 Airport Blvd, Suite 400 and 9300 S. Interstate 35, Ste C100.

Also participating will be the Cedar Park location at 1300 E. Whitestone Blvd., Ste 480, and the Round Rock site at 115 Sundance Parkway, No. 120B.

About Eyemart Express

Eyemart Express, a leading optical retailer and the fastest provider of quality prescription eyewear in the industry, has been serving consumers for more than 29 years. With 211 stores in 39 states, Eyemart Express ranks among the largest optical retailers in the country with its family of brands: Vision4Less, Visionmart Express, and Eyewear Express. The company operates with a focus on value, style and timely service. Each store carries more than 2,000 frames from brands such as Converse, Longchamp, Calvin Klein, Ray-Ban, and Nike. Onsite labs allow 90 percent of glasses to be delivered on the same day. Learn more at EyemartExpress.com.

Eyemart Express, a leading national optical retailer and fastest provider of prescription glasses, considers giving back to the community more than just a #GivingTuesday event. For the sixth year, Eyemart Express is running a chain-wide holiday drive as part of its “Let's Give Back” campaign, which enables Eyemart Express stores to select a local charity and work closely with a representative to identify items of need.

Store teams then create in-store donation centers for contributions from employees, customers, and neighboring eye doctor offices. Over the past six years, Eyemart Express stores have supported nonprofits including children’s hospitals, food banks, homeless shelters, and local Boys & Girls Clubs through this holiday program.