How We Started

VisionSpring was founded by Dr. Jordan Kassalow, a practicing optometrist who has dedicated his life to improving vision and economic opportunity in the developing world. Jordan's work as an eye doctor and public health expert has taken him on scores of medical missions to countries all over the developing world. During these visits, in which he and other Western doctors provided eye care and free glasses to people who otherwise had little access to vision care, Jordan experienced two profound revelations:

First, Jordan realized that a large number of the patients he treated — over 40% — simply needed a pair of non-prescription eyeglasses, the kind found in drugstores all over the US. Yet the people he met were losing their jobs and their livelihoods simply because this affordable, mass-produced product was not available in their area.

Second, he noticed that, above all, people needed jobs. Without income, they could not access critical goods and services, such as water, health care, and education. Jordan began to wonder if in fact the Western eye doctors were providing a service that could easily be provided by the community members themselves if they were given the proper tools and skills. Thus, the idea for VisionSpring was born.

Rapid Growth

In 2001, Jordan teamed up with his business partner Scott Berrie to form both Scojo Foundation and Scojo New York, a high-end reading glasses company serving the US market. 5% of the pre-tax profits from Scojo New York were designated for Scojo Foundation. In 2008, after the sale of Scojo New York, Scojo Foundation changed its name to VisionSpring, launching a new identity reflecting its mission to reduce poverty and generate opportunity in the developing world through vision.

The Open Society Institute provided seed capital to launch the first pilot in India. Today, VisionSpring serves tens of thousands of poor customers across the developing world with affordable eyeglasses. Together with our partners, including some of the world's largest NGOs and the most innovative Base-of-the-Pyramid organizations, VisionSpring is providing sustainable jobs and access to vision care in the world's poorest, most remote communities.

A multi-year winner of Fast Company's Social Capitalist Award, VisionSpring has been recognized for its high-impact, cutting-edge work by The Economist, The International Herald Tribune, Foreign Affairs, and NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. President Bill Clinton has remarked that VisionSpring's work "will help hundreds of thousands of people and in the process create a whole new sector of the economy."

What We Believe

We believe in the innate power and drive of individuals to shape their own destinies and the destiny of their communities. We provide the tools for our entrepreneurs and customers to make their own change. And that change creates a ripple effect of economic activity across communities, with more goods and services being sold and more opportunities created every day. A little investment in a pair of glasses goes a long way. Ours is a story of everyday people empowered to create extraordinary change. VisionSpring is more than the sum of its parts. We are Vision Entrepreneurs, customers, supporters, staff, and partners, working together to create an impact greater than we are each capable of alone.