Metro Atlanta teen creates charity to give prescription eyeglasses to homeless people

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — A metro Atlanta teenager who struggled with her eyesight in elementary school has started a charity to provide eyeglasses for kids who have nowhere to live.

Parkes Long, 16, says she has never forgotten what it was like to need glasses.

“I was about 7 years old. I remember not being able to see the dry-erase board or the whiteboard at school,” Parkes told Channel 2′s Berndt Petersen.

She needed eyeglasses, and these days her focus is on other children who may need them but can’t get them.

“It was special to hear her talk about an experience she had and think about how it could impact somebody else,” her mom Jennifer said.

Parkes has launched a charity called “I Wanna See.”

Her vision is to provide eye care and prescription eyeglasses for people who are unhoused.

She is collecting dozens of pairs of gently used eyeglasses and has lined up an optometrist to take care of the exams.

Once she has built up an inventory of a few hundred pairs, she will organize an eye care event in East Point.

She says an eye exam changed her life, and she hopes I Wanna See will change the lives of many others.

“Hopefully this can bring them a little bit of joy. Being able to see clearly is very important,” Parkes said.

To donate used eyeglasses to I Wanna See, visit: http://spot.fund/IWannaSeeProject