Mission Vision is a 501(c)3, non-profit organization which partners exclusively with other community service providers to deliver free eye exams, custom eyeglasses, and other essential supplies directly to homeless, uninsured, working poor, and low-fixed income souls in Western Pennsylvania and abroad.  Our Vision of Hope program conducts free eye care clinics on site at crisis shelters, soup kitchens, food pantries, and sliding-fee medical clinics, where many in the demographic targeted by Mission Vision are already getting their primary needs for food and shelter met.  As a measure to prevent unnecessary blindness, Mission Vision is also dedicated to educating community and neighborhood outreach providers about the importance of maintaining eye health, and the dangers of neglecting it.

The inspiration for Mission Vision came in 1996 when Dr. William C. Christie took his first of many medical mission trips to Ghana, Africa.  Dr. Christie worked alongside Rev. Dr. Seth Ablorh, his friend and medical school classmate, as he helped establish Manna Mission Hospital.  Today, the facility is a 40 bed mission hospital with an outpatient facility and services in general medicine, general surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, ophthalmology, radiology and dentistry.  Dr. Christie created Mission Vision to support medical outreach in Ghana and to expand it to other areas of the world.  For this reason Mission Vision also partners with other international mission teams to provide training, supplies, and support for effective eye care and evangelical outreaches.

While international missions continue to be a large part of Mission Vision’s ministry, the Vision of Hope program targets the eye care needs in Pennsylvania – particularly in the greater Pittsburgh area. This aspect of the ministry now comprises the majority of our day-to-day work.  The demand for Mission Vision clinics among community service providers in Western Pennsylvania is so great, that the current wait time for service is 18 to 24 months!  At our current capacity, Mission Vision is running at a rate of 4 to 5 clinics per month.  Whether through the donation of time or money, generous giving from people like you goes a long way to improve quality of life for our less fortunate neighbors. If you want to learn more about how you can get involved, please check out the How You Can Help page.