TOMS Blog

When we launched TOMS Eyewear in June of 2011, we made a commitment to give sight in the most responsible and impactful way we could. With that promise, we aligned our Giving team with some of the players we respect the most in the field of vision care. 

TOMS Sight-Giving Partner Visualiza Eye Care Center, a medical operation in Guatemala, works from a unique and innovative business model, with goals to provide the best eye care to as many people as its reach can extend. 

This summer, a 6-year-old boy named Bryan Manuel became another embodiment of the professionalism, accessibility and thorough care that Visualiza offers the communities it serves.

After Bryan Manuel suffered an eye injury from an accident with a hot stove, his parents brought him to a medical center near their home in Chichicastenango, Guatemala. From there, Bryan’s family left with eye drops for the boy’s injury, and more, with a recommendation that they seek Visualiza’s expertise and sight-saving services, should his condition persist.

Once realizing the eye drops helped but did not cure their son’s injury, Bryan’s parents took the recommendation and traveled to a Visualiza Eye Care Center, where Bryan would receive surgery. Upon arrival, Bryan’s father, Jose Perez, was “nervous and hopeful,” but Bryan remained steadfast, with his energetic and playful demeanor. He told the Visualiza staff, “I know everything is going to be OK.”

At Visualiza Eye Care Center, with the support of a TOMS Eyewear purchase, Bryan Manuel had surgery, and can now attend first grade with clear vision and restored opportunity. 

We are consistently and remarkably inspired by how our Giving Partners make life-changing procedures appear simple and seamless. One for One - the collaboration between TOMS, our Giving Partners and you - is creating opportunity for people who may not have otherwise been exposed to it.

Thanks for being an important part of making that happen.