Rite Aid Foundation awards $15,000 for Ala. vision-screening program

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid's philanthropic arm has donated $15,000 to an organization that works with universities to develop social justice projects.

The Rite Aid Foundation announced the donation of the grant to Impact Alabama, based in Birmingham, Ala., which plans to use the grant to expand FocusFirst, a vision-screening program for children in Head Start classrooms and lower-income daycares across the state. The foundation previously awarded the group $15,000 in 2010.

"Poor vision adversely affects tens of thousands of children in our state each year, largely due to poor public awareness about the importance of eye care in young children and the inability of children to recognize their own vision problems," Impact America spokesman Stephen Black said. "These problems are heightened in families from facing financial hardships and a lack of access to appropriate medical care."