LIVINGSTON, Ala.—FocusFirst, an Impact Alabama initiative that provides eye screenings to children living in urban and rural poverty, recently announced three University of West Alabama freshmen will receive scholarships because of their involvement in the project. Jaucorrie Drew of Tuscaloosa, Nina Franks of Montevallo and Sarah Lenning of Livingston will each receive $1250 scholarships from the service learning organization.

Lenning, Franks and Drew must complete 450 hours of direct service to their community in order to receive the award. The students conduct vision screenings using state-of-the-art photo-screening technology and then assist in obtaining the appropriate treatment and follow-up in a timely manner. The screenings require no responses and do not use dilation eye drops. Many eye problems can be found this way, such as nearsightedness, farsightedness and problems leading to lazy eye, eye alignment problems and cataracts.

“FocusFirst is great because it allows us to be a part of an awesome service organization that is making a huge difference in our area,” said Franks, an elementary education major and the daughter of Tommy and Nan Franks. “It is so much fun to work with the kids and know that we are helping them at the same time."

Drew, also an elementary education major, agrees.

“I like to help FocusFirst because I get to be around children, which is one of my passions. I can also help out the ones that really need it," said Drew, the daughter of Valerie Martin.

These students became involved with FocusFirst through their UWA 101 freshman seminar taught by Mitzi Gates. The class helped screen the vision for approximately 450 children, ages 2-5, in Head Starts and other early childhood development centers in Sumter, Greene and Tuscaloosa counties. For the students, volunteering with FocusFirst meant not only helping children, but also preparing them for their future careers.

“The best part of working with the FocusFirst group is gaining experience that I can use later on in life,” said Lenning, the daughter of Bill and Amy Lenning. “As a pre-optometry major, this project gives me work experience that I can use to get into school or get a job, giving me a head start over others.”

FocusFirst strives to ensure that all children within several targeted rural counties and urban communities begin their education with the best vision medically possible. The long-term goal of this initiative, founded by Birmingham attorney Stephen Black, is to operate a statewide campus-based network of undergraduate and graduate students trained to identify and screen children in communities of need throughout Alabama in order to enhance the educational development of children.

FocusFirst was one of thirteen programs in the nation awarded $50,000 in scholarship money from AmeriCorps. The UWA freshmen’s scholarships come from the AmeriCorps award.