2020 Bonnie Strickland Champion for Children’s Vision Award

2020 Bonnie Strickland Champion for Children’s Vision Award

Call for Nominations – Deadline June 5, 2020

Nominations are now open for the 2020 Bonnie Strickland Champion for Children’s Vision Award. The Award recognizes significant efforts by an individual or group of individuals to improve public health approaches for children’s vision and eye health at the state or national level. The award was established by the National Center for Children's Vision and Eye Health Advisory Committee to commemorate Bonnie Strickland and her groundbreaking work to establish a comprehensive system for children’s vision in the United States. Strickland served as Director of the Division of Services for Children with Special Health Needs, Maternal and Child Health Bureau prior to her retirement in 2014. This year’s award is significant since the Center is celebrating its 10th anniversary.

Nominees for the Award may include individuals or a group comprised of diverse stakeholders, including family/caregiver and community leaders, who are implementing changes to improve children’s vision in the United States. Nominees should demonstrate an impact in one or more areas of a public health system supporting children’s vision including:

• Key Stakeholder Engagement or Collaboration, including representation from families and diverse racial/ethnic/geographic and socio-economic levels target populations
• Training and Education
• Public Awareness
• Provision of Resources and/or Services
• Surveillance and Accountability
• Reduction of Health Disparities
• Infrastructure Development-Local, State, or National Level
• Making the connection between vision and overall health, early childhood development and learning

The Center was established in 2009, by Prevent Blindness, with leadership and support from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, under the Health Resources and Services Administration, to support the development of a public health infrastructure to promote and ensure a comprehensive, multi-tiered continuum of eye health and vision care for young children.

This Award will be presented at the meeting of the National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health on August 15, 2020 in Baltimore, MD, although the date may be postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Application materials can be found here. 

The deadline for applications is June 5, 2020.