I am very passionate about eyewear, not only for its fashion but also as a means of transforming sight.

In 2012 I founded Vicci Eyewear, whose goal is to develop stylish eyewear and accessories while helping people improve their vision.

This mission has helped thousands of people, who I’m proud to say are our customers, and it’s lead me to join forces with several unique causes that have a shared goal.

Our relationship with The Vision of Children Foundation started with one customer, not a marketing plan.

It was Maria Delgado. She was the initial intro we had to organization and it’s great work. She told us about the research being funded to better understand and treat hereditary childhood blindness. She spoke about the support available to children and families living with genetic vision disorders.

Her introduction stayed with us, deep.

At VICCI, we spend our days thinking about sight. We make eyewear, obviously, so that connection may seem certain. Hearing about the Foundation’s work put it in a different perspective. A pair of glasses can help someone read a book. It can get you through a workday, or drive safely. Most importantly, be able to recognize someone you know from across a room. Those simple, normal things can have a surprisingly big effect on everyday life.

The Foundation is looking at something much bigger: helping children with inherited vision disorders have the possibility of a future with sight.

That is difficult not to care about.

What also made the relationship meaningful was how Maria approached us. She wasn’t trying to sell us a sponsorship package. She was telling us about something she personally believed in. She knew the work mattered and thought we might see that, too.

She was right.

Once we learned more about the Foundation, we wanted VICCI to get involved. We jumped in feet first, and have since supported events by gifting VICCI frames and other gifts for charity. It’s in this way we’ve been lucky to share the organization’s mission with a wider audience.

Imagine the pride we felt supporting the Springtime Tea. More recently, extending to the Vision for America event. Such events are huge because they bring people together and eventually help raise both funds and awareness.

Still, I don’t think support should end when an event does.

The photographs get posted. The guests go home. Decorations come down. Then the work continues.

That is the part I find most meaningful about our relationship with the Foundation. It has become something we continue to support rather than something we simply participated in once.

It has also changed the way I think about how a company’s sense of purpose develops. We tend to think of purpose as something that starts with a founder or leadership team and then reaches the community. Our experience was different.

A customer opened the door.

Maria introduced us to a cause that mattered to her, and in doing so, gave us the opportunity to become part of something that mattered to us as well.

VICCI is in the business of eyewear. We want people to see clearly and feel comfortable. We envision people to finally feel like themselves. That is why supporting research that could help children preserve or regain their sight feels like a specially meaningful extension of that work.

This partnership wasn’t born from a campaign. It started with a conversation, a trusted customer, and a cause worth listening to.

We are grateful that Maria started that conversation. And we are proud to keep showing up for The Vision of Children Foundation.