It reads like a classic case of déjà vu. In the winter of 2010, La Plata County Eye and Ear, a nonprofit that provides eyeglasses to children and adults under the national poverty rate, was in dire straits.
Out of funding and suffering from a lack of interest from new board members, the program was on the verge of non-existence. It was expected that the nonprofit would not last the year.
However, a Feb. 15 front-page feature in The Durango Herald turned La Plata County Eye and Ear’s fortune around. Days later, the program received an influx of donations and interest from community members who stepped forward to take the reigns.
“When I read (the Herald’s) story, it upset me so much that I signed up 10 people to help,” Heather Erb, a real estate agent at Coldwell Banker, said at the time. “Children and elderly people are falling through the cracks. We have to do something. The problem is not going away.”
Fast forward seven years: La Plata County Eye and Ear finds itself with similar financial burdens, as well as board members and volunteer staff – which is now down to two – no longer able to carry the small nonprofit along.
Erb told The Durango Herald if community members don’t show interest in taking over the program, its 30-plus-year history will come to a close by the end of April.
“We’ve been shoestring for the last couple years,” she said.
“We’ve tried to recruit, but we couldn’t find anyone, which is really sad. It’s such a life-changing service.”
La Plata County Eye and Ear was founded in the mid-1980s by Bob Tyner, an engineer with the Bureau of Reclamation, when his Kiwanis Club identified the need to provide affordable eyeglasses and hearing aides to economically challenged residents.
Though the program has dropped hearing aides in recent years due to high costs, the process is still relatively the same.
People who are 150 percent under the national poverty rate qualify for the service, and must fill out an application, which is processed by staff at Manna, Erb said.
La Plata County Eye and Ear will cover the cost of the doctor’s visit and the eyeglasses, while eye-care providers who take part in the program discount their services.
“Generally, people can walk away without giving money out of pocket,” Erb said.
The program has been funded by donations as well as grants, mostly from United Way of Southwest Colorado. But with the lack of volunteers, Erb said the group was unable to procure funding this year.
“We’re down to two people trying to OK every single applicant and do all the paperwork,” she said. “We get every grant we ask for, it’s just having the time.”
Last year, Erb said the program helped 75 to 100 people get eyeglasses. Those who benefit run the gambit of school-aged children who need to read the chalkboard to veterans who can’t make the trip to the Veterans Affairs clinic in Albuquerque.
“It helps a lot of families that can’t really afford health care,” said Crystal Newell, office manager at Advanced EyeCare, a provider that partakes in the program. “It’s able to get them in the door.”
Newell said children, especially, benefit from the program.
“For a lot of children, it affects academics if they can’t see the board,” she said. “If we can correct vision sooner, it’s better in the long run.”
Erb said if La Plata County Eye and Ear were able to find about five people to help with fundraising, bookkeeping and grant writing, the program could live through yet another uncertain time.
“This is a tiny little organization – it’s not sexy – but if we actually advertised what we do, there’d probably be a lot more interested people out there,” she said.
“When we took over, we had no idea what we were doing, but everyone wanted to help. It took about six months to get our feet under us, and we were going strong ever since.”
jromeo@durangoherald.com
This article has been updated to correct information about where Bob Tyner worked. He worked for the Bureau of Reclamation.
