2005: a 'Special' year for Safilo and Essilor
The commitment by the Safilo Group and by Essilor continues in favor of the Special Olympics: during 2005, the two companies made an important contribution to the activities of Special Olympics Lyons Club International Opening Eyes, the world program which aims to improve the sight of people with learning problems.
This year, over 200 Opening Eyes events were held in more than 120 countries, from the United States to Venezuela, from South Africa, New Zealand to Thailand: highly emotional moments with an important social value aimed at the integration of people with learning difficulties through sport. In 2003, Safilo and Essilor joined forces in favor of the Special Olympics and they have supported these events by donating prescription frames, sunglasses and ophthalmic lenses as part of the 'Healthy Athletes' program.
The project is devoted to the physical wellbeing of the athletes and it is organized thanks to the voluntary work of specialist doctors who carry out highly-qualified, free examinations. During the events, around 12,000 athletes took part in the sight screenings which are part of the Opening Eyes program: about 6,000 athletes received vision glasses and corrective lenses to improve their sight. Safilo also donated over 11,400 pairs of sunglasses; Essilor provided the necessary ophthalmic lenses and organized the laboratory services for preparing the lenses for the athletes.
Some of the most important events of the year included the World Winter Sports 2005, an important sporting event held at Nagano in Japan from February 26 through March 5, 2005. The competitions involved 2,000 athletes from almost 90 countries. Together with their families and more than 8,000 voluntary workers, they met in a unique cultural and sporting experience designed to mix a passion for sport with dignity and personal accomplishment. For the duration of the event, the athletes took part in different disciplines (alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, snowboarding, artistic ice-skating, speed skating, ice hockey) in addition to free screenings in the 'Healthy Athletes' program. For this event, Safilo donated vision frames, sunglasses, helmets and ski goggles and Essilor supplied the necessary ophthalmic lenses.
