RITHA MAY

Ritha May is the original chair of the Northern Utah Division of Friends for Sight (formerly Prevent Blindness Utah). She established the division in 1988, and has developed the territory to include not only Weber County, but also Cache, Summit, Davis and Morgan counties.

Through her relationship with the Ogden Junior League, approximately 800 children receive a vision screening, an eye exam and eye glasses if needed, via the Community Health Connection. Under Ritha’s leadership, approximately 3,500 children are screened each year in Northern Utah – that’s over 50,000 children to date.

Vision screening for children is a philanthropy of the Delta Gamma alumnae, via Friends for Sight. Since 80% of learning is through our eyes, it’s vital that children enter school with good vision. Amblyopia, lazy-eye blindness is the leading cause of teen-age vision problems, yet is almost 100% correctable if caught before age 7. Sixty to eighty percent of delinquent behavior is due to vision problems (impair ability to read, and reading affects delinquency). The vision screening Friends for Sight provides is vital to students learning ability and social adjustment.

Without Ritha’s dedicated leadership, many children would not have an eye exam and parents would not be educated about the importance of eye exams.