History

History

Who We Are

Our History

1970

The Children’s Eye Care Foundation Founded

The Children’s Eye Care Foundation was founded by Marshall Parks, MD to promote prevention, detection, treatment, research, and education to protect the vision of children. The early activities of the Foundation included providing funding for post-residency fellowships, as well as research to correct children’s eye disorders and diseases. The Foundation also held symposia to educate healthcare providers about the importance of children’s eye care.

Marshall Parks

The Children’s Eye Care Foundation was later renamed the National Children’s Eye Care Foundation (NCECF).

1974

AAPO(S) Was Born

A cohort known as the “Costenbader Society” voted to create a national pediatric ophthalmology society for everyone practicing Strabismology or Pediatric Ophthalmology and named the group the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology (AAPO). The first official AAPO meeting was held in 1975. In 1976, AAPO changed its name to AAPOS.

AAPOS Logo

Its mission was to promote high quality medical and surgical eyecare worldwide for children and for adults with strabismus.

1980s

Spreading the Message about Early Screening

NCECF worked with a major packaging corporation to include symbol-based eye charts and screening messages on milk cartons throughout the country.

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1984

Presidential Recognition

In 1984, President Ronald Reagan and US Senate praised the work of the NCECF.

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2002

Renamed, Again

The NCECF is renamed the Children’s Eye Foundation (CEF). CEF extends its work educating the public about amblyopia and vision screening and the "See by Three" program is created to develop standardized screening programs.
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2012

Extending its Reach Internationally

CEF creates The Marilyn Miller Travel Grant to support the training and education of international pediatric ophthalmologists, thereby extending its reach globally.

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2016

Hall of fame 

The Hall of Fame was developed in 2016 to honor the heroes of pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus. These extraordinary people devoted their lives to improving vision care for children so that children could have a life with good sight. Learn about the scientific discoveries in pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus that have opened doors to better care of children’s eye and vision health and of adults with strabismus, as told in their biographical sketches on display in this online exhibit.

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2018

2018 Merger with AAPOS

The Children’s Eye Foundation officially merges with AAPOS and becomes the Children’s Eye Foundation of AAPOS. (CEF of AAPOS).

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2020

All Children See Launches

The Children’s Eye Foundation of AAPOS, in celebration of its 50th anniversary, launches its first direct patient care program. The program, All Children See, leverages the AAPOS membership to serve as physician volunteers and provide eyecare at no cost for children who do not have health insurance or cannot access care for other financial reasons.

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2021

The Curious Eye Launched

The Children’s Eye Foundation launched The Curious Eye, the world’s first interactive storybook to help diagnose Color Vision Deficiency (color blindness) in children. The unique book meets a significant unmet societal need, as neither schools nor most physician’s offices screen for CVD, and children generally don’t even know they have it. Largely genetic, the condition typically goes undiagnosed in children, despite it affecting 1 in 12 males and 1 in 200 females, globally.