Save Your Vision Week, 2003

Proclamation 7652 of February 28, 2003

Save Your Vision Week, 2003

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Each year, the number of Americans who suffer from
vision loss increases, yet half of all blindness can be
prevented through early detection and treatment. During
Save Your Vision Week, we renew our commitment to
protecting eyesight by promoting healthy eye care and
by encouraging Americans to receive routine vision
screenings and dilated eye exams.

Our sense of sight affects how we work, communicate,
and learn. All Americans must be aware of the risk of
vision loss and take steps to preserve and protect
their eyesight, beginning with getting regular eye
exams, using the appropriate protective eyewear, and
maintaining a healthy lifestyle. These small steps can
make a big difference. When Americans take
responsibility for improving their health, our whole
society benefits.

Healthy vision is especially critical to our children's
ability to receive a good education and establish a
strong foundation in life. According to the American
Optometric Association, 80 percent of learning depends
on vision, yet 86 percent of children entering school
have not had a thorough eye examination. Due to
hereditary and prenatal factors, from a very early age,
many children are at high risk for potentially severe
eye diseases, including retinopathy of prematurity
(ROP), amblyopia, and congenital glaucoma. One in four
kids will develop myopia as teenagers. Children need
regular eye care from birth to prevent and treat
conditions that lead to visual impairment and
blindness. Parents play a key role in obtaining eye
care for their children and must be knowledgeable about
the potential threats to a child's eyesight. For the
future of our Nation, it is vital that we care for the
visual health and well-being of America's children so
they are able to reach their full potential.

As part of my HealthierUS Initiative and my
Administration's ongoing commitment to helping the
American people live healthier lives, I encourage all
Americans to get preventative health screenings. These
screenings may tell you if you are prone to developing
certain diseases, can help protect your vision, and
could even save your life. I particularly urge parents
to ask their children's doctors about vision screenings
and eye exams, which can help ensure eye diseases and
conditions are detected and treated early, when
treatment is most effective. Through education about
healthy vision and promotion of good eye care, we help
protect the eyesight of countless people across our
Nation.

The Congress, by joint resolution approved December 30,
1963, as amended (77 Stat. 629; 36 U.S.C. 138), has
authorized and requested the President to proclaim the
first week in March of each year as ``Save Your Vision
Week.'' During this week, I encourage all Americans to
learn more about ways to prevent eye problems and to
help others maintain the precious gift of sight.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the
United States of America, do hereby proclaim March 2
through March 8, 2003, as Save Your Vision Week. I urge
all Americans to make eye care and eye safety an
important part of their lives and to include dilated
eye examinations

in their regular health maintenance programs. I invite
eye care professionals, teachers, the media, and all
public and private organizations dedicated to
preserving eyesight to join in activities that will
raise awareness of measures all Americans can take to
protect and sustain our vision.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-eighth day of February, in the year of our Lord
two thousand three, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
seventh.

(Presidential Sig.)B