What’s it like inside New Eyes?

Hear directly from our intern, Tanwi Wangikar!

Hi! My name is Tanwi.  I’m a senior in high school and the Social Media Intern at New Eyes for the Needy. Working with New Eyes has been the most rewarding community service experience I’ve had the privilege of being a part of.  However, less than a year ago, I had no idea what New Eyes was all about! So how did I get here?

Last summer, I participated in New Eyes’ summer volunteer program, alongside 20 other students. Our responsibilities at New Eyes varied from day to day. We had to “rough sort” all eyewear, then “fine sort” the glasses, measure their prescriptions, and pack them to be shipped internationally. We were also responsible for upkeep of the building, like cleaning and maintenance. All of the volunteers were surprised that there was so much work involved; looking through pair after pair of glasses to see if the image warped, indicating a progressive lens, was tiring, and turning dials on the lensometers until the bright orange lines in the machine sharpened was very tedious. But every day, when we cleaned up and counted the boxes we packed, we were amazed by how much we could get done in a few short hours.

Volunteering for New Eyes has changed my perspective. Now I understand that volunteer-based organizations need a huge input of raw labor to accomplish their goals. At New Eyes vision clinics, I was able to connect with the people we are  helping, and hear their individual stories. Managing the social media has shown me how much generosity the world has to offer—I am still amazed when I receive messages from people asking what they can do to help support New Eyes. 

And I can’t leave out the time when New Eyes’ celebrity spokesperson, Jake Gyllenhaal, reposted my Instagram post on his story!

I hope that you’ll consider helping out at New Eyes, too—every volunteer makes a huge impact! And I hope to see you on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, too.