This past week, we had one of my favorite events on campus: our annual frame sale! A bunch of different frame manufacturers came to ICO and sold us frames at discounted prices. I mean, we have to start looking the part as optometrists with some stylish frames, right?
Anyways, the frame sale is a fundraiser for the Student Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity (SVOSH) group on campus. SVOSH is cool because if an individual gets enough volunteering hours (usually within their first two years,) they get to go on a mission trip! So, I think it’s a pretty worthy cause. It’s also very convenient and easy to get some new frames when they bring all of them to you. Separately, there is also a lens sale that ICO does as another fundraiser event. Personally, it’s pretty hard for me to say no!
The frame representatives that were there this year included: Orgreen+ Goldsmith, Marchon, Luxottica, Ray-Ban, Armani, Burberry, Coach, Versace, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Polo Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors, Emporio Armani, Vogue, Maui Jim, Europa, Tura, ProDesign, XX2i Optics, OGi Eyewear, Ic! Berlin, and Fello Eyewear. Honestly, it can be kind of overwhelming with so many choices! It’s also a good thing.
If a student is a part of SVOSH, they can get some volunteering hours through this event to go towards their mission trip. While doing this, it was fun to talk to some of the reps to see where they came from and what all they have been through. Hearing their side of the optical business was intriguing. It’s cool learning what all truly goes into the role of an optometrist. This whole process is something we’ll have to get to know if we want to sell frames in our practice.
The frame sale is an awesome fundraiser that many faculty and students take advantage of. It happens every year, so if you were not able to make it to this year’s event, there’s always next year!