VOSH – Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity, is an organization of individuals who are dedicated to providing vision care to people around the world who can not afford or obtain it.
VOSH Southeast – is a Chapter of VOSH International. More information about VOSH International and other chapters can be found at the VOSH International website.
VOSH Southeast History
VOSH Southeast, formally VOSH Florida, was founded in 1995 after the return of Florida based members of VOSH-International who participated in a VOSH-Ohio Sight Mission to the Ukraine. These members were inspired by VOSH’s good work and formed a state chapter in Florida. The VOSH-Florida chapter conducted its first mission in November 1996 in partnership with the Catholic Diocese of Orlando and its sister diocese in the Dominican Republic. The mission visited Guayabal, Dominican Republic, saw in excess of 800 patients for examination and diagnosis and dispensed over 600 pairs of prescription eyeglasses.
In June 1997, VOSH Florida conducted it’s first mission to Croatia. This mission took the volunteers to nine different villages in the Slavonia region of Croatia. The mission was executed with the cooperation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Reformed Church and the University Hospital of Pecs, Hungary. More than 1,100 patients were seen for examinations and 900 plus pairs of eyeglasses were dispensed.
In November, 1997, VOSH Florida returned to the vicinity of Guayabal, Dominican Republic and examined in excess of 700 patients and dispensed more than 600 pairs of glasses.
Since those early days, VOSH Southeast has conducted many missions all over the world. Please take a few minutes and peruse our past missions page.
July 24, 2009 was the birthday of VOSH-SOUTHEAST, the VOSH regional chapter composed of VOSH-INTERNATIONAL members residing in the states of Alabama, Florida, Mississippi , Georgia and South Carolina. On this date, the Secretary of State of Florida amended the incorporation papers of VOSH-Florida to officially reflect the change of corporate name of VOSH-Florida to VOSH-SOUTHEAST. The name change was made to reflect earlier decisions of the Boards of Directors of VOSH-International, VOSH-Florida and VOSH-Alabama and the membership of VOSH-South Carolina to form the enlarged SOUTHEAST chapter to more effectively recruit new VOSH members and carry out the mission of VOSH.