Most people are unaware that about 500,000 children globally go blind each year from Vitamin A deficiency, and half of those children die within 12 months as a result of Vitamin A deficiency. Even more astounding, it costs just one dollar for a year’s worth of supplements for one child. That means a one dollar donation to Helen Keller International will ensure at least one child will not die or go blind from vitamin A deficiency.

Wes Stoody founded Article One to raise awareness and funding for Vitamin A deficiency in developing nations. They accomplish their mission by donating a portion of each pair sold to Helen Keller International.

Article One donates $2 from each sale to Helen Keller International, and to date has raised over $12k for the foundation.

"Flint, MI is our headquarters and a city that is close to our hearts, says Wes Stoody, Founder and CEO, because we had the opportunity to help in some way, we wanted to help raise money for a critical long term solution for the children of our city.”

Wes continues “The Flint Collection is accompanied by a lookbook featuring Flint citizens working to better our city. Our models are philanthropists, activists, artists, and even "Little Miss Flint" Mari Copeny. These limited edition sunglasses are sold directly through our website www.articleoneeyewear.com for $200, of which $150 will be donated. There will be 300 pairs available, after whose sale we will be able to donate $40,000 to flintkids.org.”

Article One is an independent eyewear company based in Flint, Michigan that produces handcrafted eyewear in Italy. Their business model is somewhat unique in the optical industry as they are proponents of complete brand transparency, giving credit to craftsmen, supporting small business, giving back to their community, as well as thoughtful design.

Article One frames are handmade in a small village in Northern Italy at a family-owned factory and 12 craftsmen who are experts in what they do. The care put into each frame results in quality you can feel.

"While our company and sales are growing every month, we did not launch the Flint Collection to boost our sales, explains Wes Stoody. The goal of the Flint Collection was to produce a limited collection of beautiful, handcrafted sunglasses and donate 100% of the profits from that to help fund the future healthcare of our city's youth. Sales of the Flint Collection are going well, and we are excited to say we've partnered with a few of our favorite independent opticals around the country to help sell the collection directly to their community.”

View Article One frames and The Flint Collection frames at their website.

  The Problem
  The Solution
  
Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD) is the number one cause of
childhood blindness.
 
  
Article One donates $2 from each pair of glasses sold to
Helen Keller International (HKI) at the end of each quarter. 
  
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that as
many as 190 million children, especially in Africa and
Southeast Asia, suffer from VAD. 
  
Vitamin A supplementation is considered to be the most
cost effective solution to any of the world’s health problems.

 • 
Each year, it is estimated that 670,000 children will die
from VAD, and 350,000 will go blind. 
  
The cost of manufacturing and distributing a year’s worth of
vitamin A supplements to one child is just $1. 

Each pair of Article One sold helps save the sight and lives of two children.