SYDNEY, Australia—CooperVision that it will become a Gold Global Sponsor of Optometry Giving Sight. The sponsorship is in addition to the support it already provides to the charity in Australia, where it is a Silver National Sponsor, and to contributions made in Southeast Asia, Latin America and other parts of the world.

“We are delighted to make this commitment to Optometry Giving Sight on behalf of CooperVision,” said Dr. Juan Carlos Aragón, president of CooperVision for Asia Pacific and Latin America regions. “Ninety percent of the world’s preventable blindness occurs in the developing world. Our company, on a worldwide basis, wants to be part of the solution.”

CooperVision is a unit of The Cooper Companies, Inc. (NYSE: COO) and one of the world’s leading soft contact lens manufacturers.

“This is an exciting development for Optometry Giving Sight,” said Global CEO, Clive Miller. “There is growing interest from eyecare professionals throughout these regions to help develop the human resources and infrastructure required to give all people the right to sight and to help end the cycle of poverty that many people find themselves in, simply because they can’t access an eye examination and glasses. This support from CooperVision Asia Pacific and Latin America will greatly assist our efforts to raise more money to fund more sustainable eye care projects in these areas”.

Miller said that Optometry Giving Sight had disbursed more than $US1.1 million to 18 refractive error projects in 16 countries in 2010.

Optometry Giving Sight a global fundraising initiative that specifically targets the prevention of blindness and impaired vision due to uncorrected refractive error—simply the need for an eye examination and glasses. It was created in 2003 by the World Council of Optometry, the International Centre for Eyecare Education and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness as a means of mobilizing resources from the global optometric community to fund the development of sustainable eye care projects in communities where these do not currently exist.