Kaitlin MacLennan, 11

Why nominated

“Kaitlin is an amazing 11-year-old with a huge heart!” wrote Kaitlin’s optometrist, Kara Fedders. “She found out that I do eye-care mission trips to Third World countries, and asked if she could help. I told her we can always use donated eyeglasses and sunglasses to give away. She set up donation boxes at her school and church. She even got up in front of her entire congregation and asked for people to bring in their old glasses! … Our eye-care team will distribute the glasses to needy people in David, Panama, in February 2010.”

Fedders’ tech, Loren Hellem, also lauded the efforts of the Skyway Elementary sixth-grader. “All this work Kaitlin’s been doing, we have never had such a huge turnout in terms of donated glasses,” he said. “She has done so much, she’s talked to schools, churches — I mean, it’s been awesome. We’ll be examining our patients, and we’ll see her and her mother and siblings come in carrying … boot boxes full of glasses. She’s gone to such lengths, she wraps them up in paper.”

About the eye-care mission trips

Don’t throw away old eyeglasses and sunglasses, Fedders said. Instead, drop them off at the Vision Center at Wal-Mart, where Fedders and Hellem work, at 707 S. Eighth St. Or, there are collection boxes out at Kaitlin’s church, First United Methodist, 420 N. Nevada Ave.

“Sunglasses, reading glasses, anything would be useful to people who have nothing,” said Fedders, who started going on eye-care mission trips when she was a student in optometry school.

She hopes to ship out the donated glasses by Thanksgiving.

Then, the first week in February, Fedders and six other eye doctors will travel to Panama to give free exams and glasses to the people there as part of the Share the Vision mission.

Her reason? “Just to help people see better, who wouldn’t be able to otherwise. The populations we see when we travel to Third World countries are very poor.” Some of them don’t even have shoes, she said, let alone glasses.

Nonprescription sunglasses are needed, as well as prescription ones, Hellem said. “So many of the people in Panama are working all day picking coffee beans, and they have absolutely no protection for their eyes.”


Q&A with Kaitlin

How did you learn about Dr. Fedders’ mission trips?

“Last year I went to see her because my prescription had changed, and she told me she wouldn’t be there for the next few weeks because she’d be in Panama giving eye exams. And she told me they needed kids glasses, and I had two pair, so I gave them to her.

“She told me if they didn’t have kids glasses, they would either not give them (any glasses) or give them Army frames. This year I went to her and thought, ‘I wouldn’t want to have big frames that I wouldn’t want to wear,’ so I talked to her about it, and I typed up something and I sent it to my church and my school and talked about it at services.

“At school they sent it out in a newsletter.”

How many pairs have you collected? (as of mid-October)

“At the moment I have about 120. I’m really happy.”

Why did you want to help?

“I couldn’t go to school without my glasses because I couldn’t see. And I thought these people, some of them might be almost blind, and they won’t be able to see the world. So I thought it’d be nice to be able to see it — maybe not as fully clear as they need to be, but clearer than what they had.”

How long have you worn glasses?

“Since second or third grade.”

What do you want to be when you grow up?

“I either want to be a teacher, or, when my mom was in high school, she was an elf at the North Pole (Santa’s Workshop, 5050 Pikes Peak Highway). I always thought that’d be fun.”

What grade would you want to teach?

“Fourth or fifth grade.”

What are your hobbies?

“I like dancing, and singing. And I play the flute.”

How long have you played the flute?

“Two years. I play with the band at my school.”

Do you have any pets?

“Yeah, I have two dogs. Waverly and Westley.”

What are your favorite books?

“I like ‘The Tale of Despereaux’ and ‘Peter and the Starcatchers.’”