Dave Gilboa.
NEW YORK—Dave Gilboa, co-founder and co-CEO of Warby Parker has been chosen as one of four 2018 McNulty Prize Laureates. The McNulty Foundation’s Prize "celebrates the boldness and impact of individuals who are using their exceptional leadership abilities, entrepreneurial spirit and private sector talents to address the world’s toughest challenges." Gilboa is being honored for his work with Warby Parker's Pupils Project, which partners with New York City and Baltimore public school systems to provide students critical access to vision care and glasses at no cost to their families.

Gilboa told VMAIL, “From when Warby Parker was founded in 2010, every pair of glasses we sell funds distribution through our non-profit partners to distribute pairs to those in need around the world. We’ve distributed over four million pairs so far and we’re proud of that impact. We became acutely aware, though, that in our own backyard, there is tremendous need. Uncorrected vision is a prevalent disability among school children in the U.S. Of the 1.1 million kids in the New York City school system, there are many low income children in need of glasses and vision care who don’t have access.”

In 2015, Warby started a public-private partnership with the City of New York, the Department of Education and the Office of School Health in NYC. Warby Parker also established a similar program called Vision for Baltimore, with the city of Baltimore and that city’s health department. Johns Hopkins University, located there, is initiating a longitudinal study to assess the impact on kids’ reading scores.

Gilboa added, while plans are not specific, “We’re excited to scale up these programs to other cities across the country. Lack of access to vision care among school kids is a nationwide problem.”

Since the inception of Pupils Project, the organization has performed more than 222,000 screenings, over 64,000 eye exams and has distributed more than 54,000 glasses to school children in need.

Warby Parker initially rolled out Warby Parker Kids with a 12-week pilot in all of its NYC stores, starting Jan. 30, as VMAIL reported to support the Pupils Project. In April, the company expanded the pilot to 10 additional retail locations (listed below) where the kids frames are currently sold. According to a spokesperson, currently 18 Warby Parker locations, including all of 8 NYC stores and showrooms, carry the collection. These include locations in Northpark and Heights Mercantile (Texas), University Village (Wash.), Armitage and Oakbrook (Ill.), Tysons (D.C.), Buckhead (Ga.), Prudential Center (Mass)., Glendale and Fourth St. (Calif.).

In addition to its online business, Warby Parker operates 73 stores as of today, primarily in the U.S. with two in Toronto, Ontario.