I Care International Receives $10,000 Donation from Local FamilySan Luis Obispo, California – I Care International, a non-profit humanitarian organization, is the recipient of a $10,000 donation from Orville and Lois Hesch of Avila Beach, CA and their children, Slumberland Furniture Store owners Michael and Candy Hesch, of Wausau WI, Greg Hesch of Marshfield, WI, Mary Hesch of Stevens Point, WI and Ann & Craig Antonson of Rick Lake, WI. Together, the members of the Hesch family have given a sum of $10,000 to the Illinois and California based volunteer organization that provides vision and hearing care to under served populations around the world. The Slumberland Corporation encourages charitable giving as a key part of successful business practice. This generous philosophy has now been taken to the next level as a donation to I Care International is a way to offer valuable assistance to the global community. The Hesch family including father Orville Hesch and wife Lois of Avila Beach, have been strong supporters of the I Care International organization. “Vision is a gift that can change lives and we are so fortunate to have the ability to help volunteer groups like I Care do their work”, stated Orville Hesch.
Said Slumberland owner Mary Hesch, “At Slumberland, we believe giving back to the community is not only a good idea, but an essential part of doing business. Citizenship and stewardship are two of our company’s core values. That’s why a portion of the money you spend at Slumberland is returned to your community through charitable giving. As a family-owned business, we’re proud to support activities and organizations that strengthen families and provide assistance to children and families in need”.
The I Care volunteer missions are conducted annually to remote locations in Central and South America. Since its inception in 1989, I Care International has provided over 250,000 eye examinations with corrective vision glasses, 400 cataract operations and 10,000 hearing aids. An all volunteer organization, local optometrists travel and provide their services for free, and volunteers pay for their own travel, lodging and meal expenses. Financial donations help purchase medical equipment and materials.
The Hesch family donation will address a long held dream of sponsoring students and recent optometric graduates to participate in missions. “A young doctor is often strapped with school loans and other obligations and unable to participate in our missions. With the Hesch family donation, I Care can offer a valuable opportunity to new and upcoming doctors to experience working with people who have never received medical attention. We believe this is a win-win for all, for I Care, new doctors and the patients”, observed longtime I Care volunteer Dr. Al Potter.
“It’s a significant step in promoting the tithing concept” stated I Care co-founder Dr. Phil Ortiz of Avila Beach. “We believe that by helping students and graduates cover travel and housing expenses in exchange for 5 days of valuable clinical work, they will also have the chance to experience the principles of philanthropy and gifting of services. Our hope is that the same business philosophy demonstrated by Slumberland Corporation and I Care volunteers may be adopted by the graduates in their business practices, whether it be helping those in need within their local communities, collecting used glasses for our missions or any other way they can use their talents and education”, added Ortiz.
Students and recent optometry school graduates can contact Dr. Ortiz to apply for a mission scholarship at (815) 735-6604. Upcoming missions also need experienced optometrists. I Care will be traveling this year to Manzanillo, Mexico on March 1-9 and Panajachel, Guatemala on April 1-15.
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I Care International is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation that was established by Dr. Ortiz and the late Dr. Charles Cools in 1989. Dr. Ortiz is a graduate of the Illinois College of Optometry.