Advanced Center for Eye Care

Our 2026 Vision: Clear Sight, Bright Futures

Thanks to the generosity of our community, Advanced Center for Eyecare (ACE) fully funded our Vision Van in 2025! This fully equipped mobile eye clinic is currently being built and customized, with a planned launch in 2026. Once on the road, the Vision Van will deliver free, comprehensive eye care and prescription glasses directly to students in underserved rural communities throughout Kern County.

This year, our Give Big Kern campaign focuses on expanding the reach and sustainability of our Vision Van program. From fueling the van and stocking it with glasses, to providing regular visits in areas like Ridgecrest, Arvin, Taft, Kernville, Lost Hills, and Lamont. Your continued support ensures that we can carry out this mission long into the future.

Why We Do What We Do

A recent Novartis study found that 85% of people fear losing their sight more than any other sense. Yet, 1 in 4 children lives with a vision issue that goes untreated, many simply because they can't access care. In Kern County, 30% of children live below the poverty line, which is thousands of students facing academic disadvantages due to correctable vision problems.

At ACE, we believe no child’s potential should be limited by an undiagnosed vision problem. We are committed to removing barriers to academic success through school-based and mobile vision services.

Who We Are

ACE is a nonprofit organization with a mission to provide high-quality, no-cost eye care to underserved and uninsured residents of Kern County. Our work falls into two core areas:

• Student Vision Programs: Through school-based clinics and soon, our Vision Van, we deliver eye exams and glasses to students who need them most, right where they learn. 
• Sight-Restoring Procedures for Adults & Seniors: Our grant program supports adults and seniors in need of cataract surgery, glaucoma care, and other vision-saving treatments.

To date, ACE has provided over 1,200 sight-restoring procedures to adults and seniors in Kern County, helping them regain their independence, return to work, and reconnect with their families and communities.

ACE has also already helped to improve our local students’ academic success by provided thousands of eye exams and pairs of glasses, setting up our community’s future to be the best it can be. 

Our Vision for the Future

We’ve partnered with districts like Bakersfield City School District, Delano Union, and Lost Hills, but many children in our county still go without needed care. Our goal is to establish a Vision Center in every school district in Kern County, ensuring every student has the chance to learn and grow with clear sight.

And now, with our Vision Van on the way, we’re even closer to reaching the students who need us most, wherever they are.

Join us this year as we continue the journey. With your support, we can keep the Vision Van rolling, expand our school partnerships, and help more children and families see the future clearly.