Visibly Gives Back to A Better Chicago to Support Chicago Youth
CHICAGO – Today, Visibly, a Chicago-based healthcare technology company, announced it will donate a portion of its revenue for the month of December to A Better Chicago, a venture philanthropy fund fighting poverty by investing in initiatives that serve youth in low-income communities. The funds will support A Better Chicago’s portfolio of 18 grantees that are providing wraparound services and educational support to Chicago youth from cradle to career.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated Chicago’s existing systemic inequalities, which means our youth in low-income and Black and Latinx communities have been hit hard by both economic upheaval and educational disruption,” said Beth Swanson, CEO of A Better Chicago. “This generous gift will help support our youth and create additional opportunity in the coming year. Visibly’s support shows how committed they are to ensuring everyone in their hometown succeeds. We especially applaud Visibly’s efforts to donate during this time of uncertainty that has created great need and put unprecedented strains on young people throughout our city.”
“As a part of our responsibility to give back to our community, Visibly is thrilled to partner with A Better Chicago to provide children the support they need to grow while breaking the cycle of poverty,” says Brent Rasmussen, CEO of Visibly. “By contributing to their mission of ‘building a more equitable city for young people and future generations,’ together, we can make a lasting impact where our customers and employees call home.”
Visibly, a Chicago-based healthcare technology company founded in 2012, creates digital eye care technologies that enable patient choice and convenience while providing doctors the ability to create awesome user experiences. Visibly was founded with the belief that glasses and contact lens prescriptions should be accessible and affordable to everyone. Online vision testing is just the start; Visibly envisions a world where technology enables patients and doctors to connect easily to make all aspects of vision care convenient and accessible for all. Currently, Visibly operates under the Enforcement Policy for Remote Ophthalmic Assessment and Monitoring Devices during the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Public Health Emergency issued by the FDA in April 2020.
A Better Chicago has quickly adapted to respond to the COVID-19 crisis. In April, A Better Chicago launched an Emergency Relief Fund (ERF), which deployed nearly $2.5M to 46 high-impact, local organizations in less than three months. Many of the organizations receiving funding through the program directly support educational opportunities for low-income CPS students impacted by COVID-19. Most recently, A Better Chicago partnered with the Chicago Blackhawks Foundation to launch One West Side, an initiative that will invest at least $2 million over three years in nonprofit community leaders from Chicago’s West Side who are working to support low-income youth. This summer A Better Chicago brought together a coalition of funders to launch a partnership with Jose Andres’ World Central Kitchen that served over 11,000 meals per week to the more than 5,000 households that CPS served weekly via meal delivery. At the same time, A Better Chicago collaborated with technology nonprofit Comp-U-Dopt to provide laptops to 1,200 CPS 2020 graduates who lacked access to technology.
About A Better Chicago
A Better Chicago is fighting poverty by leveraging the collective power of Chicagoans who want to make our city more equitable for everyone. We raise funds through public donations and direct those resources to support low-income, underserved communities. We find high-potential, high-impact programs and leaders that serve young people from cradle to career. Then, we invest both dollars and strategic support to empower organizations to grow and make an even greater impact. We know that giving our young people the support and tools they need to thrive—a great education, a wage that can sustain a family, the ability to buy a home and live in a safe community—can lead to breaking the cycle of poverty for this generation and generations to come.
Since 2010, we have raised nearly $40 million, invested in dozens of nonprofit organizations and supported over 100 capacity-building projects—ranging from strategic planning to leadership development—to strengthen the organizational capacity of our grantees. In total, our portfolio serves over 37,000 youth annually in the Chicago area. Learn more at abetterchicago.org.
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