NICOLE COX SUCCESS STORY

Nicole Cox is an active, ambitious, sixteen-year-old who needs glasses every year. Nicole had been wearing the same glasses for three years and suffered from blurred vision and migraine headaches that resulted in repeated days out of school. Her aunt took her to a sliding-scale clinic, where a doctor suggested that the headaches were caused by vision strain. She was referred to Lions Lighthouse for an eye exam and new glasses. Nicole has been living with her aunt the past five years, since her mother’s debilitating stroke. Although determined to raise Nicole well, Auntie Jackie has avascular necrosis and the only income the two of them have is disability insurance. This, in no way, dampens Nicole’s enthusiasm for activities she loves. At the top of the list is community service, which she began years before it was a school requirement. Nicole volunteers weekly at her church suppers, “sometimes they even let me peel potatoes,” She also regularly visits nursing homes, has volunteered for river clean-up projects, and has built bookshelves in primary schools. With all of these activities, Nicole still finds time for creative outlets. In a school talent show, she sang a song in Japanese, which she taught herself. And for the past year-and-a-half, she has daily been working on a novel about social issues. Several of Nicole’s teachers have offered to edit the completed book, which is already 600 pages long. This 10th grader is someone who needed the Lighthouse to be able to see. Nicole Cox is also someone to watch! “I was so excited when my glasses came in the mail!” said Nicole. “I didn’t know how bad my vision had been until I put the new glasses on. It took a few days of wearing them, but now my headaches are completely gone. And they look great on me! I got to pick out exactly one ones I wanted.”