Newsroom > People & Purpose > Charitable Giving > PECAA Gives Celebrates Anniversary with Record Donation
Boca Raton, Fla. – Professional Eye Care Associates of America (PECAA) members, strategic vendor partners, industry leaders and employees donated more than $41,000 to Orlando youth literacy program Page 15 during the 2025 PECAA Annual Meeting held in Orlando from April 9-11. The donation marks the largest amount given to a recipient since the inception of charitable giving program PECAA Gives in 2016 and comes as the program celebrates its 10th anniversary. To date, the program has provided over a quarter of a million dollars to 10 local, youth-based nonprofits in the cities across the country that have hosted PECAA’s Annual Meeting.
PECAA President Jonathan Worrall said, “For the last 10 years, the PECAA community has shown up to give back to local nonprofits through donations at the Annual Meeting because we believe in supporting the cities that support us. It’s efforts like these that demonstrate the compassion of our members and vendor partners and how they use their collective scale to benefit communities in need across the country.”
Founded in 2008, this year’s beneficiary, Page 15, focuses on advancing literacy, growing confidence, managing emotions and building empathy in children through after-school programs, summer camps, events and community collaborations. The organization serves hundreds of local children annually and supported 628 young creatives in 2024 alone.
“This incredible donation supports our mission to empower young writers,” said Page 15 Executive Director Julia Young. “We thank PECAA members and their vendor partners for ‘seeing’ the power in every young voice.”
With community at the core of PECAA’s values, leaving a positive imprint in host cities that welcome PECAA’s signature in-person event has long been a priority. PECAA Gives launched in 2016 when the Annual Meeting visited New Orleans and donated to the Edna Karr High School Marching Band. The event was memorably marked by attendees parading through the rainy streets of the Crescent City, led by the powerful and festive sound of the band.
Since then, PECAA Gives has continued to donate to youth-centered nonprofits that uplift children experiencing hardship or managing an illness or impairment through music, art and daily necessities like shoes and bags, including: Goodie Two Shoes (2024); My Bag, My Story (2023); Academy of Music performance (2022); Indiana Blind Children’s Foundations (2021); Art from Ashes (2020); Anthropos Arts (2019); Beads of Courage (2018); and the W.O. Smith Music School (2017).
Beads of Courage Chief Mission Officer Jean Gribbon, PhD, RN, recently said, “The PECAA Annual Meeting was transformational for our organization. Sharing our mission with so many people and recieving the funds that we needed to help provide more beads for children coping with cancer and other serious illnesses was a real gift.”
“PECAA Gives was created organically after our site visit to New Orleans in 2016 ahead of the Annual Meeting,” said PECAA Gives Program Manager Jenny Wiley. “We fell in love the community and envisioned a way to say ‘thank you’ and leave the city a little better off than we found it, and PECAA Gives was born. For 10 years, we’ve been extremely honored to play a small part in helping local organizations serve their neighbors in need.”
About PECAA PECAA is the nation’s most connected community of independent eye care professionals dedicated to the success of private practice. Our comprehensive suite of membership options — PECAA Max, PECAA Launch and PECAA Propel — is designed to support ECPs at every stage of their private practice career, from student to established professional. Membership in the PECAA community unlocks access to essential resources such as group purchasing power with exclusive vendor pricing and rebates, peer networking and idea exchange, expert business advisory services, and industry-best education and training. Learn more and begin receiving all the benefits of PECAA membership today by visiting pecaa.com or calling 800.959.2020, option 3.