EnChroma Launches International Color Blindness Awareness Month
– Over 50 Organizations Pledge to Generate Awareness for the Prevalence and Effects of Color Blindness on Learning, Daily Life, the Arts, Nature and at Work –
BERKELEY, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#enchroma—EnChroma, Inc. – creators of glasses for color blindness – today announced the launch of International Color Blindness Awareness Month. During the entire month of September, EnChroma and over 50 museums, libraries, school districts, state and federal parks, universities, tourism agencies, and Lions and Kiwanis Clubs will make social media posts and publish other communications designed to educate their members, students, communities and/or followers about Color Vision Deficiency (CVD, or “color blindness”).
“We are pleased that so many esteemed institutions have joined EnChroma to promote International Color Blindness Month to educate the world about the impact color vision deficiency has on people at work, in school, and in fully appreciating art or the colors of nature,” said Erik Ritchie, CEO of EnChroma. “More awareness will result in fewer daily frustrations for color blind people and more accessibility.”
Color blindness affects one in 12 men (8%) and one in 200 women (.5%); 350 million people worldwide. While people with normal color vision see over one million shades of color, those with Color Vision Deficiency only see an estimated 10% of hues and shades. Common color confusions include green and yellow, gray and pink, purple and blue, and red can appear brown. Click here for images depicting color blindness.
The 50+ organizations supporting International Color Blindness Month include:
| • Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, NM | • Boston University, MA | • Faber-Castell, Germany |
| • North Carolina State University, NC | • Birmingham Museum of Art, AL | • Anythink Libraries, CO |
| • Museum of Contemporary Art Denver | • Penn State University, Forensic Science Dept., PA | |
| • J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, FL | • Fondazione Paolina Brugnatelli, Milan, Italy | |
| • Lions Club, District L, NC | • Clinton-Macomb Public Library, MI | • Cantigny Park, IL |
| • Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, MO | • School District of New London, WI | • Nahant Public Library, MA |
| • Johnson County Public Library, IN | • Dallas Museum of Art, TX | • Lions Club, Adams, MN |
| • RISD, Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, RI | • St. Johns County Public Libraries, FL | |
| • Alfred University, NY | • Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, FL | • i.d.e.a. Museum, AZ |
| • Central High School (D301), IL | • Kiwanis Club of Findlay, OH | • Shelburne Museum, VT |
| • Glen Ridge Public Library, NJ | • Lions Club, District I, NC | • Downers Grove Public Library, IL |
| • National Museum of Wildlife Art, WY | • Motlow State Community College, TN | • Mulvane Art Museum, KS |
| • Lions Club, District S, NC | • Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art, MO | • Spiva Center for the Arts, MO |
| • Eye See Color Project, FL | • Helsingin Optiikka Oy, Finland | • Plainfield Area Public Library, IN |
| • Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library, IN | •Technology Aids for the Blind & Visually Impaired, NC |
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| • Lions Club, District O, NC | • Unique Optiek BV, The Netherlands | • Lions Club, District N, NC |
| • Carolyn Campagna Kleefeld Contemporary Art Museum, CA | • Jonathan Jones Color Blind Fund, AZ | |
EnChroma encourages other organizations and individuals to promote color blindness awareness anytime in September by posting to social media, websites and other forums using any of the templates located here, and/or images showing the color blind view of various settings here.
EnChroma Color Accessibility Program
EnChroma continues to lead in advocating for “color accessibility” through its EnChroma Color Accessibility Program, in which over 150 organizations participate. The program helps public venues such as schools, state parks, libraries, museums, tourism bureaus, resorts and other organizations loan EnChroma glasses to color blind students and guests to help make schoolwork that involves color, colorful exhibits, attractions and/or experiences accessible to the color blind.
Through the program, EnChroma donates a pair of glasses to an organization for every pair it purchases. Materials to educate teachers, parents, employers and others about color blindness, and how to support color blind students, children, employees and visitors, are also provided. EnChroma encourages schools to easily and quickly test all students for color blindness using its free online color vision test. Email [email protected] to learn about the program.
EnChroma’s patented lens technology helps people with red-green color blindness see an expanded range of colors and see them more vibrantly, clearly and distinctly. Studies by world-renowned color vision scientists at the University of California, Davis and France’s INSERM Stem Cell and Brain Research Institute, and the University of the Incarnate Word, have demonstrated the effectiveness of EnChroma glasses.
Story Assets for Media
Visit our Media Kit to download user videos, photos of EnChroma glasses and b-roll.
About EnChroma
Based in Berkeley, Calif., EnChroma produces leading-edge eyewear for color blindness and low vision, and other solutions for color vision, sold online and through Authorized Retailers worldwide. Invented in 2010, EnChroma’s patented eyewear combines the latest in color perception, neuroscience and lens innovation to improve the lives of people with color vision deficiency around the world. EnChroma received an SBIR grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It earned the 2016 Tibbetts Award from the U.S. Small Business Administration in recognition of the firm’s innovative impact on the human experience through technology, and the 2020 Innovation Award in Life Sciences from the Bay Area’s East Bay Economic Development Alliance. Visit enchroma.com to learn more.
Contacts
Media Contact
Kent Streeb
Vice President of Communications and Partnerships
P: 530.908.9225
[email protected]
