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A 12-year-old boy's experience with glasses is bringing tears to the eyes of many people.
Jonathan Jones' had the chance to try a special pair of lenses that allow the colorblind boy to see more colors.
The glasses were lent to him by his school principal who is also colorblind, an act that brought the boy to tears.
Jones' older brother, Ben and mother, Carole shared video of the event to their social media pages.
Jones' middle school class at Lakeview School in Cottonwood, Minnesota was learning about color vision deficiency. When his principal, Scott Hanson learned Jones has the same kind of color blindness he does, he brought in his glasses.
The lenses on these glasses are designed to filter and isolate specific wavelengths of light. This helps people with color vision deficiency differentiate more colors.
As Jones put the glasses on, he is overcome with emotion. The experience leaves him speechless as he can finally see what everyone else can see.
It's a touching moment for everyone to experience.
Carole Walter Jones / Facebook
Carole Walter Jones / Facebook
Carole Walter Jones / Facebook
Carole Walter Jones / Facebook
The principal suggests he stand to look at a colorful periodic table of elements. The rest of the class tells him to look at an illustration of a scene in the shape of their state.
He takes the glasses off and puts them on again, comparing the sight. At the end of the video, the principal offers to let Jones borrow the glasses for a little bit.
Jones' brother also shared the moment on his Twitter account.
The glasses are made by a company called EnChroma. As stated, they are engineered to isolate specific wavelengths of color based on the type and severity of the color deficiency in the individual.
Red-green color blindness is the most common type of deficiency, affecting seven to eight percent of the male population and about half a percent of females. Other kinds of color blindness exist, and the glasses need to be engineered for each individual's eyes.
Because of this, EnChroma glasses retail for around $350.
After the story went viral, many asked Carole to start a GoFundMe for her son to get a custom engineered pair.
The donations quickly reached the $350 goal set to get Jones his glasses. But the donations didn't stop there.
As the funds kept coming in, Carole stated that the extra funds would be used to donate extra pairs to other people with color vision deficiency who cannot afford the glasses.
She added the update:
"After posting a video on social media of Jonathan seeing color for the first time, we have been overwhelmed by how many kind, generous people have wanted to help him get a pair of his own color blind glasses."
"We've had multiple pairs donated to Jonathan and will use 100% of donated funds to purchase color blind glasses for those who can't afford them."
"The wonderful Enchroma company will be matching every pair we purchase with a free pair, which double the number of people we can help. You and your loved ones can take the color blindness test at Enchroma.com to see if you need color corrective glasses!"
"Thank you all for your love and compassion. We are overwhelmed and encouraged to know there are so many amazing people in this world who would help a young man they have never met."
"Please watch this page for announcements of what will be included in the application and selection process."
At time of writing, over $27,000 has been raised.
The still active GoFundMe is here.
In our modern world, other options exist to help people with color blindness. An app made by Vincent Fiorentini, a color-blind man himself, is designed to use your smartphone's camera to display information about the colors around you.
You can focus on an object and learn what the color is, and filter the world to show your friends how you see the world. It even has color modes to help color-blind people differentiate colors around them.
And for those with strictly red/green colorblindness, glasses cost significantly less. For under $100, people can get Pilestone Red-Green Color Blind Glasses TP-025 Titanium Coated Purple Lenses Both Outdoor and Indoor Use, available here.
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