A Concord optometrist and her husband spent two days in a Guatemalan elementary school in February, fitting children with glasses many had never owned. Now they need the community's help to go back.
What they accomplished in just two days.
Dr. Susan Folgar O'Shea and Carlos Folgar, 10-year Concord residents, performed 140 eye exams and distributed 95 pairs of glasses to students and parents at a rural school in Pastores, Guatemala, according to The Concord Bridge. Their son Razvan, a May 2026 Concord-Carlisle High School graduate, helped alongside local school staff.
"We take for granted how easy we have access to vision care," Carlos Folgar said. "These kids, I would show them a piece of paper with letters on it, and they were struggling to see it. … Some of them have never in their whole life been able to see that way."
How a foundation that sat dormant for years finally found its purpose.
Folgar O'Shea founded the Patrick J Eyecare Foundation in 2018, naming it after her father, who depended on prescription eyewear his entire life. The nonprofit's mission sat unused for years until Carlos suggested Guatemala, where his family is from and where he speaks the language. His cousin, Margarita Mazariegos, an elementary school principal in Pastores, coordinated the trip's logistics — dates, location, and which students would be seen. The couple covered all expenses themselves, about $15,000 total, packing roughly 250 pairs of donated glasses collected from Folgar O'Shea's Brookline practice, Kenmore Optical, and fellow optometrists.
The work itself, one child at a time.
Folgar O'Shea performed 80 exams the first day and 60 the second, with Carlos then matching each student to the closest available prescription. Not every child left with glasses — the team could only work with the specific lenses that had been donated, a real limitation on how many kids they could fully help.
Why they're going back — and why they need support this time.
Seven additional schools in Pastores have since asked for the foundation's help. The couple plans to return in August and hopes to bring a second optometrist and more staff if funding allows. A Zeffy fundraiser is aiming for $20,000 to cover the trip, though the campaign has gotten off to a slow start. Folgar O'Shea acknowledged fundraising isn't something the couple has done much of before, but she's hoping to connect with local donors looking for a meaningful, tax-deductible cause.
How to help.
Donations are tax-deductible through the 501(c)(3) foundation. More information is available at patrickjeyecarefoundation.org.
