Vision Loss Rehabilitation Canada (VLRC) has presented Manitoulin Transport with its 2026 Distinguished Community Partner Award, recognizing more than 40 years of support for the organization’s Eye Van program. The award was presented June 15 at VLRC’s Sudbury office.

A fully equipped mobile clinic, the Eye Van offers ophthalmological care to underserved and remote areas throughout Northern Ontario. It serves approximately 4,000 patients annually in communities where access to specialized eye care is limited or unavailable.

Manitoulin Transport has supported the program’s logistics and transportation needs since the 1980s, helping the mobile clinic reach remote communities across the region.

“The Distinguished Community Partner Award demonstrates that partnerships are able to make a meaningful change in people’s lives,” said Jennifer Urosevic, VLRC’s president and CEO. “Because of Manitoulin Transport’s generous support, thousands of patients across Northern Ontario have received the eye care they need.”

“Manitoulin supports the communities in which it operates, and forty years ago, we saw an opportunity to help VLRC bridge the geographic gaps in eye care. We are proud to play a role in keeping this essential mobile clinic on the road and reaching patients who need it most in underserved and remote areas of Northern Ontario,” added Jeff Smith, vice chairman of the Manitoulin Group of Companies.

VLRC also operates the Eye Health Screening Initiative (EHSI), which screens for diabetic retinopathy, a preventable cause of vision loss. The EHSI runs in underserved, remote, and Indigenous communities across Canada.