American Icon: Bono

 

Some things are just meant to be together:

  • Peanut butter and jelly
  • Batman and Robin
  • Bono and sunglasses

The singer’s sunglasses have long been thought to be a part of his rock n’ roll persona. That is until last year when he admitted that he has suffered from glaucoma for more than two decades. And with that revelation, U2 fans realized his sunglasses were more than just eye candy. 

Now, the charismatic singer is using his vision problems as a platform for addressing greater change. Recently, Bono and Revo Eyewear announced they would be collaborating on an initiative known as “Buy Vision, Give Sight.” The goal is to help prevent vision impairment and blindness in more than 5 million people by the year 2020.

Bono and Revo will work to raise $10 million for the nonprofit Brien Holden Vision Institute, money that will go to pay for access to eye screening, prescription glasses and eye health care for those in under-resourced communities throughout the world. These are the poorest of the poor who don’t have access to glasses, let alone a basic eye exam.

To change that, Revo will donate $10 for each pair of eyeglasses it sells. And Bono will introduce his own line of Revo sunglasses – the same ones he has been wearing on U2’s Innocence + Experience Tour – later this fall.

As part of the announcement, Bono called sight a “human right,” adding that “poor eyesight may not be life-threatening, but it dramatically affects your life and your livelihood if you aren’t able to access it.”

This is just another reason (see his charitable work in fighting AIDS and poverty) that Bono rocks for more than just his music.

In honor of our latest icon, we’re offering a 20% discount on all Revo sunglasses through the end of August to help Bono and Revo reach their fundraising goal. Make sure to type in U22015 when checking out.

Words of an Icon:  “To be one, to be united is a great thing. But to respect the right to be different is maybe even greater.” - Bono