Most kids with vision problems don’t look past the tip of their own nose when it comes to the issue of prescription eyewear. But not Yash Gupta, a 15-year-old high school junior from Irvine. His vision has extended well past the lenses on his own face to the thousands who have benefitted from his nonprofit, Sight Learning.

Gupta has been selected as a 2012 Build-A-Bear Workshop Huggable Hero for the outstanding work he has done to provide eyewear for those who can’t afford it. He joins 15 other remarkable youth from the United States and Canada who have demonstrated outstanding community leadership and service.

Each Huggable Hero receives $10,000 – a $7,500 educational scholarship as well as $2,500 from the Build-A-Bear Workshop Foundation to donate to the charity of their choice. Winners will also travel as a group to perform acts of service at St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis, TN, and to the world headquarters of Build-A-Bear Workshop in St. Louis.

Gupta’s website (sightlearning.com) launched in January of 2011, and with the help of many Irvine optometrists who have placed collection bins in their offices, has collected over $70,000 worth of eyewear to donate. His goal is to hit the $100k mark by this November.

As Founder and CEO of Sight Learning, Gupta approximates he spends up to 25 hours a week facilitating his collections efforts with optometry offices and organizing eye exam clinics throughout the world.

His greatest accomplishment to date has been the international clinics he has hosted, one in Tijuana, Mexico and the other in Copan, Honduras, which combined treated over 5,000 people.

“After giving them a pair of glasses – the first they had ever received in their lives – the emotion, joy, and excitement they exhibited made the work Sight Learning has done that much more special,” said Gupta.

“To see first hand that the work you are doing is helping someone is a great feeling, and I’m glad we’ve been able to make an impact.”

Gupta first heard about the Huggable Heroes competition while searching online for scholarships, and was soon after nominated by his guidance counselor for the award. He was chosen as one of 80 semi-finalists, then progressed through the rounds of competition to being named one of 15 Huggable Heroes.

Of the honor, Gupta said, “I’m very proud (to have been chosen) … There are so many amazing kids out there doing great things for the community, and I encourage my peers to do the same.”

A dedicated Eagle Scout who is also involved with Northwood High School clubs Model U.N., Mock Trial, FBLA, and as the sports page editor for his school’s newspaper, Gupta has a bright future ahead of him. He hopes to continue his philanthropy through Sight Learning and other organizations while also pursuing a career as either an entrepreneur or lawyer of some sort.

With Gupta’s stellar vision for making an impact on the world at just age 15, there’s no doubt lifelong success is within his sight.

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Autumn McAlpin is a local writer. She pens a weekly column for OC Moms called Cracking Up, in which she chronicles her crazy life as a mother of four.