The “eyes” have it!
Most people familiar with Lions Clubs are aware of their commitment to eyesight. Many know of their collections of used eyeglasses.
KidSight is another of the many ways Lions Clubs work to improve eyesight. It is a program organized by the Iowa Lions which conducts free vision screenings for children from six months through six years old. Local club members take the photos. Screening results are interpreted by the University of Iowa Department of Ophthalmology.
Screenings began with efforts of the Rowan Lions Club. Current club president Rhonda Benton said, “In May of 2000, Berne Ketchum, Marge Osier, Lois and Ray Beyer started screening children in the Belmond and Clarion schools. The Beyers were especially passionate about their work.” The process includes permission from families, a picture of a child’s eyes using a special camera, and then sending the images to Iowa City looking for possible vision problems. If any are detected, the child is referred on for further testing.
The Rowan Lions have been honored for their twenty years of service to the KidSight program.
The needed exam camera was purchased with donations from Lions Clubs plus a grant from the Wright County Charitable Foundation. The camera is shared by Lions Clubs across Lions District 9NC.
While screening work was slowed or delayed with COVID restrictions, it continues. Belmond Lions Club member and camera operator, LeeAnn Waltzing, enjoys her volunteer work in the Belmond schools and day care settings. “It feels good to help others in this way,” she said. “It would be good to have even more people doing this or other volunteer work.” She said most recently she took some over 30 screenings with most passing; two photos had to be retaken; four are being monitored; and one had to be referred.
Both Barb Dooley and Becky Wachowiak with the Eagle Grove Lions Club, said their efforts with screening kids’ eyes began in Eagle Grove in 2014. Wachowiak said, “We work with the preschool and kindergarten students, Eagle Wings Daycare, and any home school students. This year we had three referrals that needed to be followed up.” She said the most common referral is amblyopia (lazy eye), which is curable, but it must be taken care of at an early age or it could go so far as to cause blindness.
One of Wachowiak’s most memorable Iowa KidSight recollections was her volunteering at the KidSight booth at the Iowa State Fair. “A mother with a cute four-year-old boy with glasses, came by the booth to thank us for our work,” she said. “Mom was pretty skeptical about filling in paperwork about her son and family with strangers. But the information which the family got back found that what her son had, could have led to blindness.”
In the twenty plus years of Lions volunteer efforts in Wright County, thousands of children have been screened by KidSight volunteers.
Benton said, “The Iowa Lions Foundation and local clubs support many agencies dedicated to improved vision for all ages, like the Iowa Lions Eye Bank, University of Iowa Cochlear Implant Centers, and Eyeglasses Service Project. We are especially proud of Iowa KidSight. By helping young children overcome vision problems, it sets them on the path to better learning and a better life.”
