They Care for Eye Care
By Mark Loehrke
Local Lions Clubs focus on vision-related services
The changes were subtle, but in January Joe and Michelle Kouba noticed their 4-year-old daughter was holding books closer to her face and coloring with her head resting on the table. Coincidentally, a note came home from her preschool about free vision screenings via a partnership with the Aurora Lions Club. Sure enough, as a result of the screening, the pre-K student was referred to an eye doctor, who diagnosed nearsightedness and prescribed glasses. The improvement was immediate.
Laureen Baumgartner has an even more serious story. Back in June 2021, the recreation supervisor at Fox Valley Park District’s Blackberry Farm participated in a free vision screening offered by the Lions Club’s mobile unit. Even though Baumgartner noticed no symptoms, because of the screening she was advised to seek follow-up care that led to an early diagnosis of choroidal melanoma, which was treated with proton therapy. Today she is cancer free.
With vision as one of the core missions of Lions Clubs worldwide, these two serendipitous examples represent just a fraction of the impact the Aurora Lions Club has had on the community through its eye-health efforts. Through its Children’s Vision Program, the club provides free vision screenings for children of all ages, with a focus on identifying vision development concerns and children who may benefit from a comprehensive eye examination (during its last fiscal year, more than 400 children took advantage of these screenings). The program also partners with organizations like the Fox Valley Park District, Family Focus, and Fox Valley United Way’s SPARK program to provide additional screenings throughout the community.
“The response from the community has been overwhelmingly positive,” says Susan Koepke, co-chair of the Children’s Vision Program. “We are committed to increasing awareness of the importance of children’s vision and encouraging families to make vision care a regular part of their child’s overall well-being. One of the most important messages we share with parents is that children don’t know what normal vision looks like. If they’ve always seen the world blurry, they assume everyone else does too. That’s why regular vision screenings are so important.”
Koepke says the club also works with the Lions of Illinois to host a Mobile Screening Unit, which provides adults with free vision and hearing screenings that can help detect conditions such as glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, and hearing loss. And, like many Lions Clubs, the Aurora club also collects and recycles used prescription eyeglasses, reading glasses, and sunglasses for reuse around the world.
Given that it operates under the same Lions global umbrella, the Naperville Noon Lions Club similarly prioritizes vision health among its many community-focused initiatives. Specifically, social services co-chair Donna Kearney says the club provides funding for eye exams and eyeglasses to Naperville residents that cannot otherwise afford these services, including children referred by school nurses in District 203 and District 204. The Noon Lions also conduct screenings at local daycare centers and at various community events throughout the year.
Kearney says these efforts all feed into the club’s mission to help build a healthier and stronger Naperville. “Access to proper vision care is not just about eyesight, it’s the foundation to a child’s ability to learn, engage, and succeed,” she notes. “That’s why we believe these screenings are so important—because of what they can do for the individual, and by extension, for the community.”
The Aurora Lions Club provides free children’s vision screenings on the third Saturday of every month, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., in the Children’s Department of the Aurora Public Library, 101 S. River St. in Aurora. For more information, visit auroralionsclub.org.
For details on upcoming events and activities for the Naperville Noon Lions, visit napervillenoonlions.org.
Photo: Al Benson
