Eureka, Ca., (KIEM) – Early detection is the key to preventing and successfully treating almost any medical condition, and the Eureka Lion’s Club is dedicated to helping people along the North Coast keep their vision sharp.
Saturday morning, amid the clink of coffee mugs and sounds of the final pancake breakfast (hosted by Humboldt Grange) of 2017, the Lions held a free “spot screening.”
“We focus primarily on the families that have children, because some eye concerns can be corrected if you get the child young enough.” Jerry Carter, the president of the Eureka Host Lion’s Club explains.
Volunteers gave their time to look at any pair of eyes (whether they belonged to an infant or a senior). Where children are concerned, Carter says the exams are not only a little bit easier, but especially helpful.
The Lion’s Club set up a similar screening booth at the Bike Rodeo earlier this month in Eureka. That day, Carter explained, volunteers checked the site of a child who was only a year and a half old. They found he had nearly perfect eye sight. At last year’s veteran’s stand down, they saw a three-year-old who had early signs of trouble.
In that child’s case, vision problems would not have been detected until they were enrolled in school. Because of the spot screening, the child’s parents were able to check in with an eye doctor and get on the path to correction.
The Lions volunteering Saturday were not doctors. They were prepared to check for seven different eye conditions, but their goal was to direct people who may not know where their vision sits on the spectrum to a physician if need be.
“In 1925 Helen Keller came to speak to the [Lion’s Club] convention of that year,” Carter
explains, “And she challenged Lion’s Club to become the knights for the blind, and from that time on, vision is our number one priority.”
The Lion’s Club has programs that provide financial support to families that cannot afford glasses. They also hold these sorts of events regularly.
“We enjoy doing this. The Lion’s Club is strictly a volunteer organization, a non-profit, and we never charge for any of the services we offer.” Carter says through a white beard (he’s growing it out to appear as Santa Claus in a Lion’s Club project in December), “We’re happy to do it, and we’re always looking for people in the community who would like to join us in what we do.”
