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A 5-year old peeked inside a big van. Volunteers in yellow vests welcomed her and asked her dad to stand aside, giving her a big spoon to cover one eye. As they pointed to images on an eye chart, the girl rapidly listed off apple, circle and square, stumbling with word pronunciation but seeing perfectly.

The Anacortes Lions Club provided free vision and hearing screenings to more than 130 pre-k students last week at the Anacortes School Districts Kindergarten Roundup.

Joe Kantor, an Anacortes Lion of 16 years, helped run the screenings with his wife Linda Kantor, a Lion of 10 years, and Colette Arvidson, a Lion of one year.

In their signature yellow vests, the Lions guided children through the vans four sight and hearing stations. They placed oversized headphones on small heads and played sounds of varying frequencies.

The vision portion included more than just eye charts. At the end of the screening, a Lion held up in front of each kid a portable device called a Spot Vision Screener, which provides instant feedback on astigmatisms, nearsightedness and farsightedness in left and right eyes.

The van also features a sound-proof room for advanced hearing testing for older children.

Since they personally became involved with the screenings, the Kantors have seen fewer students who need eyeglasses and hearing aids as older students, they said.

I think weve been very successful in improving hearing and vision problems, Joe Kantor said.

The particular van belongs to the Northwest Lions Foundation and serves more than 35,000 students and several thousand adults in Washington and Northern Idaho each year. The Anacortes group makes a special effort to raise the funds and volunteers to bring the van back each year, testing a total of 1,200 first, second, third, fifth and seventh graders, special needs children and pre-kindergarten students.

Its an amazing gift, said Whitney School Principal Kevin Schwartz at the Roundup.

The Lions Club International is the largest community service organization in the world with 1.4 million members.

In 1927, Helen Keller challenged the Lions to do something for the blind community. Since then, the clubs emphasis has been on improving vision and preventing blindness.

The Anacortes club has 21 dues-paying members, the smallest service club in town. Each year the club pays for eyeglasses and hearing aids for local residents who cant afford them, provides two $1,500 scholarships to Anacortes High School graduates, runs a concession program, sponsors the annual downtown Christmas Parade and more.

Lions sell 300 flags a year to local businesses to be displayed on eight flag holidays, which is the clubs major source of funding. All funds raised go toward Lions causes, and members pay administrative costs out of their dues.

Last year, the Anacortes Lions Club celebrated its 80th anniversary.

Colette Arvidson joined the Lions last year because her husband is legally blind.

Its a natural fit, Arvidson said.

Every May, the Lions host a White Cane Days drive to raise funds for cornea surgery worldwide. The club hands out small white canes to help inform the public that white canes are typically used by those who are visually impaired.

For 20 years, Lions Mike and Pat Parker of Longview have traveled around the Northwest with the van, coordinating with local Lions volunteers to adminster the screenings. After last weeks Roundup, the van headed to Yakima.

One thing we would certainty like to get is more members, because we just have too small a group, Joe Kantor said.

The Lions meet at 6:30 p.m. the second the fourth Thursdays of each month at San Juan Lanes, 2821 Commercial Ave.

The rest is here:
Lions sponsor sight-and-hearing van for students - goanacortes

This entry was posted on May 3, 2017 at 9:43 am and is filed under Eye Sight & Vision. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |