by Dennis Dalman
For many years International Lions’ clubs have been renowned for their efforts to help people restore their vision, and now the Sartell Lions Club will strengthen those efforts with two programs – a renewed emphasis on collecting used eyeglasses and school eye exams.
KidsSight
This eye-exam program is a joint project between the Sartell Lions Club and the schools. It is headed by Zachary Dingmann, principal of Riverview Intermediate School, who also happens to be a member of the 22-member Sartell Lions Club.
Not too long ago, Sartell Lions members heard a coordinator talk about KidsSight, and the group “got all fired up” about the program, said Lions President Stu Giffin in an interview with the Newsleaders.
In so many cases, vision problems in young children go undetected for years. Lions KidsSight programs throughout the nation are doing something about the problem. In Sartell, students in K-5 will be tested for vision problems. It’s easily done. A vision expert holds a device the size of half a shoebox in front of a child’s eyes, and in just seconds vision problems can be detected. Giffin said that, based on other KidsSight programs in the nation, it’s quite probable that 8 to 9 percent of children tested in Sartell will need a second eye exam by an optometrist.
Recyling eyeglasses
Throughout the years, the Lions clubs in the area, sometimes partnering with others, collected hundreds of thousands of used eyeglasses from people and then gave them to others – locally and worldwide – who were badly in need of vision corrections.
Giffin noted for many years there was just one eyeglass drop-off site in Sartell – St. Francis Xavier Church. Now there are seven sites where people can donate used glasses to the Sartell Lions.
St. Francis Xavier Church at its Gathering Place building: 219 Second St. N.; Celebration Lutheran Church: 1500 Pinecone Road N.; Country Manor (senior-living center): 520 First St. NE.; Sailer Chiropractic: 234 Pinecone Road S., Suite B; CentraCare (Sartell) Clinic: 251 CR 120; The CentraCare Eye Center: 2000 23rd St. S. in Sartell; and Coborn’s Pharmacy: 1725 Pinecone Road.
In addition to those sites, a temporary drop-off site has just been added: The annual Sartell Lions Club’s Spring Clean-Up day. This year it’s set for 8 a.m.-noon, Saturday, April 20 in the parking lot of Sartell Riverview Intermediate School. People who bring household items to the clean-up day might also want to bring any unused pairs of eyeglasses if they happen to have some. For more about the Lions Clean-Up Day, look for a story in an upcoming Sartell Newsleader.
Sartell Lions member Denny Hartman chairs the eyeglass-collection efforts.
Urgent needs
Giffin pointed out the many reasons why recycled eyeglasses are so crucial and so appreciated by their recipients.
Globally, one child in four cannot see well enough to learn to read without glasses.
By age 40, 90 percent of adults experience a decrease in their ability to read print; thus, they badly need eyeglasses.
For many poverty-stricken people, a pair of eyeglasses is either unaffordable or inaccessible. In developing countries, an eye exam can cost as much as one month’s wages, and just one eye doctor sometimes serves a community of hundreds of thousands of people.
Many countries lack the resources to manufacture quality lenses.
Millions fail to reach their economic, educational and social potential without access to quality glasses.
According to the World Health Organization, the eyesight of one-fourth of the world’s population could be improved with corrective lenses.
Join the Lions
The Sartell Lions Club was chartered in 1965. Since then it has done countless good deeds and amenities for the city and its residents. Its signature development was the creation of Lions Community Park, which is handicapped accessible. Just this past year, an all-inclusive playground was added to that park, thanks to a partnership among the Lions clubs of Sartell, LeSauk Township, St. Stephen, with help and input from Sartell and the school district.
The Lions and Leos (youth chapters) provide support in five service areas: diabetes, the environment, hunger, vision and pediatric cancer.
Sartell Lions are just one of many chapters of the International Lions, well known for their efforts to eradicate preventable blindness, as well as programs and donations, such as assisting those in need, sponsoring international exchanges for youth, providing supplies to victims of natural disasters and bringing clean drinking water to remote villages.
The Sartell Lions meet for 90 minutes once a month. Dues are $100 annually.
To learn more about the Sartell Lions and how to join, visit the following website: https://e-clubhouse.org/sites/sartell.
Or visit its Facebook pager at https://www.facebook.com/p/Sartell-Lions-Club-100067090933536/.
Ella Voeller, a North Dakota girl, is extremely happy with her new pink eyeglasses she received, thanks to help from the Prairie Rose Lions Club of Bismark, N.D. Ella is now fascinated by everything around her because she can now see a whole new wide world.
