Alaska Vision Program
Under the leadership of Lion Esther West, Benton Bay Athletic Lions Club is sponsoring a new Lions Club "Anchorage Knights of the Blind" to take the lead role in coordinating the vision screening program for the area. Contact Lion Esther if you want more information with this program.
May is Healthy Vision Month
Fellow Lions,
Did you know that more than 11 million Americans have common vision problems such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, and/or presbyopia? While this number may sound alarming, the good news is that these problems can be detected through a comprehensive dilated eye exam and are easily corrected with the use of prescriptive eyewear such as glasses or contact lenses.
May is Healthy Vision Month, a national eye health observance in the United States. The focus this year is to reduce uncorrected visual impairment due to refractive errors. Healthy Vision Month is sponsored by the National Eye Health Education Program (NEHEP) of the National Eye Institute. Lions Clubs International is a member of NEHEP and works closely with them to promote healthy vision in our communities.
In order to help your Lions Club educate the public about healthy vision month and the role regular eye exams play in maintaining good eye health, NEHEP has developed a variety of resources available in a Healthy Eyes ToolKit. It includes a variety of resources such as web links, e-cards, print and radio public service announcements (PSAs), sample text messages, drop-in articles, fact sheets, and downloadable posters, bookmarks, and stickers that can be used to promote the importance of eye exams. http://www.healthyvision2010.nei.nih.gov/hvm/ and http://www.nei.nih.gov/healthyeyestoolkit/
Lions Clubs play an important part in eye health promotion in their communities.
Please join LCI and NEI in our efforts to elevate vision health as a priority. Please let us know if you have participated in an activity to promote eye health in May. We want to hear from you. lcif@lionsclubs.org.
Sincerely,
Lion Mahendra Amarasuriya
LCIF Chairperson, 2008-09