Lions Club seeks funds to help kids’ vision

Eye doctors say that one in four children struggle with reading and learning as a result of undiagnosed vision problems.

Many vision disorders, if they are undetected, become permanent after age 7, experts say — a statistic that has prompted the community service organization Lions Club International to take an interest in young children’s eye health.

The Smithville Noon Lions Club has taken on the task of assessing vision problems in Bastrop County.

With a Plus Optics vision machine it shares with the neighboring communities of La Grange, Giddings and Round Top, the organization has screened 1,800 children in the past year by visiting schools, day care centers and early learning centers in the region, member Leah Saunders said.

The club, however, is struggling to reach all the children in the county with the shared machine.

“The kids we are serving in Bastrop County are more than all of those other children combined,” Saunders said. “We are having difficulty when it comes to scheduling. We don’t have enough machines.”

The organization is raising funds to purchase its own $5,800 Plus Optics machine.

Bastrop County recently promised to contribute half the money, $2,900, by approving an amendment to its 2017-18 budget. It will be up to the Lions Club to raise the other half.

Donations are accepted by phone at 512-629-6937 or by mailing a check to P.O. Box 969, Smithville, TX 78957. The group has raised about $500.

“We just need a little more,” Saunders said.

The Plus Optics machine detects 18 different eye diseases, Saunders said. Lions Club volunteers screen children ages 6 months to 6 years at no cost. If they notice anything amiss, they refer the children to a local eye doctor — sometimes contributing money to help with the expense.

The organization has tested all of the kids in the Smithville school district and most in Bastrop schools. It is now starting to test children in the Elgin school district. With a new machine, it expects to reach at least 2,500 kids in 2018.

“It’s very important for us to get to kids while they are still young,” Saunders said. “Most learning is visual. At such a young age, preschool and elementary, you can get behind very quickly. The last thing we want is any children to fall behind.”