Eyeglasses & Hearing Aids Collection
The Willmar Noon Lions collect used eyeglasses and hearing aids at 10 current locations within the City of Willmar. The Lions Recycle For Sight Program provides eyeglasses to children and adults throughout the world. The locations to drop off eyeglasses and hearing aids in the community are:
America’s Best Hearing – Skylark Mall, 1604 1st St. S.
Carris Eyes & Optical Center, Skylark Mall, 1604 1st St.
Family Eye Center – 1801 19th Ave. SW
Shopko Optical - 2404 S. First Street
New 2 You Thrift Store, 1401 1st St. S., Ste 1
Pearle Vision- 2404 S. First Street
Vision Works, in Mall, 1605 1st Street S.
Walmart Eye Center, 700 19th Ave. SE
Willmar Community Center, 624 Hwy 71 NE
Kandiyohi County Historical Society Museum, 610 Hwy 71 NE
We give thanks to each of these businesses that partner with our club for our collection process. Through the 30 plus years the Willmar Noon Lions have collected many thousands of eyeglasses and hearing aids that have been sent to sorting and distribution centers that end up being used by persons throughout the world.
"Through Recycle for Sight, Lions collect new and gently used eyeglasses. The glasses are then shipped to the nearest Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center, where volunteers sort the glasses, clean them, and determine their prescription strength. After carefully packaging the refurbished spectacles, Lions store them until they can be distributed, usually through humanitarian missions to developing nations."
KidSight Eye Screening Program
The Willmar Noon Lions participates in the Lions' KidSight USA program, in conjunction with MD5M Lions KidSight and the Minnesota Lions Vision Foundation. The Club has been trained and has provided children eye screenings at various community locations and events. The advanced equipment that is utilized is the Welch Allyn Spot Vision Screener, which is a handheld, portable device designed to help users quickly and accurately detect vision issues. The screenings are aimed primarily for children aged 6 months to 6 years old, however, older children are also screened.
KidSight vision screening produces images of a child's eyes to determine the presence of eye disorders including far- and near - sightedness, lazy-eye, astigmatism, anisometropia (unequal refractive power), strabismus (misaligned eyes), and media opacities (e.g., cataracts). No physical contact is made with a child and no eye drops are used during the eye screening. This screening is approximately 85 to 90 percent effective in detecting problems that can cause reduced vision. The only requirement we have is that we have a parent consent form that needs to be completed and signed before we may give an eye screening. The Club provides follow-up contact with parents that have tested positive - needing a professional eye exam, to ask if an appointment has been made and, if not, how Lions can be of assistance.
Why this Program is Important:
About 7 to 15 percent of children screened will be referred for follow-up exam by an eye-care professional.
Early screening leads to early detection, which helps ensure that children get the follow-up care they need. Our Club wants to make sure that correctible vision problems don't stand in the way of our children learning and seeing the world clearly. Many vision problems run the risk of becoming permanent vision if not corrected by the age seven, when the eye reaches full maturity. Vision also plays a significant role in education. According to education experts, 80 percent of learning is visual.
According to the University of Michigan, Kellogg Eye Center: "Amblyopia, affecting up to 4 percent of all children, must be diagnosed and treated as early as possible during infancy or early childhood to prevent vision loss and to allow for development of optimal stereo or 3-dimensional vision."
Vision screening can have a significant impact on children's educational outcome. A recent university study, conducted over one year, concluded that children's academic test scores improved approximately one school year of extra schooling after they had been identified with vision impairment and received eyeglasses.
Please contact the Willmar Noon Lions Club if you are interested in the Club provide KidSight eye screening at:
- Community events where parents bring their children
- School Pre-Kindergarten Screenings and other school events
- Childcare Centers
The Club needs t reserve the screening equipment from Lions District 5M4, thus please give as much advance notice as possible.
Diabetes
Lions Clubs International has made diabetes a major priority in the upcoming years.
Our Challenge
Diabetes is a modern epidemic. It’s global. It’s lifelong. And it’s growing.
1 in 11 adults have diabetes (more than 425 million)
1 in 2 remain undiagnosed (more than 212 million)
Over one million children and adolescents have Type 1 diabetes
75% of people with diabetes live in low-and moderate-income countries
629 million people will have diabetes by 2045.
12% of global health expenditures are diabetes related
4 million people die from diabetes each year.
Our Mission
The mission of Lions and Leos is twofold:
Reduce the prevalence of diabetes
Improve quality of life for those diagnosed.
Our Approach
Four goals will guide our service, enabling us to fulfill our mission:
Increase awareness of diabetes and its associated risks
Prevent the development of new cases of Type 2 diabetes
Enable the successful management of Type 1, Type 2, and gestational diabetes
Improve access to affordable, high-quality care, medication and devices.
Learn how you can make a difference at fightdiabetes.lionsclubs.org
November is Diabetes Awareness Month
Warning Signs of Diabetes:
Frequent urination
Excessive thirst
Increased hunger
Weight loss
Tiredness
Blurred vision
Frequent infections
Slow healing wounds
Vomiting and stomach pain (often mistaken as the flu)
Lack of interest and concentration
Tingling sensation or numbness in the hands and feet.
Complications of Diabetes:
Poorly managed diabetes leads to serious complications:
Eye disease
Cardiovascular disease
Kidney disease
Nerve damage
Amputation
Pregnancy complications
Good News! You can prevent or delay the onset of Type 2 diabetes through a healthy lifestyle:
Change your diet
Increase your level of physical activity
Maintain a healthy weight.
