Greene Lions John Brady, John Bennett and Roger Connelly conducting a vision screening at Greene Central School. (Photo by Bernie McDermott)

GREENE – In 1925, in a speech at the Lions International Convention, Helen Keller challenged Lions Clubs internationally to become “knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness.” Since then, Lions has risen to her challenge through the implementation of sight programs, with the Greene Lions Club participating locally in the Lions KidSight program.

The Greene Lions Club conducted its first vision screening in 2015 at the Greene Community Nursery School and the Greene Primary School Pre-Kindergarten. A little over 50 children were screened using a special camera that was on loan to the Club, known as a “Spot Vision” screener. This device can do a touchless scan from about three feet away and detect what are known as amblyopic risk factors, including nearsightedness, farsightedness and eye misalignment, among others.

Fast-forward to 2023 and the Greene Lions Club is still conducting these screenings, though with a newer Welch Allyn Spot Vision camera that was purchased via a grant from the Raymond Foundation. A group of volunteers including Roger Connelly, John Brady, Bruce Myers, Phil Martin, Phil Gagnon and John Bennett now scan over 1200 students per year from school districts such as Greene, Whitney Point, Chenango Forks and the Central Baptist Christian Academy. Using a new digital touchless technology, the camera used by Lions is able to provide an immediate pass/referral result, allowing an individual such as a School Nurse to notify parents if a referral is necessary. Typically, the referral rate is around 10%, though through several years of consistent exams a district can see this rate go down when corrective action is taken by parents when a referral is given. No matter what, each child is sent away from their screening with a sticker and smile to reward them for their patience and a job well-done.

Several Greene Lions Club members are certified in the KidSight process, so they are eligible to work with local School Districts and childcare centers to organize screening events. If you are interested in working with the Greene Lions Club to have a screening conducted at your facility, please contact Roger Connelly at chencarpet@aol.com.

– By Joe Roth, Greene Lions Club