Health & Wellness Archives | Greendale Lions Club

Seeing Is Believing!

“The only thing worse than being
blind is having sight, but no vision.”
Helen Keller

Helen Keller was (and is) an inspiration to many. Having lost her sight and hearing at 18 months of age, Helen Keller famously overcame her disabilities to become an American author, political activist and lecturer, also being the first deaf-blind person to earn a bachelor of arts degree.

THE CHALLENGE
Keller is remembered as a tireless advocate for people with disabilities: giving impassioned speeches, penning writings and raising awareness for the deaf and blind population. She campaigned for the promotion of the American Foundation for the Blind, calling for people and groups to foster and sponsor this newly formed institution. Invited to speak at the International Lions Convention in 1925, Helen Keller extended the challenge for Lions to become “knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness” – and they accepted.

Since then, the Lions work has included sight programs aimed at preventable blindness. Lions are known around the world for their service to the blind and visually impaired. From vision screenings and guide dog sponsorships to supporting pediatric eyecare centers, Lions have worked for nearly 100 years to improve the lives of people who are blind or living with low vision. What became a worldwide phenomenon can be traced back to the tireless work of this one extraordinary woman, Helen Keller.

RECYCLE FOR SIGHT
One of the most prominent Lions’ initiatives that supports
this cause is the Lions’ Eyeglass Recycling Program.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 120 million people are visually impaired because of uncorrected refractive errors (far- and near-sightedness). Refractive errors can be easily diagnosed, measured and corrected with eyeglasses, contact lenses or refractive surgery. Yet, millions of people lack access to these basic services.

The “Recycle for Sight” Program uses donated eyeglasses collected by Lions Clubs to help improve the quality of life for children and adults living in low- and middle-income communities around the world. Many will experience corrected vision for the first time, enabling them to lead productive working lives, support their families, attend school and advance their education.

Donated eyeglasses are collected in communities and shipped to the Wisconsin Eyeglass Recycling Center (ERC) – 800,000 used glasses are received each year. Each pair is visually inspected, then usable pairs are cleaned, the prescription is read by special equipment, categorized (there are 49 categories by gender and prescription), packaged in plastic, labeled, sorted, boxed and put into inventory. At any given time the ERC inventory available is about 125,000 pairs of glasses. These are provided without cost to sponsors of Vision Mission projects to developing countries. (Regulations discourage United States use.) Some mission groups are Lions, but there are many others, often including vision professionals.

It is here that the glasses are sorted to determine those that are usable or unusable, processed, and placed in inventory for distribution to optical missions around the world. Lions help to minimize landfill waste by supporting precious metal reclamation and scrap processing for damaged glasses that are unusable.

HERE IN GREENDALE: HOW YOU CAN HELP!
The Greendale Lions Club has been collecting eyeglasses from the community for many years, assisting with the “Recycling For Sight” effort. The Club has three sites in Greendale where there are official drop-box locations:

Greendale Post Office, 5741 Broad St.
America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses
5497 S. 76th St., (414) 423-0293
JC Penney Optical (in Southridge Mall)
5350 S. 76th St. (414) 423-4222

The Greendale community has been a HUGE supporter of this program. Lion Bob Massey (organizer of the Greendale Lions Club Recycle For Sight Program) is proud of the fact that he sends “about 200 pairs of glasses per month to the Wisconsin ERC from the Greendale collection boxes.” The Greendale Lions ask that you please continue this tradition and donate your used prescription glasses, including sunglasses and reading glasses, to help the Lions efforts both locally and worldwide.

Visit the Greendale Lions website at greendalelions.org/donate-eyeglasses/ for more information on what additional efforts the Club participates in to promote assistance for the blind and visually impaired.

Greendale Lions Support Healthy Snack Initiative for Students

From “LIFE IN THE VILLAGE” magazine, Spring 2019

With more than 1.4 million members and 45,000 clubs across the globe, Lions International is the largest service organization in the world. Today’s Lions are dedicated to helping those in need, just as they were more than 100 years ago when they were founded in 1917. At each Lions Club, talented and dedicated volunteers unite to fund projects in their local communities. As one of the thousands of worldwide chapters, the Greendale Lions are no exception.

FULFILLING A NEED

Since 1955, the Greendale Lions Club has been serving Greendale with a variety of service projects – always searching for ways to help where help is needed, and to make our Village a better place in which to live. During the 2018-2019 club year, the Club renewed its focus on our community and focused on the challenge of overcoming hunger.

According to Lions’ President Noelle Joers-Yanisch, “one of the Club’s most important initiatives launched this past year is a new program that is making a difference in our schools.” This initiative provides healthy snacks for students and monetary support of the school lunch program – both of which are designed to assure that healthy food is available for students in need.

The need for such a program came to light at a recent Lions Club meeting attended by Superintendent of Greendale Schools, Gary Kiltz. During this meeting, Kiltz discussed the state of Greendale schools, and the Lions learned about the increasing number of Greendale students who are on the free/reduced lunch program. Kiltz pointed out that the number of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch has more than doubled in the last eight years, increasing from about 12% in 2010 to about 25% in 2018. Statistics show that hunger impacts a student’s ability to learn.

Soon after the meeting, Joers-Yanisch met with Superintendent Kiltz to discuss ways the Lions could support the Schools. Following discussion with the Lions’ Board of Directors, Lion Pam Jankowiak volunteered to head up this program, and the “Healthy Snack Initiative” was born.

Although students in all three Greendale elementary schools and the middle school are encouraged to bring a “healthy snack” for midmorning break, some families are not able to provide them. This is where the Greendale Lions are helping to bridge that gap. Beginning in December (and continuing on a monthly basis through the end of this school year), a dedicated volunteer committee has shopped for an assortment of snacks and delivered them to each of the grade schools and the middle school so that no student in need goes hungry mid-morning.

Once the snacks are delivered, the schools’ principals and staff distribute items as they see fit. Some of the approved prepackaged snacks include pretzels, Goldfish crackers, Teddy Grahams, fruit cups, granola bars and breakfast bars. The Lions continually monitor snack inventories at each school, and refill them as needed. The committee also monitors the program monthly, from a quantity and popularity perspective. The committee will reconvene over the summer to determine how they can make the Healthy Snack Initiative even better to ensure its ongoing success.

In addition to providing healthy snacks, the Greendale Lions is also helping support school lunch accounts by providing discretionary lunch funds for at-need students. It became clear that there was a demonstrated need to assist with the increasing number of students who qualify for a Free/Reduced lunch program. The Lions’ initiative allows administrators, counselors and social workers to tap into the lunch account for a student who does not have free/reduced lunch status but, for whatever reason, would be without a meal if the account were not available (to pay for his/her lunch).

The Greendale Lions Club is pleased to partner with the Greendale School District on these important projects. Feedback from the principals has been positive thus far, as they now have the means to help their students stay focused on their studies. Helping to fight hunger is only one of the many ways the Lions Club serves the Greendale community. Additionally, the Club supports family-friendly events including the annual Easter Egg Hunt, a spring Pancake Breakfast, the Fourth of July Celebration, Village Days, Hay Days and Dickens of a Village.