Georgia Foundation Gives the Priceless Gift of Sight

Providing vision and hearing services through education, detection, prevention and treatment, the Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation serves as a beacon of hope for those in need. The only statewide provider of vision and hearing services to underinsured Georgians, they provid eyeglasses, exams, surgeries and hearing aids to people of all ages. With the help of medical partners and volunteers, the Lighthouse provides over 11,000 services to more than 7,000 people of all ages each year.

The Chinese-American LEO Club of Atlanta, a subsidiary of the Lions Club, is comprised of over 70 middle and high school teenagers who have dedicated themselves to working with, and raising funds, for the Lighthouse Foundation. Through Chinese lantern fundraisers, Chinese New Year fundraisers and other charity events, the LEO club has raised over $2,500 every year, all in support of the Lighthouse Foundation. These funds help cover the costs of eye exams, treatments and surgeries.

Several times throughout the year, The Chinese-American LEO’s visit the Lighthouse Foundation headquarters and help with their activities. The LEO’s wash, sort and clean donated eyeglasses, saving the ones that can be shipped off to people in need, and recycling those which are no longer usable. They use special machines called Lensometers to determine the prescription of the eyeglasses. Once sorted, cleaned and labeled, the glasses are packaged for shipping.

Through their volunteer experiences, LEO members have an opportunity to give back to their community. By working with Lighthouse, the students have learned much about not taking vision and hearing for granted.

The Lighthouse facilitated over 400 eye surgeries last year, provided 4,860 brand new pairs of eyeglasses, and gave 2,620 eye exams. In addition, 962 people received 1,790 hearing aids through their new digital aid program.