Vision and Hearing Help

Each year the Olympia Host Lions go to all the elementary and middle schools in the Olympia and Griffin School Districts - and all the private schools - to screen the vision and hearing of students. 

Using state of the art camera style screeners, Lions screen thousands of children each fall.  All information is given to the school nurses who make sure parents know if any child should  be scheduled for a professional eye exam.

Our eye screening team works hard organizing and preparing for the 3 week push to get around to all schools that want help.  But the payoff can be great. Every year, screeners discover children with eye problems that might have gone unnoticed if the Lions had not been there to catch it.  

Thanks to screening - and the follow up care by medical professionals, many children get the vision help they need to succeed in school. 

 People with low vision have limited access to equipment to assist them to function in a world built for sighted people. 

The Corbin Low Vision Resource Center carries adaptive devices freely given to people coming to the center for assistance. 

Lions clubs collect used eye glasses placed in collection boxes placed in their community. Lions gather the glasses and take them to the Lions Eye Glass Recycling Center in Lacey, Washington. Clubs set up work parties at the center to wash and grade the glasses for vision missions to third world countries all over the world. People barely able to see are given the gift of sight through this well coordinated program. 

Want to donate used glasses?  Call our Lions EyeLine at 360 790-8667 to find an eyeglass donation site near you.

Lions clubs from all over Thurston County partner with the Union Gospel Mission Vision Program to provide glasses for low income people. Lion Violet Hofman, from the Olympia Host Lions Club, runs this program which provides a free eye exam and new prescription glasses. Lions clubs donate money to the Vision Program to make this possible.

Working with the Hearing Aid program of the NW Lions Foundation, Olympia Host Lions provides hearing aids for very low income people. 

Upon approval of an application, individuals can receive a free exam and hearing aids through a local audiology office.

Two criteria typically govern the decision to fund hearing aids:

  a) Does the applicant live in our service area?

 b) Does the applicant meet the criteria of income at, or below, 133% of the Federal Poverty Level (published and adjusted annually)?   The income level is based on submitted copy of applicant's most-recent federal tax return.  

If approved, applicant can expect to pay a $50 copay for fitting.

We most often do not know we are interacting with a person with low vision or hearing.   By wearing a handsome pin of an eye or ear, the person can call attention to their special need during an interaction, thus improving the personal interaction.  

Olympia Host Lions developed the project to distribute pins to those with hearing or vision loss.  Speakers are available to share information about communicating with the hearing impaired.