Oklahoma Lions KidSight

Oklahoma KidSight started in Oklahoma with a grant from Lions Clubs International Foundation (2013) and the Enbridge Foundation (2014).  Under the leadership of Tom Cummings, this program has grown to screen almost 95K children. Since then, Lions have purchased a total of 35 cameras that are used in all the Oklahoma Lions Districts.  


Lions in the USA screen over a million kids per year through state-wide and local programs known as “KidSight.” Lions KidSight USA is a national coalition that brings together Lions programs that screen preschool and school age kids. The foundation strives to safeguard the vision of children with specific emphasis on those up to 6 years old for preventive purposes.

 

For more information about how to schedule a screening please call the State Office or Tom Cummings at the number below. 


Click Here for Lions KidSight USA Website

 

Oklahoma Lions KidSight is a statewide Lions project under a nationwide Lions KidSight Foundation that strives to safeguard the vision of children aged 6 months through 6 years.

According to educational experts, 80% of learning is visual. So, if a child can’t see well, he/she can’t learn well. Yet most young children don’t get their vision screened until they have problems learning or paying attention in school. By then, it may already be too late. Unless vision problems are detected early and corrected, they risk becoming permanent by age 7.


The KidSight Welch Allen Spot Vision camera and equipment screens for risk factors as:  

 

  • Astigmatism: irregular shaped cornea
  • Myopia: nearsightedness
  • Hyperopia: farsightedness
  • Strabismus: misalignment of the eyes 
  • Amblyopia: lazy eye 
  • Anisometropia: unequal refractive power
  • Anisocoria: pupil size anomalies

 

Training is required for volunteers who will be using the Oklahoma Lions Pediatric Vision Screening program. Call the OK Lions state office for more details: 405-947-6540. 

For more information call:

 

  • The Oklahoma Lions State Office: 405-947-6540 Marie Burns- Director
  • Program Chair MD3-SW: Jacque Mooney; Mooneytunes@cox.net
  • Program Chair MD3-NW: Katrina Sinor
  • Program Chair MD3- E Vacant
  • Director Emeritus: Tom Cummings:
    email:         tomc1114@suddenlink.net

 

                                                                                   WE NEED YOUR HELP!
Many do not know that 25% of school aged children in America suffer from one o more vision problems. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) states that vision disability is the single most prevalent condition among children.  The American Disabilities Association found that many children diagnosed with a learning disability have vision issues. Many of these problems are not diagnosed because 70% of children are not screened prior to kindergarten. 

This is where Oklahoma Lions shine! 
Lions are going out to schools, preschools, daycare centers, local charity events, and anywhere there is a place to screen children 6 months to 18 years of age. 

Won't you please consider a gift to help Oklahoma's children?
Imagine a child that can see for the first time? See his mothers face, leaves on the trees, or be able to read the words on a page? Please Read Ryders story and consider an end of the year gift today. 

KidSight USA program’s pediatric eye screening devices are ‘changing lives for kids’
In the blink of an eye?
Well, more like five seconds. But that’s how long it took Ryder Moore’s life to change for the better.

In 2015, Ryder, then four years old, had his vision tested by the Oklahoma Lions Club at his Cushing, Oklahoma pre-school. The Lions Club performed this test using the Spot Vision Screener . In a non-intrusive span of five to eight seconds, the Spot Vision Screener indicated Ryder had extreme farsightedness in his left eye.

“The preschool director told me that the Lions had done an eye test and recommended that Ryder see an optometrist,” recalls Ryder’s mom Emily. “I remember thinking: ‘What does a group of volunteers know about my son’s eyes?’”

It was the fall of 2015 and Ryder, then four, had just been tested by the Oklahoma Lions at his Cushing pre-school with a Welch Allyn spot camera, a pediatric eye screening device, as part of the Lions’ KidSight USA program.

The day Ryder’s glasses arrived, Ryder tried on his new glasses and the first thing he said was, “Oh my gosh, you guys are so big!” Emily was in tears and couldn’t believe how much clearer everything was for him. Since that day, Ryder has been happy to wear his glasses. In school, he had been an above-average student, but now he excels at everything he does.

For nearly a century, Lions Club International has championed the eyesight cause by recycling glasses, launching Lions Eye Banks to support eye-saving surgeries, operating guide dog programs, and establishing the SightFirst disease eradication initiative. Since launching KidSight USA in 2014, the Oklahoma Lions have screened about 25,000 children in the Sooner State. “Significantly, these eye screenings have an average referral rate of 5 to 12 percent,” says Oklahoma Lions KidSight USA director, Tom Cummings. In 2017, KidSight cameras were used by 220 volunteers at 53 screening sessions.

 “I am so thankful the Lions Club used the Spot Vision Screener at Ryder’s school,” says Emily. “I know we would have eventually discovered Ryder’s problem, but it could have been too late.” Five seconds is all it took for the Spot Vision Screener to change Ryder’s life and, despite wanting a second opinion, Emily hopes other parents will trust the results and act immediately. 

Emily adds, “It changed our lives, and I know it can do the same for others.”