For those of you who have not heard about Kidsight, I can tell you that it is a free vision screening program for children 2-6 years old. Yes, I said FREE!! Volunteers from Lions Clubs all over Colorado are setting up events at schools, daycare facilities, and preschools. It only takes a few minutes per child to do a screening. The results can detect nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, anesometropia, strabismus, and high myopia. 1 in 20 children has an undetected vision problem that could turn into permanent vision loss if left untreated. Undetected problems can lead to amblyopia (often called lazy eye), which is the leading cause of vision loss in children. This is preventable.
Below is a recent article, written by our Kidsight Colorado State Director, Holly Rutherford Allen. Please take a few moments to read it. Please let me know if I can set up an event for your school!
Lion
Kidsight Coordinator
COS Nob Hill Lions Club
BACK TO SCHOOL
August is Children's Eye and Safety Month
Prevent Blindness America has declared this month Children’s Eye and Safety month to inspire parents to make their child’s vision a priority.
The beginning of the school year is an exciting time for children. It is also a time when KidSight Colorado and parents can work together to give Colorado kids a healthy start. Our program is gearing up for the start of the new school year and will be conducting screenings and providing educational information on the importance of good vision in children to parents and the community beginning this month.
According to the recent Cost of Vision Problems: The Economic Burden of Vision Loss and Eye Disorders in the United States study from Prevent Blindness America, vision disorders in children ages 0-17 cost Americans more than $5.7 billion in direct and indirect costs. In Colorado those costs were $84 million. Vision loss and blindness come at a tremendous cost.
That is why it is important for us to increase our screening efforts for children 2 to 6 years of age. We can help prevent some of these problems and their associated costs by early screening for conditions such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism and anisometropia which can lead to blindness in children if not detected early.
If you know of a school or organization in Colorado that could benefit from a KidSight Colorado screening please let me know and I am happy to make the arrangements. Let’s make sure all of Colorado’s kids have great vision as we begin the 2013-14 school year.
Holly Rutherford-Allen
Executive Director
720-325-7078
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