Our mission statement just about says it all: "To empower volunteers to serve their communities, meet humanitarian needs, encourage peace and promote international understanding through Lions Clubs." One of our goals is to provide a forum for the open discussion of all matters of public interest.
The work we do with the visually impaired is legendary, following the challenge, advice and leadership of the great Helen Keller who was born blind, deaf and mute. Her story has been told over and over in plays and most notably in the movie, "The Miracle Worker." On June 30, 1925, Ms. Keller addressed the Lions Clubs International Convention in Cedar Point, Ohio. She challenged the Lions to become "knights of the blind in this crusade against darkness. I am your opportunity. I am knocking at your door." She died on June 1, 1968 at age 87 but her request 43 years earlier inspired the Lions to work with and for the blind as a major service initiative.
One of the ways we do this is to participate in a state-wide present-day "Pony Express" to transport eye tissue to and from the Lions Eye Bank of Wisconsin in Madison. For years, the McFarland Lions Club has been a proud participant in this extremely worthwhile program. In keeping with the schedule of rotation among other Lions Clubs in the area, it's our club's responsibility to transport in March and September each year. Volunteers are on call at all hours and are sometimes called in the middle of the night to pick up tissue, which must be delivered to or from the eye bank within 12 hours of the death of the donor. That tissue restores sight to the recipient in hospitals throughout the state. It's rare that a club member will turn down the opportunity to transport since we are mindful of the fact that we are an important link in providing the gift of sight to someone.
In addition, for many years we've held vision screenings for pre-school aged children, identifying potential problems such as near or far sightedness, lazy eye, stigmatism, etc. which, if detected early, can prevent more serious conditions from developing later. This is done with a wonderful computerized camera of great interest to the children, making it a pleasant and painless experience for them.
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