Canfield Lions Club has an eye for service
Volunteers from the Canfield Lions Club conducted vision screening for first-graders at Hilltop Elementary School Oct. 21. The club has been conducting vision screening in area schools for 10 years.
Carmela Abraham, a pediatric optometrist at Salem Eye Care Center, tested students’ motor skills, muscle balance and near point of convergence at the Canfield Lions Club school vision screening at Hilltop Elementary School Oct. 21.
Neighbors | Abby Slanker.Mary Jane Duncan, the wife of a Canfield Lions Club member, performed depth perception tests on first-grade students at Hilltop Elementary School Oct. 21.
By ABBY SLANKER
The Canfield Lions Club held its annual school vision screening for first-graders at Hilltop Elementary School Oct. 21. This free service is to alert parents to potential problems of lazy eye, eye motility or vision problems which can interfere with a child’s ability to learn in a classroom setting.
Marilyn Schmidt, coordinator of the school screenings, and five volunteers conducted the screenings, with Carmela Abraham, a pediatric optometrist at Salem Eye Care Center.
The club volunteers tested the students’ visual acuity, depth perception and conducted a blur test, while Abraham tested the students’ motor skills, muscle balance and near point of convergence. The screenings meet state standards.
“We wouldn’t have a program without Dr. Abraham,” said Schmidt. “She is with us about eight times each year.”
A form is sent home with the students with the results of the screening and either recommends a full examination or states the student’s vision function was at normal levels.
The Canfield Lions Club visits C.H. Campbell Elementary School and Hilltop Elementary School twice a year to test first-grade students and third-grade students and also screens children in the spring who will enter kindergarten in the fall.
The club also provides the vision screening service at Western Reserve Ellsworth Elementary School, Jackson Milton Elementary School, South Range Elementary School, West Boulevard Elementary School, Youngstown Academy of Excellence and Mill Creek Children’s Center.
The Canfield Lions Club has been performing eye exams at area school for 10 years.
The club tests approximately 1,500-1,600 students each year and are in the schools testing about 14-15 times each year with six club volunteers each time.
“The wives of our members also help with our vision screening program. They are always there when I need them,” said Schmidt.
The club also conducts glaucoma testing at its booth at the Canfield Fair and participated in the “Big Reach” program at the Greenford Christian Church for five years.
As a service organization, the Canfield Lions Club collects Toys for Tots and items for Sojourner House at Christmas, holds a large food drive for area poor at Thanksgiving and Christmas and sponsors a craft show in the spring at Canfield High School.
The club also sponsors a putt putt game on the Green at the Fourth of July parade, performs a Route 224 road clean-up twice a year and also pays for eye exams and glasses for families who are not able to pay.