Lions KidSight USA Program Recognized as ‘Champion for Vision’ by the Children’s Eye Foundation of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus
Oak Brook, IL, March 10, 2025 – Lions KidSight USA (KidSight), a program of Lions International, was recognized with the Champion for Vision award at the annual American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS) meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah, last week.
The KidSight program began in 2014 with the understanding that most kids are visual learners, but many do not have their vision screened until they begin school. With some vision conditions, the chances of successful treatment drop off dramatically after age six, so oftentimes the threshold for successful treatment has passed. The aim of KidSight is to reach young kids before it’s too late, arranging free screenings at schools and daycare centers. In addition to the concentration on younger children, Lions also screen kids through high school to reach those who may need glasses. Using a high-tech screening device, the Lions check the children for visual disturbances. Children who are found to have a vision issue are then referred to an eye doctor for further evaluation.
Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF) supports the Lions clubs involved with KidSight by awarding grants that help pay for the required vision screening devices.
“Lions International has championed the vision cause since our organization’s inception more than 100 years ago, and LCIF is proud to support the impact Lions worldwide are making in children’s vision through the KidSight program,” said LCIF Chairperson Dr. Patti Hill. “This award is a true testament to the work Lions are doing to help children see the world more clearly.”
Retired optometrist, KidSight USA Chairman and Lions Clubs International Past International Director Dr. Edward Cordes accepted the award on behalf of the organization.
“I was honored to accept this award on behalf of Lions International, LCIF and Lions around the world,” Cordes said. “We recognize that 80% of a child’s learning and development requires healthy, corrected vision. Through the KidSight program, Lions train and mobilize caring people to easily and efficiently screen the vision health of youth to help ensure they receive interventions to promote the academic and social development success that we all deserve.”
The Champion for Vision award is a joint award presented by the Children’s Eye Foundation of AAPOS (CEF of AAPOS) and AAPOS, and it celebrates organizations and/or individuals that have made extraordinary efforts to champion children’s vision. Organizations or individuals that have made an extraordinary impact on children’s vision and children’s blindness prevention efforts are considered for this award.
Executive Vice President of the Children’s Eye Foundation of AAPOS, Christie Morse, MD noted that “the Lions KidSight USA have provided extraordinary support for vision screenings performed throughout the United States and have identified thousands of children in need of follow-up eye examinations.”
Lions’ vision screenings identify children who have risk factors for amblyopia and are then referred for a comprehensive eye exam. If a child is uninsured or underinsured, the child may qualify for CEF’s All Children See Program, where they are paired with a volunteer pediatric ophthalmologist who will provide one year of eye care at no charge. To date, 103 volunteers have provided more than 60 children with glasses, eye exams, or surgery. For more information on All Children See, please visit https://www.childrenseyefoundation.org/what-we-do/all-children-see.
To learn more about Lions KidSight USA, visit lionskidsightusa.org.
Lions KidSight USA is a nation-wide program that brings Lions clubs across the country together to ensure our children receive eye screenings and follow-up care when needed.
1-in-3 young children have poor but correctable vision - often just needing eyeglasses.
Lions KidSight is now an international vision screening and correction campaign to help clear the backlog of the MILLIONS of children – aged 6 mos and through early grade
school - who are going without a basic vision screening.
This volunteer initiative is brought to you by the Lions KidSight an Lions International program that brings Lions clubs worldwide together to ensure our children receive eye screenings and follow-up care when needed.
FAST FACTS:
According to educational experts, 80% of learning is visual.
If children can’t see well, they will have more difficulty learning.
1-in-3 young children have poor but correctable vision - often just needing eyeglasses.
Vision problems undetected by the age of 7 can become permanent.
Our Screening devices feature the latest advances in Touchless Screening Technology. No physical contact is needed.
An estimated 25 million children have now gone for almost two full years without a simple, yet potentially life-changing, vision screening. Additionally, the switch to remote education over “tiny screens” may have caused a surge of children with correctable myopia, which has spiked to affect nearly half of ALL children in recent studies.
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