The Lions of Tennessee began a campaign called OPERATION KIDSIGHT with the goal of providing $4,000,000 to create the Tennessee Lions Eye Center in partnership with Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. This Center is committed to ensuring that all children in the State of Tennessee have access to high quality eye care. An integral part of the Tennessee Lions Eye Center is the development of a "clinic without walls." This unique outreach program is designed to screen the majority of the preverbal children (ages 6 months to 48 months) of the Tennessee during the next five years.
The Lions Clubs of District 12-N, along with the other Lions Clubs of the State, will conduct vision screenings in their communities using a specalized camera called a PhotoScreener.
The Polaroid photographs made by this camera will be sent to the Vanderbilt Reading Center for evaluation. The results of the screening will then be returned to the testing site for distribution. Follow-up calls will be made to ensure that children with a positive vision screening visit will visit a local ophthalmologist or optometrist.
There are a Number of Persons in District 12-N who have attended Training Sessions in the use of the PhotoScreener Camera. These persons are available to visit any site where there are a number of children is the target age range and conduct the Screenings.
At present, three cameras have been purchased and placed with Lions Club members in District 12-N. These cameras are in the care of :