Waukon Lions' Pancake Breakfast funds will help purchase new camera for local KidSight Program

The Waukon Lions Club will host its third annual pancake breakfast Sunday, September 9 from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Vets Club, located at 105 Allamakee Street in Waukon. Proceeds from the fundraiser will be used to help purchase a high quality digital camera for the Waukon Lions KidSight Program. Menu and other event details can be found in the advertisement on Page 11A of this week's issue of The Standard.
Iowa KidSight is a joint project of the Lions Clubs of Iowa and the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. The KidSight program is dedicated to enhancing the early detection and treatment of vision impairments in Iowa’s young children (target population six months through 48 months of age) through screening and public education. The program was first called “Coming to Your Senses” and was started in the year 2000. In 2007 the name of the program was changed to Iowa KidSight.
The Waukon Lions Club started its KidSight program in May of 2001 under the direction and leadership of Lion Laurayne Snitker. The Waukon Lions Club has screened 1,670 children over the last 12 years and of these, 60 have been referred for further testing and treatment. Sixteen Waukon Lions have been trained over the years to perform the screenings.
The Waukon Lions Club is seeking support through this pancake breakfast fundraiser to upgrade the instant film vision-screening technology that is becoming obsolete and being replaced with digital technology. The cost of the upgrade is $9,985. The digital camera will also be loaned out to other northeast Iowa Lions Clubs to be used for screening children in their communities.
The Waukon Lions have screened children in childcare facilities, public health settings, elementary schools and advertised public locations (e.g. wellness fair). A parent or guardian is required to complete a consent form prior to the screening being conducted. Once the children have been screened, the photographs are mailed to the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital for evaluation by specialists in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. If a possible vision problem is detected, a letter of referral and a list of local ophthalmologists and optometrists are sent to the parent or guardian.
For less than $10 per child, and at no costs to families, vision problems are detected that might otherwise go unnoticed or untreated. If common vision problems are not detected and treated during early stages of development, amblyopia can result, causing permanent vision loss, impacting learning and the quality of life.