News

On Labor Day weekend, volunteers from the Atlanta Metro Lions Club, the Atlanta Lions Club, and Lighthouse staff participated in a vision screening benefiting the Whitefoord community students.
 
The project was born when Lighthouse clinic coordinator Caren Kaplan contacted the Whitefoord Community Program, an organization that provides health care, education, and after-school programs for students in the Whitefoord and Edgewood neighborhoods.

The partnership was a natural fit. The Whitefoord Community Program was looking to expand their health care program, which did not cover eyesight, and the Lighthouse Foundation wanted to increase the number of school vision screenings in an effort to catch eyesight problems early.

Lighthouse staff and volunteers screened 155 elementary school students, over half of the student body. Students who didn’t pass the screening were put on a list, and at the end of September those students received eye exams from the Lighthouse staff, as well as glasses from the VSP Mobile Eyes clinic (https://vspglobal.com)

Christina Lennon, the Executive Director at the Lighthouse Foundation, anticipates an increased number of school screenings. “The Lighthouse will return with ongoing clinics until everyone in the Whitefoord project is cared for.” says Mrs. Lennon. “We are ecstatic that the Lighthouse is able to partner with so many wonderful organizations and that we now have the capacity to reach out and serve more people.”