Share the Vision

August 2023

Florida Lions Eye Clinic

Monthly Newsletter

***For some users- you may need to click on "view entire message" at the bottom to expand for more info!***

Back to School Eye Exam Time!

This is a great time to schedule an eye exam for your student. Overall eye health and good vision are needed for learning. It is important to be vigilant about eye health as your children are still growing. The sooner you can identify vision issues the better, so they can be addressed at an early age.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology suggests vision screenings for children when they are:

• pre-school age, between 3 and 3 ½ years old
• entering school
• experiencing a possible vision problem

An ophthalmologist can help detect refractive errors such as nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism as well as diseases such as amblyopia (lazy eye), strabismus (crossed eyes), ptosis (drooping eyelid) or color blindness. Be on the lookout for indications your child may have already, or will develop a vision problem.

Be aware of the following:

• A family history of childhood vision problems
• Wandering or crossed eyes
• Disinterest in reading or viewing distant objects
• Squinting or turning the head in an unusual manner while watching television
• The need to move closer to, or distance from objects to see clearly

Eye safety is another part of maintaining healthy vision. When children participate in sports, recreation, crafts or home projects, it’s important for them to understand eye safety practices and use appropriate protective eyewear. Each year thousands of children sustain eye damage or even blindness from accidents at home, at play or in the car. The majority of all eye injuries can be prevented through use of suitable protective eyewear. In addition, only purchase age-appropriate toys for your children and avoid toys with sharp or protruding parts.

Having good vision is important for success inside out of the classroom. Ensure your children are up to date with vision screenings every year. Help your children have a successful school year by scheduling a comprehensive eye exam and taking safety measures to ensure their eyes are free from injury. To schedule an appointment please call 239-498-3937.

Have extra readers or non-prescription sunglasses at home? Please donate them to the clinic!

Happen to find some on sale while you're out shopping?

We'll happily accept them too!

Please save any coupons you find in your mailers for eye glasses. FLLEC collects these as well for patients.

Our patients truly appreciate all of the help they can get!

Your contributions help us help people see, and we can't do it without you!

Want to make an online donation but unsure how? We'd be happy to help you process it! The clinic accepts credit cards, checks and cash.

Did you know you can set up recurring donations? Our supporters enjoy setting up monthly payments to the clinic. This helps especially during quieter months of giving, especially during the summer time! You can do so through our PayPal or ask us how!

Another way to support the clinic is helping purchase basic needs that come up! FLLEC now has an Amazon Wishlist that is sharable with your friends. Please click on the logo below!

Thank you for your continued support!

Do you live in a community that actively volunteers in the area?

Are you part of a group or organization that needs service hours?

Does your school require service hours?

We are looking for you! Fill out a volunteer application and book your orientation to get started today!

Volunteers Opportunities:

Spanish-English Interpreters

Administrative/Medical/Clinic Assistants

Ophthalmic Assistants

Ophthalmologists/Optometrists

Retina Specialists/Glaucoma Specialists

Fundraising/Marketing/Event Help

General Projects & Clinic Help

If you are interested in helping, please reach out!

mirandae@fllec.com • 239-319-2983

Thank you for your help!

*Must be at least 18 years old to work directly with patients.

*Parent/guardian consent form needed if under 18.

One of our favorite days of the month!

¡Uno de nuestros días favoritos del mes!

We were so excited to have Olivia's son and Deanna's daughter helping out at last month's Children's Clinic Day! Any fear our young patients may have had was easily turned into fun with our pint-sized helpers in the clinic!

Thank you so much for donating to the FLLEC Mural Fund!

Gail Ragsdale • Judson Knox

Dawn Lieb • Dr. Tim Diegel

This is a very special gift to our patients and we couldn't do it without you. The clinic is going to look amazing and we can't wait to show everyone the finished artwork!

On July 13th, our Director of Development & Marketing, Miranda Escobar, celebrated her 1 year Workiversary with FLLEC!

It's a boy! Congratulations to Dr. Shauna Berry and her husband Will! Dr. Berry sees our pediatric patients and we know she will be an amazing mother! We are so excited our FLLEC family is expanding!

Dr. Michael Gressel is marrying his love, Shelley, on August 26th! We are so happy for them and wish them lots of happiness! As if we didn't appreciate Dr. Gressel enough for generously volunteering his time every Friday in our clinic seeing Glaucoma patients, he and Shelley encouraged their friends and family to donate to the Florida Lions Eye Clinic in their honor in lieu of gifts! We are so grateful to the upcoming newlyweds!

Check out our friends next door!

Join the Bonita Springs Lions Club every Friday for BINGO!

Doors open at 12PM, games begin at 12:30PM.

Multiple patterns, multiple games!

Check out the Lions Club Thrift Store's NEW hours! 239-992-6665

Mon/Tues/Wed/Fri

10AM-4:30PM

Thurs 1PM-7PM

Sat 9AM-4PM

Sun 10AM-3:30PM

***Did you know? The Florida Lions Eye Clinic and all of the Lions Clubs are completely separate entities / nonprofits. The Florida Lions Eye Clinic was founded by retired Ophthalmologists and Lions Club members, under separate tax IDs. Although we are not the same, we are fortunate to have the support from the Bonita Springs Lions Club, sharing the same campus as them, and we are always grateful for the amazing collaborations and support felt between the two awesome organizations! So many Lions Clubs give generously to the clinic so we can continue our mission to help our underserved community and prevent blindness!

FLLEC Funnies

Stay in the know!

Follow us on social media!

Before you go... please click below to help Share the Vision!

Thank you!