Villisca Lions Club aids area students in need with the gift of sight

The Villisca Lions Club is continuing to do its part to help kids with vision problems as part of its partnership with Iowa KidSight.
Sheila Haidsiak is one of the multiple volunteers that assist with the program through the Villisca Lions Club. Haidsiak said she was called to the organization to follow in the footsteps of her husband.
“My husband, Lee Haidsiak, has been a member since the Lions Club started in Villisca in 1986. After they joined, a bunch of the wives decided to join, including me. It’s a great organization and we really believe in what it’s doing,” Haidsiak said.
Iowa KidSight is a partnership between Lions Clubs of Iowa and University of Iowa Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital, dedicated to enhancing early detection and treatment of vision impairments in young children
“We go to daycares and preschools, kindergarten and we try to get everybody in Southwest Iowa that’s in our district and screen those children. We are all volunteers, and we have a special camera that we take and offer this service free to the parents. I just contact the school and send them a copy of the consent form that we have to have filled out by the parent and then we go and screen those children,” said Haidsiak.  “We go to many of the schools around here, including Clarinda, Villisca, and Red Oak.”
The service is a special tool to families as kids are required to have a vision screening by the time they enter kindergarten, and the Villisca Lions Club is one of the ways families can meet that need. The club has been accepted by the state to complete the screenings, something that Haidsiak said made her and the other volunteers who are part of the program feel special.
While the Lions Club is happy to maintain the program, Haidsiak said they’re going to have to work on getting a replacement camera soon.
“While the camera is still functional, it’s approaching the end of its life and there’s probably going to be some fundraising efforts to get a new one. A new camera will cost around $10,000.  It’s a digital camera, and while I haven’t even seen the new one in-person yet, it has quite a few updated features since our last camera. Not only is our current camera at the end of its life, it’s now obsolete of course and we can’t even get parts to fix it. We have to make the move to get a new camera at some point,” Haidsiak advised.
Not only is it important for the kids to be screened to have proper vision prior to entering school so they don’t fall behind, Haidsiak said it was also important in the sense that the sooner issues are detected, the better it is.
“If we catch it soon enough, they can have treatment, whether they need to cover one eye or get an eye patch or something else. In some cases, if we detect it soon enough, those kids that we screen might not even need glasses, but it’s very important that we catch them early.”
The screenings are also a benefit as sometimes the kids may not even be aware that there’s a problem.
“All parents think that their kids can see just fine, but sometimes those kids don’t know how to tell their parents what they do or don’t see because they’re used to the vision that they have. They may not even realize they’re not seeing the best. This is another reason why it’s so important that they have this screening done because it finds everything and can be used for eye examinations on kids as young as six months old, all the way through kindergarten. The camera examines their eyes, and the findings will tell whether they need glasses or something else,” Haidsiak explained.
Further, Haidsiak said if a person has a child with a vision problem, the Lions can help them get what they need to improve their vision.
“If we get a referral from someone that simply cannot afford what they need, whether it’s because they don’t have insurance or their parents just can’t afford it, our club pays for it. We request that they go to the eye doctor of our choice because we have made arrangements with them, then we get the money to the optometrist and we see that they get glasses,” commented Haidsiak.
Haidsiak added it’s been a very special feeling for her to be able to assist so may kids that may not have known they suffered vision problems.
“Just being able to see how many kids that we have helped with their vision is wonderful, and just being around the kids of that age gives you so much energy because that’s what they display to us. The kids tell us great stories that parents probably don’t want us to hear.”
While the cost of a new camera is expensive, Haidsiak said she’s hopeful that they’ll be able to raise what they need.
“Many people are willing to help us. Occasionally there’s a struggle to get somebody to give donations, but it helps more when get the word out. I’ve done it for 25 years now, so people are getting to know what we do. I’ve seen kids that now wear glasses and everybody has a story,” Haidsiak said.
If someone wishes to make a donation to the Lions Club towards the purchase of a new camera, you can send a payment to Lee or Sheila Haidsiak at 115 N. 5th Avenue, Villisca, IA 50864.