Oregon Lions Sight & Hearing Foundation: School Vision Screening Program Reaches 2 Millionth Student (Photo)
-05/14/25
MITCH Charter School, Portland, OR, May 13, 2025: The Oregon Lions Sight & Hearing Foundation (OLSHF) proudly announces that its School Vision Screening program (SVS) surpassed a significant milestone – 2 million students screened in Oregon since the program’s inception in 1994!
During this current school year at MITCH Charter School in Portland, OLSHF SVS staff Kerith Vance and volunteers screened MITCH students, including Jeremiah, marking the 2,000,000th student screened by SVS!
Since 1994, OLSHF has provided vision screening to Oregon students. In 2012 OLSHF acquired new, objective vision screening technology (Spot device) and annual totals for the number of students screened jumped in just two years from 25,000 to 150,000.
Now OLSHF screens nearly 200,000 students per year across the state in partnership with Lions volunteers, identifying vision problems early - especially in elementary-aged children.
FAST FACTS – SVS this school year
15 SVS event staff located around the state, 2 SVS full time staff in Portland
SVS visited 784 schools total
SVS partners with 161 School Districts, 40 charter schools and 20 private schools
During our 23rd year of screening (2017), OLSHF hit the first million student mark in the Brookings Harbor School District. To reach our 2nd million student mark? Only 7 years!
For every student screened, OLSHF provides their parents with a detailed report highlighting any issues captured in the screening, as well as information on resources like low cost/no cost eye exams and eyeglasses for families in need of financial assistance.
17% of children we screen are referred for comprehensive exams. These are children who may otherwise go undiagnosed and struggle in school unnecessarily.
Vision screening for students is critical for identifying potential conditions early.
Using Spot devices, OLSHF staff and volunteers provide quick and accurate vision screenings. In a matter of seconds, these devices take 13 eye measurements and check for 8 different vision conditions, including amblyopia (reduced vision in one eye), a common visual impairment in children. When caught early, this condition can be treated with noninvasive measures like proper corrective lenses, eye drops, or eye patching.
A classroom of 30 students receives screenings in under 10 minutes, and OLSHF screenings average 200 students per hour.
Experts have noticed a significant impact that lingers from school closures and remote learning that can affect children’s vision. Excessive screen time and “delayed vision screenings during the pandemic has created a heap of issues for children’s eyesight.” (Reference - https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/covid19-pandemic-myopia-children-eyes)
In Roseburg, school children are screened every year by SVS. Staff member & Roseburg Lion Dr. Steven Tronnes tells us, “As a Doctor of Optometry with many years of experience, I have seen firsthand the disadvantages students are at when they don't get proper eye care. The School Vision Screening program is a great way to identify problems that the parents and students don't know are the reasons for poor school performance.”
Image, left to right: Kerith Vance, OLSHF SVS staff; Nicole Hans, MITCH Vice Principal; Jeremiah, 2 millionth student; Karen Pena, parent
About OLSHF
We are the Oregon Lions Sight & Hearing Foundation (OLSHF), serving communities statewide. We are driven by a promise made to American author and deaf blind activist Helen Keller. In 1925, at an International Lions Convention, she challenged Lions to focus on preventable sight and hearing issues as their primary mission. Since our formation in 1959, we have endeavored to uphold this promise by creating programs in response to the need for sight and hearing assistance. We have built upon the promise made to Helen Keller by creating a continuum of care for people who lack access to vision and hearing services.
In partnership with the Lions Clubs of Oregon and community organizations, we serve people through critical sight saving surgeries and treatments; manufacturing new eyeglasses; helping people who can’t afford eyeglasses and hearing aids, and creating the largest vision screening program in the US. Our statewide programs serve children to the elderly, giving them much needed access to optical and hearing services. In 2015, we launched the LEAP Optical Finishing Lab that allows OLSHF to manufacture high quality, low cost eyeglasses. Annually, over 2,000 Oregonians receive new eyeglasses built by our lab.
To donate to the School Vision Screening Program or learn more please visit www.olshf.org or www.facebook.com/olshf. Public support and private funds from family foundations, Lions Clubs, donors and corporate donors help support this program.
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