Support from Lions Clubs support Healthcare
THUNDER BAY – The Lions Club is supporting vision care. Today, members of Lions Clubs from Thunder Bay and across Northwestern Ontario gathered to re-establish the Lions Vision Care Centre Advisory Board. Their goal is to develop a long-term fundraising program to support ongoing capital needs of the Lions Vision Care Centre at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.
To kick start the celebration of the re-established Board, the local Lions Clubs, along with the Lions Club International Foundation were thrilled to announce a $104,450 gift to support the purchase of a new Lumenis Vision One Multi-Colour Laser System to provide enhanced ophthalmological care for patients in Northwestern Ontario. The Lions Club International Foundation provided $67,800, while the Lions Clubs from across Northwestern Ontario, Manitoba and Northeastern Minnesota provided the additional $36,650.
“We are delighted to continue our ongoing support of the Lions Vision Care Centre with this most recent gift,” remarked Angela Sharbot, Advisory Board Chair, Lions Vision Care Centre. “Since 1998, when we established the Lions Vision Care Centre, we have contributed over $500,000 to provide enhanced ophthalmology services to patients in our region. Since Helen Keller challenged Melvin Jones, the Founder of Lions to be ‘the knights of the blind’, the focus of Lions has been to help the blind. We have continued to serve our community through our assistance to individuals with eye problems, and this gift is a continuation of that service.”
“The support from the Lions is incredible,” commented Dawn MacDonald, Manager, Ambulatory Care, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. “The Laser that these funds will support will be used to treat a variety of conditions such as diabetic retinopathy, retinal tears and holes, along with many other serious eye conditions. If we weren’t able to purchase this necessary equipment, patients would need to travel elsewhere to receive the care they deserve, as this Laser will be the only one in Northwestern Ontario.”
The re-established Advisory Board plans to meet three times a year to review ongoing capital requests and ensure that funds are raised on an ongoing basis to provide the Lions Vision Care Centre with the latest equipment necessary to provide world-class ophthalmology services to patients in Northwestern Ontario.
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