When I was in the second grade, I attended Azalea Elementary School in St. Petersburg, Fla. It was one of the nine schools I will have attended by the time I finished high school. That year, my school held a vision screening. I remember the teacher sending a note home to my mom saying that I needed an eye exam. They must have known we couldn’t afford an exam on our own because a voucher for a free eye examination accompanied the school note.
My mother and I took the city bus and traveled downtown to an office with the big yellow Lions club seal, and I saw an eye doctor for the very first time. He prescribed glasses for me, and I went out to the optical area to choose my glasses. I chose horn-rimmed zyl frames. But I was most excited about the display of colorful cases! The optician must have noticed my amazement because he said, “Go ahead and chose any one you want.” I asked, “Really, any of these?” He nodded. I just knew I was going to be the coolest kid in school with my brown plastic football-shaped case!
For the first time, my world came into focus
When we took the bus again to pick up my glasses, I recall loving them right away because everything was so much clearer. I even felt a little funny climbing up and down the stairs of the bus because my perception of things was so different. I was very thankful for the vision screening, the teachers and the Lions club doctor and opticians because they gave me truly clear sight for the first time in my life.
Fast forward to when I visited the Oregon Lions Sight & Hearing Foundation here in Portland, Ore. recently. I was invited by Kelly Asbra, the Optical Programs director at the foundation. Kelly and Eye Promise optical manager, Katie Warren, founded the Eye Promise optical shop and LEAP optical lab, which benefits the Lions programs. They showed me their impressive optical, full of independent eyewear lines and their in-house lab. Among other jobs, the lab processes the eyewear orders sent from the Oregon doctors who provide the exams that the local Lions clubs or other charitable groups sponsor.
This lab is staffed by a wonderful group of opticians who are provided workforce training while at Oregon’s Coffee Creek Correctional Facility for women. Kelly is also the force of nature who started this optical training program at Coffee Creek.
It all started with Lions
Each year, approximately a dozen women complete an almost year-long optical and paraoptometric training program while finishing their last few years at the prison. They sort and catalog the glasses donated to the Lions for their missions, they cut/edge/mount lenses, and so much more. I felt honored to discover that, for many years, they have been using my textbook, Pure Optics, as part of their training.
As I stood there, we were all overcome with emotion when we realized how epic this day was. These opticians, who have been given the opportunity for a fresh start in life, and who learned opticianry skills from a book I authored, are now making glasses for numerous children who were essentially just like me. And so, much like a lens, my life has truly come full circle. Thank you Lions clubs!
Visit Lions Clubs International Foundation’s lcif.org/donate to support vision, one of our global causes.
Phernell Walker is an eye care professional and internationally recognized speaker and author from Oregon, USA.
This blog first appeared on https://pure-optics.com/f/full-circle.
