Since their inception, they’ve helped provide the life-transforming gift of sight to half-a-million people worldwide, and they’re not finished yet. To the Lions World Vision institute, sight is the most basic human right. They’ve made it their mission to help the world see.
Founded in 1973 after local Lions club members realized the need for a non-profit organization serving ocular donor families and recipients in the central Florida area, the Institute’s roots can be traced back even farther to 1925, when Helen Keller delivered a speech at the International Lions convention challenging members to become “knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness.”
From humble beginnings in a condo on Westshore boulevard staffed with only 3 employees, the Institute has now become the world’s largest combined eye bank and research center. “Corneal transplants are around 98 percent successful,” said Jason Woody, President and CEO of the Institute. “We bring the opportunity to those in need through eye and tissue donation. Each and every day they’ve suffered, and they’ve only hoped for the opportunity to receive a transplant.” The Institute works tirelessly to provide prevention and education programs, breakthroughs in research and innovation, and donation and transplant services.
Now looking toward future generations, the Institute has rolled out a program specifically for children. “We realized that there was a tremendous subset that we were missing, and that was school children,” Woody said. In partnership with the Glazer Vision Program, the Institute has a renewed focus ensuring that children have the gift of sight through their Vision Health program. This is a comprehensive vision screening program for children across the Tampa Bay area, bringing their Vision Bus to Title 1 schools. The full-size RV is stocked with state-of-the-art equipment. Woody described it as a “one stop process, so we screen the kids and determine that if they need glasses, they are made right there on our vision screening bus. From the time the child enters, to the time they leave, they are able to get their glasses right then. These are glasses that, in some cases, would cost $200 - $300 for an exam and glasses, we can make for less than 10 dollars.” Woody stressing that the entire process is completely free of charge, “We provide those glasses to students in need.”
Children are extremely visual learners, and visual impairments when gone undetected can cause children to fall behind their peers in academic performance. “Sometimes people get labeled as slow learners, and many times it is just a visual problem” Woody said. Working to prevent this, the institute has performed 2,364 screenings, 1,526 exams and provided 1,462 pairs of glasses to children, all completely free of charge since the program began in July 2022.
According to Woody, one of the most rewarding parts of the Institute’s work is “Just knowing that we are changing children’s lives for the future… what differences will they make in the world now that they’ve been able to have renewed vision and enjoy the life that they’re entitled to.”
The Institute has been a member of the Tampa Chamber since 2006. Woody is a member of the Chamber’s Board of Directors and a graduate of Leadership Tampa. He says that the Chamber has been a resource for the Institute through many opportunities for professional development, networking, and mentorship.