​Since January 1, 2019 the Mt. Vernon Lions Club has collected over 500 pairs glasses! The Mt. Vernon Lions Club has been participating in the Lions Recycle for Sight used eyeglasses collection program and would like to encourage community members to continue donating their used eyeglasses. The Collection box is located at Mt. Vernon Bank located at 206 1st St SW, Mount Vernon, Iowa 52314.

“We need everyone to donate their old glasses,” said Paul Fugate Lions Club Service Chair. “In most developing countries, eye care is either not affordable or inaccessible. An eye exam can cost as much as one month’s wages, and a single eye doctor may serve a community of hundreds of thousands of people. And for many, poor eyesight that is left uncorrected can lead to unemployment for adults and a child’s inability to attend school. By taking the time to give us your glasses, you will help improve the life of someone in need.”
The donated eyeglasses will be shipped to the Midwest Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center in Rosholt, Wisconsin – home of the Wisconsin Lions Camp – where they will be sorted, cleaned, categorized by prescription and prepared for distribution by Lions and other groups to third world countries.

The Mt. Vernon Lions Club on November 7 and 8 screened 142 children through the Iowa Kidsight program.

Iowa KidSight is a joint project of the Lions Clubs of Iowa and the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital, dedicated to enhancing the early detection and treatment of vision impairments in young children (target population 6 months of age through kindergarten) in Iowa communities through screening and public education at no cost to the parents of children. 

The Kidisight program has been around for almost 20 years. Since 2010 Mt. Vernon has been screening children in both Mt. Vernon and Lisbon. Between the two communities over 800 children have been screened and 88 have been detected for having a vision problem. 

The first few years of a child’s life are critical in the development of good vision. These problems are not always evident. Each day that eye problems go undetected and untreated, a child’s
vision may deteriorate to the point of irreversibility. The earlier these conditions are detected, the more easily and successfully they can be treated. With visual learning being so a major factor in a young child’s early development it is crucial that he or she have 20/20 vision! 

The Mt. Vernon Lions Club looks forward to continuing this project for many years!!! 

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The Mt. Vernon Lions Club held their first ever golf tournament on Saturday, June 1st at Kernoustie Golf Club in Mt. Vernon. Eight Teams showed up to compete for first prize in our tournament but it was much more than just winning that was on the minds of golfers on Saturday. The Lions Club raised $1,400 to help with projects in our community and around the world.

Lions Club President Paul Fugate commented saying: "This was a true team effort by everyone of the golf committee and in our club to make this a successful first year, we defiantly had some lessons to learn about how to put together a golf tournament, but it still doesn't change the fact that we had a successful tournament and we hope it will become a tradition in Mt. Vernon and hope it grows for years to come!"

Mt. Vernon Lions Club Monday night awarded two $750 Scholarships to Paul Ryan and Tyler Elliot.
Congratulations to both and we hope our gift to you will help you in the future!

The Mount Vernon Lions Club voted at our last meeting to help sponsor an artist's square once again at this years Chalk the Walk. 

Mt. Vernon President, Paul Fugate, says, "We see that Chalk the Walk is one of the best event's to be apart of, the city of Mt. Vernon supports us, so we feel we should support it back. Our club is happy to support Chalk the Walk and we look forward to an amazing event again this year."