Greenville, SC – The Greenville Health Authority has awarded a $10,000 Healthy Greenville, Too grant to Lions Vision Services for its Envision Greenville project. Envision Greenville is a comprehensive approach to vision health that provides individuals living at or below 200% of Federal Poverty Guidelines with essential eye surgeries that save or restore sight, vision technology that enables safe and independent living, vision screenings that identify vision issues to be addressed, and eyeglasses to correct minor vision loss.
LVS provides these vision health services through an array of local partners in Greenville County including Clemson Eye, Jervey Eye Group, Palmetto Anesthesia Associates, Piedmont Surgery Center, Prisma Health, Retinal Consultants of Carolina, Southern Eye Associates, and Upstate Surgery Center. These healthcare providers partner with LVS to discount their services for LVS clients, allowing LVS to leverage every $1 raised into $4 in the value of services being provided. Other nonprofit organizations including Servants for Sight, Impact America, Triune Mercy Center, Greenville Free Medical Clinic, and Taylors Free Medical Clinic, among others, frequently identify clients needing eyecare services and refer them to LVS for assistance.
Vision health is seldom defined as an “essential service,” yet our sight is absolutely essential to our quality of life, safety, economic security, and general health and well-being. Studies estimate that the economic burden of vision loss and eye disorders in the United States has surpassed $139 billion, with a $2-3 billion burden in South Carolina alone. Programs like Envision Greenville are helping Greenville County residents obtain the eyecare they need to live safe, meaningful, and fulfilling lives.
“LVS has a profound and growing impact in Greenville County that stretches all the way back to our founding when our first Board Chair, Leon Campell, helped charter LVS in 1969,” says Daniel Prohaska, President & CEO of Lions Vision Services. “Last year 1 in 4 LVS services were provided in Greenville County, underscoring the importance of increasing our capacity for eyecare in a fast-growing region of our state. We are deeply grateful for this Healthy Greenville, Too grant which will improve the well-being of economically disadvantaged populations within Greenville County.”
Healthy Greenville, Too is a micro grants program of the Healthy Greenville grant initiative, managed by the Greenville Health Authority. Lions Vision Services secured 3 Letters of Support for the Envision Greenville program from elected officials in Greenville County including:
• Chandra E. Dillard (SC House of Representatives – District No. 23)• Lillian B. Flemming (City of Greenville – Mayor Pro Tem & District 2 Councilmember)
• George Patrick McLeer, Jr. (City of Fountain Inn – Mayor)
Individuals interested in inquiring about financial assistance with eyeglasses, eye surgeries, or vision technology can contact LVS at (803) 796-1304.
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Lions Vision Services (LVS) was created by the Lions Clubs of South Carolina in 1969 and exists today to empower the under-served blind and visually impaired in South Carolina to live safe, meaningful, and fulfilling lives. LVS offers a range of programs and services to low-income South Carolina residents who apply for need-based financial assistance with obtaining eye exams, eyeglasses, affordable eye surgeries, and vision technology. Free vision screenings are provided to promote early detection and correction of vision impairments. Each spring the organization hosts a Blind Fishing event and manages quarterly meetings of the Palmetto Vision Alliance. To learn more about LVS’s services, visit www.lionsvisionservices.org.