Weinberg Friends Grant Awarded to Project Vision Hawai’i

Working more than 100 man hours in a four hour timeframe on a single community service project, the Lions Club of Kona became qualified under the Weinberg Friends program to nominate a local charity organization to receive a $10,000 cash grant from The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation.

A vision, hearing, health and dental screening at Konawaena Elementary School is the event that led the club to the qualification.

Project Vision Hawai’i received the nomination by the Lions Club. The grant money earned will be used in Kona.

The Lions Club of Kona has been serving its local community for 80 years and encourages service-minded people to serve their community.

PVH officially launched on the Big Island in September 2014 at the Hilo County Fair. The non-profit organization provides year-round vision and other health screenings across the island with emphasis on Native Hawaiian populations, keiki, kupuna, and the underserved.

Although not officially launched at the time, PVH has had staff on the Big Island as early as February 2014, and was able to provide screenings to more than 750 people at 18 different events throughout the year.

In partnership with the Kona Lions Club and Island Eye Care, PVH provided vision screenings at Konawaena Elementary School in Kealakekua in November. At the event, families were given information, reading glasses, UV protection glasses, and referrals for follow up care.

“Our team and partners are excited to bring expanded service to Hawai’i Island residents,” said Annie Hiller, executive director of PVH. “We look forward to increasing our reach to further our mission to enhance quality of life by improving sight, preventing blindness, and advancing medical knowledge through research.”

The expansion of a second health screening bus specific to the Big Island and staff has been made possible by grants from the State of Hawai’i, Hawai’i Medical Service Association, the Atheron Family Foundation, County of Hawai’i, Kaiser Permanente, and the Weinberg Friends Program through the Lions Club of Kona.

Large screening events like the ones at the Hio Jaycess Hawai’i County Fair and Konawaena Elementary School are put on by PVH with the partnership of volunteers from Hawai’i Lions District 50.

Established in 2011, PVH, provides free mobile vision and health screenings to Hawai’i’s under-served. The organization advocates for the early detection of eye diseases and disorders. More than 15,000 people statewide have been served.

For more information, visit the Project Vision Hawai’i website.