Virginia Lions Eye Institute Foundation

Grant program to assist visually impaired individuals with their educational pursuits to improve their ability to better acclimate and function independently. Grant amount for tuition and equipment related to the educational pursuit. Individuals are eligible for up to three years of funding if the individual submits an explanation of how the funds were used for each year. Grant distribution: year one, $3,000; year two, $2,000; and year three, $1,000. 21 recipients in fiscal year ended June 30, 2023.

The Foundation has partnered with Prevention of Blindness of Metropolitan Washington for the improvement of low vision services and to provide easier public access to such services. The partnership provides thousands of low income and homeless community members with eyeglasses each year and helps those with low vision retain independence through personalized rehabilitation programs.

Annual donation to assist with the operating expenses at the Lions Eye Clinic. In 2022 the clinic served XXX unique patients with a total of XXXXX visits/appointments.

Program 4: The Dr. Richard A. Falls Virginia Lions Eye Institute Foundation Grant seeks to support research, which will contribute to the wider field of knowledge on eye disease with the goal of improving vision and eye health. Grant funding is for one year. Research application due October 25. Grant may range from $500 to $40,000. Medical students, residents, and fellows may apply. An attending physician must be co-investigator on the application. At the end of the one-year cycle, investigators are asked to submit a summary, detailing the progress of the research study, and in what way the grant funding contributed to the completion of the project. It is the expectation that the proposed research will be conducted according to the ethical standards and IRB obligations of the primary investigators affiliated institution. 1 research grants was issued in year-ended June 30, 2023.

Program 5: Assist the clubs on an as needed basis in their quest to help the vision impaired. In 2022 these contributions included two reimbursements for support provided by Lions Club. The Foundation also contributed $ 1,000 to Lions of Virginia Foundation.

Program 6: Lions Eye Clinic and Inova hospital administer eyecare to needy individuals that would not be covered otherwise. We provided a grant last year for the clinic to acquire an Optical Coherence Tomography, which is the most advanced diagnostic equipment in ophthalmology, used to detect the top three diseases that can cause blindness, namely diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, and glaucoma. This advanced equipment will not need dye injection which eliminates potential lifesaving risk reaction of patients from the dye.