Madison Lions Club

Serving Madison Since 1922

Vision Screening

Helping Our Neighbors Take the Next Step in Eye Care

Four men wearing yellow and navy Lions shirts pose beside a tabletop vision screening instrument. A wall sign advertises free vision screening.
Lions volunteers provided adult vision screening at the Kuhn North America, Inc. health fair in Brodhead, Wisconsin, on October 22, 2026. From left: Bob Faliveno (Mount Horeb), Doc Esser (Cross Plains), Geoff Hudson (Madison), and Dick Cashwell (Cross Plains).

Madison Lions Club volunteers provide free vision screenings to help identify children and adults who may need further evaluation by an eye care professional. Our longstanding emphasis is on children, with additional service to adults through community health events. Young children may not realize that their vision is different from anyone else's. Finding concerns early gives families the opportunity to seek care while vision is still developing.

What Happens at a Screening?

At a screening event, trained Lion volunteers use specialized equipment to measure indicators of possible vision problems. Screening can identify signs of a possible problem before a child can explain what is wrong. Modern screening cameras can check both eyes from a short distance, without requiring a young child to read an eye chart. This approach, called photoscreening, makes it possible to reach children who are too young to reliably name letters.

Screening takes more than a camera. Trained and certified screeners operate the equipment, while other volunteers welcome participants, assist with paperwork, keep the event moving, and set up and pack away supplies.

  1. Welcome and registration. Volunteers help families with the event's registration and screening paperwork.
  2. A brief screening. The child looks toward the screening camera while a trained screener uses the equipment to check for signs that further evaluation may be needed.
  3. Results and the next step. When a screening indicates a concern, the family is advised to arrange an examination with an eye care professional. Screening does not prescribe glasses or treatment and does not replace a comprehensive eye exam.

A Team Effort with a Personal Impact

A woman holds an eye chart beside a purple-covered table with a vision screening machine.
Madison Lions Club volunteers screen adults for vision issues at the Latino Health Fair at Luther Memorial Church in Madison on September 9, 2023.

Our vision screening project began in 1994 when Madison Lions club purchased a specialized photoscreening camera as part of a cooperative effort with nearby Lions clubs. The first screening with that camera followed in 1995 when more than 100 children were screened. The club invested in a new screening camera in 2018 and made it available for supervised screenings with other clubs.

Sharing equipment and working together allows Lions to serve more communities than one club could reach alone. For 2023‐24, our club recorded 1,376 children screened through the work of five clubs.

Ask About Vision Screening

For information about upcoming screening opportunities, or to discuss a possible screening for your school, early childhood program, or community group, email info@madisonlionsclub.org. Please contact the club to confirm dates, locations, and the ages served at a particular event.

Open the vision screening calendar directly in Google Calendar.

Learn more about the statewide effort through the Wisconsin Lions Foundation's Vision Screening program. For an explanation of photoscreening and what its results mean, visit the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus.