Who We Are
The Opelousas Lions Club proudly serves our community by supporting local needs, sponsoring children with disabilities to attend the Louisiana Lions Camp, providing free vision screenings and eye care assistance, and volunteering annually at the Cracklin Festival alongside fellow Lions. Our mission is simple — help our community in any way we can.
We proudly make annual donations to organizations that strengthen our community, including CASA and the Opelousas Little Theatre. Through these efforts and many others, we strive to make a lasting, positive impact in Opelousas and St. Landry Parish!
The Louisiana Lions Eye Foundation was established in 1974 to provide vision and hearing care to those in need throughout Louisiana. Our partnerships with the LSU Health and Science Center and eye doctors throughout the state have allowed the Lions to provide the “Gift of Sight” to over 75,000 Louisiana residents and to help support ongoing research and development in the vision and hearing industry throughout these years. As the needs of our communities change, so must our programs, yet our mission remains the same.
On July 9, 1961, the first camping session opened at our camp located North of Leesville. Not only were dreams being realized, but it was also the beginning of what the Lions of Louisiana would accomplish through this endeavor.
Here...is where a child with a disability is only a child
Here...is where a youngster finds out that they can do what they try to do
Here...is where lifelong friendships and Summer Camp Memories are made!
All campers are Lion sponsored and attend the camp at no cost to the family.
Transportation may be available from the sponsoring Lions Club except for Diabetes Camp, Camp Pelican, and Camp Challenge.
All campers must complete an application and Health History/Exam before being assigned to a session.
To be assigned, all applicants must meet the eligibility requirements which accompany the application.
Summer Staff:
Program Staff is composed of High School and College aged young adults who are interested in the well-being of children. Each summer staff consists of at least 50% return staff from previous summers, and all spend their first week in training.
Medical Staff consists of at least 1 Louisiana Licensed Registered Nurse who is always on the campgrounds and is available 24 hours. We have a full medical team for Diabetes Camp, Camp Pelican and Camp Challenge.
CubSight is a non-invasive vision screening program designed to identify vision disorders in children between 6 months and 18 years of age. Volunteers using state-of-the-art equipment allow us to prevent blindness through early detection and early treatment of eye disease in these children.
Most people do not know that if detected by age 5, many vision problems can be corrected or even reversed without surgery. To achieve that result, the child must be under the care of an eye doctor.
Our program's goal is to identify children with vision disorders, inform the parents or guardian of the child's needs, and educate them on resources available to help the child receive the care needed.
Our program, which was started in 2001, today consistently screens over 30,000 children each year and has a 10-12% referral rate of children who have early signs of eye disease.
For more information regarding the St. Landry Parish area, please contact Gloria Wyble (337) 945-9396
History
Founded in 1917, Lions Clubs International is one of the world’s largest service organizations, dedicated to improving communities through volunteer service and humanitarian efforts. Lions Clubs are best known for their commitment to vision care, youth programs, disaster relief, and community support. Today, Lions serve locally and globally with the mission of making a positive difference wherever there is a need.
