Virginia Lions Eye Institute Foundation

08/27/2025

Annual Meeting

02/25/2025

7623 Virginia Ave, Falls Church, VA 22043, A 501(c)(3) Corporation - EIN 51-0245834

THANK YOU

On behalf of the Scholarship Grant Committee and the entire Board of the VLEIF,

I would just like to say thank you everyone for the great turnout. It just goes to show how much these Students are appreciated and encouraged to succeed. We had another record turnout with several TVIs (Teachers of the Visually Impaired) in attendance. I know that their presence along with family and friends helped to make these Recipients feel very special. I hope that all the Grant Recipients had fun and enjoyed the day. We also hope that the Families and friends got to interact with the Sponsoring Lions Clubs and were made to feel welcome. The Lions Clubs make this all possible.

Congratulations to the TVIs that were selected by the Grant Committee to receive the inaugural Lion Ralph Thompson TVI Grant (Roseanne Wykes; Shana Edwards; Susan Lengel & Dr. Rhode Fernandez). This is a work in progress, and updated information/qualifications will be forthcoming. We can never thank you enough for all you do for the Vision Impaired community.

Thanks to the Lions who came out to welcome the Recipients and all the Guests. Thank you to our Non-Lions who are an active part of our operations (Prevention of Blindness Society and the Low Vision Service Center).

A very special thanks go out to our guest speakers. Drs. Alibhai and Jaafar were entertaining and educational as always, and Special Guest, Angel, who has dealt with Albinism and gone on to be very successful shared a lot of his struggles and his accomplishments with the young recipients, encouraging them to keep on pressing forward. The speakers enjoyed a very warm reception.

Special Thanks to Karen Thiebaut, her staff and the Elks Lodge for hosting and providing a very great meal, enjoyed by all.

SPECIAL THANKS TO DR. ALIBHAI WHO MANAGED TO SURPRISE ME AND EVERYONE WITH A CAKE TO CELEBRATE MY OLD AGE BIRTHDAY AGAIN. I AM SO NOT WORTHY.

Sincerely,

Woody
Ed “Woody” Woodard
For the Virginia Lions Eye Institute Foundation

12/23/2024

03/15/2024

Virginia Lions Eye Institute Foundation (VLEIF) held its annual Scholarship Grant Luncheon on February 24, 2024, at the Fairfax. Arlington Elks Lodge on Rte 50. Over 100 were in attendance, including, Lions, family members, friends, TVIs (Teachers of the Visually Impaired), Eyecare Professionals and VLEIF Board members. All wished the Recipients good luck in their educational pursuit and congratulated each one on having the foresight to apply for a Scholastic Grant. If you didn't make this on, we hope to see you at future events. Be on the lookout for visually impaired students that may benefit from these scholarships.

Signed: VLEIF Scholarship Grant Committee

10/22/2023

This is a reminder to all Lions of District 24L that VLEIF will hold it's annual meeting at the District's Fall conference. Hope you can attend. See Letter🤓🥸

09/19/2023

JOE LIPOMI SCHOLARSHIP GRANTS

It’s that time of year when back to school is coming up fast and we should all be looking for students who are eligible for Joe Lipomi Scholarship grants. Remember that Grant applications are due by December 5th.

The Scholarship grant committee is eagerly looking forward to finding ways to ensure that all eligible applicants are given equal opportunities to grant funds within our budget limits.

TVIs (Teachers of the Visually Impaired)– Please check the students in your classes for those whom a grant would help open up otherwise untapped possibilities. The applications are on the website, and most of you already know that we will work with you to make sure that all your eligible vision impaired students get considered. If you know of other TVIs that I don’t have contact information for, please let me know and I will be happy to include them in my distributions and invitations to the presentation ceremony.

Lions Club Leaders – Get to know the schools in your area and find out who the TVIs (Teachers of the Visually Impaired) are and find out if you can sponsor an eligible applicant. Most of the clubs are familiar with the process and know that there is no downside to this. All of our scholarships are presented with a club acting as sponsor to ensure that grant recipients/families know that without the support of the clubs, this would not be possible. So, if your club is chosen as a sponsor to a grant recipient, please give it serious consideration. The cost is minimal, usually the price of lunch for the parents, if your club can afford it.

District Lions Leadership – We depend on you to help spread the word about what we do, so as you travel around the District, please let the membership know that we are willing to come visit and give presentations to highlight the work that we do for our vision impaired citizens. Our Sight Chair Lion Davida Luehrs is one of our most ardent spokespersons and she has been spearheading the drive for these scholarships for a number of years, and we know she will continue to be the catalyst for the program.

REMEMBER US IN YOUR BUDGET

We could not continue to do what we do without the support of the clubs of our district, and for this we are very thankful. If you would like to know more about what we do, please contact me or the District VLEIF Representative Lion Sheryl Bass to schedule a visit. We eagerly await your invitations.

CFC NUMBER 95254

Sincerely,
Woody
Ed “Woody” Woodard
President VLEIF
Cc: Scholarship Grant Committee

08/07/2023