Paul Stoll, Manager of Operations at FirstCaribbean, donates a cheque to Deborah Ebanks, 1st Vice President of the Lions Club.

It has been 84 years since Helen Keller first challenged Lions Club to become “knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness”. Today Lions Clubs are recognized worldwide for their service to the visually impaired.

White Cane Week is an annual educational and fundraising campaign conducted by Lions Club in order to promote quality eye care and the early treatment of serious eye disease. Through the Lions Eye Clinic young students at Cayman public schools, many of whom may not receive regular vision checkups, have eye examinations performed and receive proper care for any issues that may be discovered.

“FirstCaribbean International Bank has a long history of involvement with Lions Club and the Lions Eye Clinic,” said Paul Stoll, Manager of Operations at FirstCaribbean.

“Serving the needs of children in our communities is extremely important to us at FirstCaribbean. The opportunity to help save the sight of a young person by funding medical screening and treatment really means a great deal to everyone involved with the bank. FirstCaribbean is very proud to be working with Lions Club on this important cause.”

Accepting the cheque on behalf of Lions Club of Grand Cayman was Deborah Ebanks, 1st Vice President of the Lions Club. Ms Ebanks was very appreciative of the strong corporate support for Lions programmes and applauded FirstCaribbean for its long-time support of community causes such as Lions Eye Clinic.

“All kindergarten students and year 6 in Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac, which equates to approximately 4,500 school aged children each year, are tested for various eye diseases through this programme, and receive the treatments necessary to correct any vision problems that are encountered,” she said.

“We have had some tremendous success stories over the years. It is hard to describe the emotions you go through when you first realize that a young child might lose their sight and then are able to provide the treatment necessary to save that child’s sight. It is through the support of both individuals and corporate partnerships with firms like FirstCaribbean that Lions Club will achieve our goal of eliminating preventable and reversible blindness.”