White Cane Days start Friday

MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake Mayor Ron Covey proclaimed Friday and Saturday as Lions White Cane Days.

The two-day event is the Moses Lake Lions' annual fund-raiser, which helps bring awareness of sight and hearing programs.

The Lions are collecting donations for programs to provide medical care and assistance to sight-impaired individuals. The Northwest Lions Eye Bank is one of the country's leading eye banks, having provided 28,000 sight-restoring transplants.

The group's Patient Care Program matches funds raised by Lions clubs to provide services and equipment to people with sight needs.

The Health Screening Unit travels throughout the Northwest to provide free screenings for vision, hearing, glaucoma, diabetes and blood pressure each year while the Lions Special Project Grants support vision and hearing programs.

In the past the Moses Lake Lions Club provided a magnification device to the Moses Lake library to assist readers with poor vision.

During the Lions White Cane Days, they are cooking sausage dogs and deep fat-fried Twinkies at Faber's Industrial Supply, at 423 East Broadway, Friday from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. or while supplies last.

"The sausages and the Twinkies are free, you just go through the gauntlet of the white canes," said Carol Conley, chairperson of White Canes and vice president of Moses Lake Lions.

For Saturday, the event moves to the Columbia Basin Farmers' Market and Craft Bazaar, in Moses Lake Civic Center Park, from 8 a.m. until 10 a.m.

Conley said people making a donation can look for the group holding white canes. She said no contribution is too small.

Eyeglasses are being collected for the eyeglass recycling program. Moses Lake is the Eastern Washington hub for eyeglass donations, Conley said.

Lions are passing out information at the events regarding the sight and hearing programs and invite community members to wear a white cane to raise awareness. Other places to donate money or items are the Moses Lake Post Office, Safeway and Food Pavilion.