About Us

A division of SightLife, the Northwest Lions Foundation provides sight and hearing-related assistance to individuals across the Pacific Northwest who could not otherwise afford their medical care on their own.

Founded in 1969 as the Northwest Lions Eye Bank, the Foundation has dedicated more than 45 years to serving the communities in Washington state and across Northern Idaho in order to restore sight and hearing to those in need.

The Foundation continues to partner with Lions Clubs throughout Multiple District 19, and operates the Lions Health Screening Unit which provides health screenings at no cost to school children and community members to assist the early detection of health problems that could potentially result in the loss of vision or hearing if left untreated.

Our Mission

We serve, with Northwest Lions Clubs, as an innovative provider of sight and hearing care with a passion for quality and excellence.

Our Vision

To be a leader, recognized for innovative sight and hearing service creating humanitarian benefit.

Our Values

  • Quality: We continuously pursue the highest standards in our programs, people, and service.
  • Integrity: We continuously pursue the highest standards of ethics, professionalism, and honesty.
  • Passion: We are driven by a genuine commitment to our mission and those we serve.
  • Innovation: We embrace, encourage, and create entrepreneurial solutions to sight and hearing challenges.

Our History

The Northwest Lions Foundation partners with Lions Clubs in Washington and Northern Idaho to help them accomplish sight and hearing missions in their own communities – one neighbor at a time…

1925Helen Keller travels to Lions International Convention to ask Lions to serve as “Knights of the Blind.” Lions say, “Yes!”
1969Regional Lions Clubs band together to establish the Northwest Lions Eye Bank.
1979Lions International President Ralph Lynam asks Lions to extend their special sight mission to also help those who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. Lions say, “Yes!”
1979At their district convention, Lions Clubs of Washington and Northern Idaho vote to found the Lions Hearing Conservation Foundation.
1998Northwest Lions say “Yes!” to the opportunity to achieve dual missions with greater efficiency, merging sight and hearing conservation into one organization – the Lions Sight & Hearing Foundation of Washington and Northern Idaho.
1999In order to make newborn hearing screening a routine practice in the region, the Lions Early Assessment Program (LEAP) was established. Understanding hearing deficiencies early in life is critical for learning speech and language.
2000LEAP joined forces with Seattle Children’s Hospital’s Division of Pediatric Audiology in an effort to implement statewide universal newborn hearing screening to hospitals across Washington State.
2001To reflect the expanding reach of our humanitarian services and a merger with the Montana Eye Bank, we change our name to Northwest Lions Foundation for Sight & Hearing.
2004The Northwest Lions Foundation launches AUDIENT, a national nonprofit alliance bringing low-cost, high-quality hearing care to income-qualified individuals.
2006To better reflect its national and international role, the Board of Trustees of the Northwest Lions Foundation renames the Northwest Lions Eye Bank as SightLife.
2008SightLife is established as the parent organization of both the Northwest Lions Foundation and AUDIENT.

Northwest Lions Foundation

Executives

Bill Lundin
Board Chair
Hazel Dell Lions
blundin@comcast.net
Gary Reidel
Secretary/Treasurer
Port Angeles Lions
glreidel@wavecable.com
Brian Ross
Vice Chair of the Board
Chewelah Lions Club
bandross@centurylink.net
Roger Richert
Immediate Past Board Chair
Renton Lions
roger@richertnet.com

District Trustees

Donna Oiland
District 19-B Trustee
University/Ballard Lions Club
donnaoiland@gmail.com
Roland Arper
District 19-C Trustee
Port Orchard Lions Club
jarper@wavecable.com
Shelley Costello
District 19-D Trustee
Wenatchee Central Lions Club
shelan1437@aol.com
Frank Bega
District 19-E Trustee
Rathdrum Lions
frankbega@frontier.net
Steve Noble
District 19-F Trustee
Yakima Lions Club
steve@abbottsprinting.com
Mike Parker
District G Trustee
Longview Pioneer Lions Club
army.guy@icloud.com
Rock White
District 19-H Trustee
Burlington Lions Club
rockwhite@hotmail.com
Mike Dukes
District 19-I Trustee
Clallam Bay Seiku Lions Club
dukesmk@centurylink.net

Additional Trustees

Sabra Lynn Vaughn
Trustee At Large
Bellingham Harborview Lions
slynnvaughn@comcast.net
Al Beddows
Trustee At Large
Sooke Lions Club
abeds@shaw.ca
Al Hedstrom
Council Chair
Silverdale Lions Club
lional@hedstrom.ws

SightLife

Executives

Jim McCorkle
Interim CEO
Sandy Jeghers
Senior Advisor to CEO
sandy.jeghers@sightlife.org

Operations

Marsha Rastatter
Lions Program Coordinator
marshar@nlfoundation.org

For SightLife staff, click here »