Lions World Vision Institute

01/12/2026

On this , and before charging ahead into everything 2026 will bring, we want to honor what made 2025 so powerful.

This past year, Lions World Vision Institute advanced sight and healing because of an extraordinary community working together across the country and around the world. To our dedicated staff and leaders, our generous Foundation supporters, ophthalmologists, hospital partners, coroners and medical examiners, thank you for showing up every day with excellence, compassion, and purpose.

And most of all, we honor the donors and donor families whose selfless gifts restore vision, create possibility, and change lives forever. Everything we do begins with you.

This video captures just a glimpse of what’s possible when innovation, collaboration, and heart come together in service of others. We are already gearing up for an incredible 2026 expanding impact, advancing science, and reaching more people in need than ever before.

But reflection matters. Gratitude matters. And success is always sweeter when we recognize the people behind it.

Here’s to what we’ve accomplished together, and to everything still to come, .

01/09/2026

On December 19th we held a monumental moment at Lions World Vision Institute as we continue to make progress on our future Vision Health Center in Ybor City. We are especially grateful for the many leaders, partners, and well over 100 attendees who attended this groundbreaking milestone.

A heartfelt thank you to U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor for her steadfast support and advocacy in helping move this vision forward. Her commitment to children’s health and access to care has been instrumental in seeing this project through to this important moment.

We also extend our appreciation to Congressman Gus Bilirakis for sharing his message with our audience and for his continued support of Lions World Vision Institute and this transformational project.

We are equally thankful to Mayor Jane Castor, Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan & Commissioner Harry Cohen, Council Member Naya Young, Board Chairman Mike Griffin, and Parks & Recreation Site Supervisor Jamal Jefferson for sharing inspirational messages and for their commitment to the health and well-being of the communities we serve.

We would also like to thank the ever so professional Lissete Campos for being our master of ceremonies. And a special shout-out goes to Thaddeus Bullard aka Titus O'Neil for his continued support of our region's youth programs.

It truly takes a village, and we are grateful to stand alongside champions who believe in a future where every child can see the world clearly. We look forward to sharing updates on the progress of the project.

Hillsborough County, Florida Government
Naya Young for District 5 City Council

12/31/2025

As we reflect on this year, we’re reminded that none of our work is possible without you.
Your year-end gift helps expand access to essential vision care, from screenings to research to training the next generation of sight-saving surgeons.

The countdown is on⏰… make your final impact of the year count!

✨ Donate today and be part of someone’s brighter future: https://lwvi.org/make-a-gift/

Thank you for standing with us and helping bring the gift of sight to those who need it most, .

12/29/2025

The holiday season is the perfect time to give back, and few gifts are as life-changing as the gift of sight. With only 2 days left to give in 2025, your donation can help change someone’s life in the year ahead.

For just $10, you can help provide a child with a pair of glasses or support the corneal tissue needed for a sight-restoring transplant.

Your generosity today can open a brighter, clearer future for someone tomorrow. ✨
🔗https://lwvi.org/make-a-gift/

Donate before year-end and help us give the gift of sight.

12/25/2025

Merry Christmas from your friends at Lions World Vision Institute!

Each year, we ask children from the Hillsborough County Public Schools Very Important People Who Are Visually Impaired People (VIP2) program to submit artwork for our annual holiday art contest. Our staff selects the winner, and their art is featured on the Lions World Vision Institute’s official holiday card.

This year's winner is Christopher!

He is in third grade and his visual impairment is Strabismus. "Christopher is an amazing boy with the sweetest heart! He loves Christmas and he loves to draw."

We are honored to share Christopher's creation with you.

12/22/2025

Today, Jenn wakes up each morning with renewed independence and joy, and with the letter from Shaun’s family by her bedside. It reminds her of the young man whose generosity transformed her life and restored her freedom.

Her eye color may be the same, but the lens through which she sees the world has changed forever.

This is the power of eye donation.
This is the impact of compassion.
This is what your generosity makes possible.

As we close the year, you can help carry this legacy forward. Your support ensures more families, like Jenn’s and Shaun’s, experience stories of healing, connection, and hope 💙

👉 Make your year-end gift today: https://give.classy.org/seethejoyofgiving2025

12/17/2025

Shaun is the young man who changed Jenn’s life forever.

After months of uncertainty and unanswered pain, Jenn finally learned she needed a corneal transplant. That healing came from a 23-year-old donor in Colorado whose adventurous spirit lives on through the gift of sight.

Through the aftercare program offered by all eye banks, Jenn connected with Shaun’s family by writing a letter. Their reply was filled with stories about his love for nature and adventure, and that his most defining feature was his big, beautiful blue eyes.

A detail Jenn will never forget. Stories like this remind us why donation matters 💙

Eye donation saves and restores lives every day. When you support our mission, you help ensure more families, like Jenn’s and Shaun’s, can experience healing, connection, and hope.

Help us honor the gift of sight: https://give.classy.org/seethejoyofgiving2025

12/16/2025

As part of the longstanding tradition, LWVI staff members help make the season brighter by selecting a “heart” representing a child and their holiday gift wish. This year LWVI staff fulfilled wishes for 42 VIP² students, helping ensure every child feels valued and celebrated.

In partnership with Hillsborough County Public Schools, the VIP² Holiday Party honors Very Important People who are Visually Impaired People (VIP²). This year's event took place at McLane Middle School in Brandon and brought together students, educators, families, and community partners to create an environment where visually impaired children feel celebrated, supported, and empowered.

Through initiatives like VIP², LWVI champions early intervention, education, and community engagement, which are core pillars of the LWVI Foundation’s mission. By fostering connection and building confidence among young students with visual impairments, the program reinforces our belief that every child deserves the opportunity to see their world clearly and participate fully in school, play, and life.

12/12/2025

Today we’re honored to share a story that reminds us just how far a single gift can reach.

The Legacy of Loni and the Ripple Effect of Sight is more than a tale about a pioneering artist, it’s a testament to resilience, reinvention, and the power of one person’s restored vision to inspire millions.

Needlepoint may be a quiet craft, but in the hands of Loni Smith, known as Jo Ippolito Christensen, it became a global movement. Her 1976 Needlepoint Book reshaped the field and remains its leading resource nearly 50 years later.

Behind her success is a lesser-known story of fading vision, determination, and the lifesaving gift of corneal transplants.

Diagnosed with keratoconus at 28, Loni’s eyesight deteriorated until stitching became impossible. She even wrote her first edition while battling pain and limited sight.

Between 1979 and 2005, she underwent several corneal surgeries, before eye banks and national sharing systems existed, often traveling on short notice for the chance to regain her vision. One unforgettable moment followed a transplant: stepping outside and seeing individual leaves for the first time in years.

With her sight restored, she revised The Needlepoint Book, bringing modern materials, global techniques, and fresh design principles to stitchers around the world. Her influence continues to shape the craft today.

Thanks to today’s advances, more people receive this same gift with better outcomes. And at the heart of every transplant is someone who said yes.

Now a registered donor, Loni says, “Because someone said yes, I got my life back. And I got to help others find theirs, too.”

12/11/2025

When the light fades, hope matters more than ever.

The Florida sun shimmered across the water the day Jenn set out paddle boarding, a beloved activity she assumed would be like any other time. She had no idea that a microscopic organism, Acanthamoeba, would soon steal her vision and turn her world upside down.

What followed was months of excruciating pain, blurred vision, and complete light sensitivity. Jenn visited 14 doctors, desperate for answers.

For someone who once loved the outdoors, even stepping outside became unbearable. She lived behind blackout curtains, unable to drive or work, clinging to hope that relief would come.

Jenn’s world grew dark. But her determination never did.

Jenn kept searching for answers and eventually, she found one, along with a glimmer of hope.

Over the next two weeks, we invite you to follow Jenn’s journey. Her story is a powerful reminder of why the gift of sight matters, and why your support of eye donation awareness makes a profound difference.

As we launch our End-of-Year Giving series, we’re sharing Jenn’s journey to shed light on the importance of sight restoration and the hope that donation provides.

We invite you to follow along her story, stay tuned for Part 2, and learn more about our mission: https://giving.classy.org/campaign/746147/donate

12/04/2025

Thank you to Bloom host and LWVI Foundation Board Member Gayle Guyardo for an excellent interview with our President & CEO Jason K. Woody, highlighting a major milestone for Lions World Vision Institute, the launch of our new Vision Health Center in Ybor City, set to break ground in a few weeks.

In the conversation, Jason shared how this first-of-its-kind center will expand access to essential vision care and serve as a model for community-driven innovation in eye health.

🎥 Watch the interview to hear more about what this means for Tampa Bay and the future of vision care, .

https://www.wfla.com/bloom-tampa-bay/giving-the-gift-of-sight-lions-world-vision-institute-breaks-ground-on-new-vision-health-center-in-tampa/

WFLA News Channel 8

BLOOM (TAMPA) – Lions World Vision Institute (LWVI) is taking a major step toward transforming eye care for underserved communities in Tampa Bay. President and CEO Jason Woody joined Gayle Gu…

12/04/2025

Each year, Ascension Sacred Heart Bay, LifeNet Health, LifeQuest Organ Recovery Services, and Lions World Vision Institute come together to honor the extraordinary families of organ, tissue, and eye donors at the annual Christmas Tree of Life celebration in Panama City, Florida.

As one donor mother shared: “It gives me a good feeling to know that my son lives on other people and that he loved helping and that’s why I wanted to be a donor,”** donor, mother, and recipient, Deborah Booker said.

Families gathered in Ascension Sacred Heart Bay’s Healing Garden Atrium to place handmade ornaments, each one representing a loved one who gave the gift of life. The evening included a short program, reflections from partner organizations, and moments of connection that brought comfort and hope during the holiday season.

Those in attendance spoke of the deep sense of community this event creates, and the shared commitment to continuing this meaningful tradition for years to come.

A beautiful reminder that through donation, love truly lives on. 🎄💙

Watch the beautiful story on WJHG-TV:

Annual memorial event brings families together to remember loved ones who gave gift of life