About Us
The Florida Lions Eye Clinic (FLLEC) was founded in 2008 by retired ophthalmologists and members of the Lions Club who recognized a critical gap in access to eye care for underserved communities in Southwest Florida. Since its founding, the Clinic has remained committed to providing high-quality vision care to those who would otherwise go without treatment.
As a nonprofit organization, FLLEC relies exclusively on donor contributions and private grants to fund its operations. The Clinic places a strong emphasis on collaborative partnerships that support its mission of serving the community. Qualified patients receive a wide range of comprehensive eye care services and medical treatments at no cost. FLLEC serves Florida residents who have no medical insurance and whose household income is at or below 300% of the federal poverty level.
Each year, the Clinic helps more than 3,200 patients by providing over $3.1 million in free eye care services. FLLEC performs more than 200 in-house surgeries annually, while hundreds of additional patients are referred to outside surgical centers where they also receive treatment completely free of charge.
The Clinic has also introduced a school vision program that helps children succeed academically and participate more fully in extracurricular activities. Comprehensive eye exams identify vision problems early, allowing for treatment before conditions become more difficult to correct.
The Florida Lions Eye Clinic depends on dedicated volunteers to help prevent blindness and improve the quality of life for underserved members of the community. Cultural awareness and sensitivity are central to the Clinic's mission, and it is fortunate to have many bilingual staff members and volunteers who help provide interpretation and compassionate care for the diverse populations it serves.
Our Story
The Florida Lions Eye Clinic provides exemplary and comprehensive eye care for those who cannot afford vision services. FLLEC’s mission is to provide state-of-the-art medical and surgical eye care that is accessible to underserved individuals in Florida.
As a nonprofit, FLLEC relies exclusively on donor contributions and private grants for its operating revenue. FLLEC focuses greatly on collaborative partnerships that complement the mission to serve the community. Qualified patients receive a wide range of quality eye care services and medical treatments free of charge. FLLEC patients are residents of Florida, have no medical insurance of any kind, and are at or below 200% of the federal
poverty level. The Clinic helps over 2,900 patients with over $1,000,000 worth of services provided free of charge annually. FLLEC provides over 125 in house surgeries, and hundreds more patients are referred to outside surgery centers with absolutely no cost to the patient. Monthly Children’s Eye Clinics are held to help children succeed in school and extracurricular activities and comprehensive exams are performed to detect issues that could be harder to correct in the future if left untreated.
The Florida Lions Eye Clinic relies heavily on volunteers to help the underserved in our community prevent blindness. Cultural awareness and sensitivity are a key focus, and the Clinic is grateful for most of the staff and volunteers being bilingual to assist with interpretation of the diverse backgrounds that are served.
Healthy eyesight is a basic need, essential to perform some of the most ordinary functions in daily life. With poor eyesight, children’s academic performance is hindered, and adults are far less effective in their jobs or become unemployed. Giving the Gift of Sight is what inspires the Clinic’s leadership team.
