This summer, 125 athletes participating in the Special Olympics lined up to receive free eye exams from Johns Hopkins Medicine ophthalmologist Edward Kuwera and a host of volunteers. The volunteers helped the athletes navigate 11 stations that ranged from checking vision to depth perception, measuring eye pressure, external and internal eye exams, refraction tests for glasses, and an opportunity to pick out new frames or sunglasses.

“The smiles on the athletes’ faces when we’ve provided them with a free resource or let them know they’re doing well are so wonderful,” says Kuwera, who specializes in pediatric conditions and adult strabismus at Wilmer Eye Institute. “There’s this afterglow that stays with you after an event. It’s a rewarding feeling of helping so many people and improving the quality of life for the community.”

Kuwera is a key member of the Special Olympics Lions Clubs International Foundation Opening Eyes program. According to Kayla Shields, the Special Olympics Maryland director of inclusive health and fitness, the program is part of the organization’s Healthy Athletes initiative. Established in 1997, Healthy Athletes is designed to improve athletes’ health and fitness to enhance their ability to train and compete in Special Olympics. Healthy Athletes is made up of nine disciplines, including Fit Feet (podiatry), FUNfitness (physical therapy), Healthy Hearing (audiology), Health Promotion (general health and wellness), Opening Eyes (optometry), MedFest (sports physicals), Special Smiles (dentistry) and Healthy Young Athletes (pediatric screening). All these programs are noninvasive screenings designed to offer additional support at no cost to the athletes and their families.

Shields says the Opening Eyes program has found that a large percentage of Special Olympics athletes in the U.S. have untreated eye problems. Four percent have never had an eye exam, and 48% need new prescription glasses.

“Without volunteers, we wouldn’t be able to offer any of these screenings,” says Shields. “They are educating athletes, their guardians, coaches and administrators about the importance of vision. The more volunteers we get, the more events we can have.”

Kuwera says each Opening Eyes event is planned a year in advance. His role is to recruit volunteers, obtain equipment to screen the athletes, coordinate the flow of the day and train volunteers on each of their roles.

“With the help of the Lion’s Club, we give out over 100 pairs of free glasses and sunglasses, and for any serious or urgent conditions that we see, we also provide a referral to the athlete,” Kuwera says.

Kuwera says organizing this event has been a unique learning process. Volunteers come from all walks of life and have different levels of understanding of a medical exam. He teaches each volunteer the essential aspects of the screening so they can work efficiently and effectively. Volunteers must also complete a 30-minute training module before the screening.

“Anyone can volunteer. Every person has an important role, and no particular position is less important than any other one,” says Kuwera.

Colin Kane, O.D., F.A.A.O., is an optometrist within the division of neuro-ophthalmology and sees patients at Wilmer Eye Institute. Kane volunteers with Opening Eyes to measure glasses prescriptions and perform ocular health exams.

“I enjoy talking to the athletes about their events. At the end of the day, it’s nice to see how many people we’ve helped,” says Kane. “We’d like to rally more interest and get more volunteers.”

Wilmer Genetic Eye Disease Center coordinator Alie Collins also volunteers with Opening Eyes. She has had several roles, including checking visual acuity, measuring eye pressure and implementing auto-refraction.

“I love how happy everyone is — the volunteers, the athletes, the parents,” says Collins. “It’s so much fun! I leave the event feeling good, and I’m happy to know I’ve helped people who need it.”

To volunteer with the Special Olympics Maryland, visit https://www.somd.org/volunteer/