If you're a listener seeking to make the most of your partial vision, this episode is designed with you in mind! We are pleased to be joined by Jennifer Hunt Spurling, who proudly serves as Communications Coordinator with the Kentucky Lions Eye Foundation. The Eye Foundation recently opened a brand new low vision clinic inside Louisville's McDowell Center, and appointments are being scheduled. In addition, the crew is preparing to host the Mr. and Miss Kentucky Basketball Awards Ceremony on Sunday March 16th. Come along as Jennifer details the surprisingly rich history of the Eye Foundation, the commendable services it provides, and the noteworthy offerings of the low vision clinic.

To purchase tickets for Mr. and Miss Kentucky Basketball, simply follow this link: https://mrandmisskybasketball.com/tickets/.

There is also an online auction throughout the week leading up to the event, which will begin Monday March 10th at 7:00AM Eastern (You do not have to attend the ceremony to partake in the auction.). Follow the link below to browse and bid on items: https://www.givergy.us/2025MMBball/?controller=home.

Thanks to Chris Ankin for use of his song, “Change.”

The book "A Celebration of Family: Stories of Parents with Disabilities." is available from Amazon here.

Be sure to follow the Advocado Press Facebook page

Visit Appalachian Assistive Technology Loan Fund for assistance.

Visit Moving Forward, the Advocado Press blog.

Send comments and questions to [email protected]

Demand and Disrupt is sponsored by the Advocado Press and the Center For Accessible Living.

You can find the transcript in the show notes below when they become available.

Transcript

Robotic Voice You're listening to Demand and Disrupt, the podcast for information about accessibility, advocacy, and all things disability.

Kimberly Parsley Welcome to Demand and Disrupt, a disability podcast. I'm your host, Kimberly Parsley.

Sam Moore And I'm your co-host, Sam Moore. How's it going, Kimberly?

Kimberly Parsley It is going very well. How are things up there at the North Quail Motel, Sam?

Sam Moore Oh, I'm telling you, we're fully booked. You're going to have to wait at least a few days to get a reservation up here. But, you know, it's pretty nice outside. And so we're all sort of getting spring fever around here. I don't think we're out of the woods yet in terms of cold weather. [chuckle]

Kimberly Parsley Sure not, I'm sure not.

Sam Moore But, you know, it makes us think that we're home for all this 50 degree plus weather. [chuckle]

Kimberly Parsley It does. It does. And people may hear it here at Demand and Disrupt Studios. People may hear wind chimes. [chuckle]

Sam Moore Oh, yes, because those have been quite loud all day, with good reason, because it's breezy there.

Kimberly Parsley It is. It is indeed.

Sam Moore But I wouldn't frown. I don't hear him yet, but I would not frown on hearing some wind chime music. That would be like the perfect touch to the perfect podcast, don't you think?

Kimberly Parsley I do, I do love, I do love some wind chimes. I really do.

Sam Moore Yeah. They're comforting, they're, you know, they soothe the soul. Only bad thing is they might put me to sleep and—

Kimberly Parsley And, you know, if you—

Sam Moore You know, if you want to wake me up. [chuckle]

Kimberly Parsley If you're blind, they're also informative, right? So you can tell how windy it is.

Sam Moore Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. If they're blowing, if the wind's blowing and they're loud, then you know that it's a windy day and there's wind advisory potential. [chuckle]

Kimberly Parsley Yeah, I took them down because I, you know, if they're calling for like ice and stuff, those little strings that hold wind chimes together will freeze and they'll break. And so I take them down, but I thought it was safe. I had Michael put them back up a couple of days ago.

Sam Moore I think if with any luck, we're safe in the ice department at this point. But yeah, you want to preserve those precious choms, you know, for spring. You know, you don't want to take a chance at damaging strings in the inclement winter weather. [chuckle]

Kimberly Parsley Nope. Nope. You don't. I do. I do love them. Well, Sam, you did our interview today. So tell me who we're talking to.

Sam Moore We, madam, are talking with the one and only Jennifer Hunt Spurling. And as I told you, she is actually from your neck of the woods, good old Morgantown, Kentucky.

Kimberly Parsley Oh, yes. The birth place of Kimberly Jane Parsley. [chuckle]

Sam Moore Yes. The birth place of Kimberly Parsley. She is the whole reason that Morgantown and Butler County is on the map. [chuckle]

Kimberly Parsley They would be surprised to hear that, I'm sure. [laughter]

Sam Moore But anyway, I told you the name, Jennifer Hunt Spurling, and at first it didn't ring a bell with you, did it?

Kimberly Parsley Not at first, but then again, I'm getting old.

Sam Moore No, nobody said that. But anyhow, she moved to Louisville for a while. She's back in Morgantown now, but she still works with the Kentucky Lions Eye Foundation. She is the communications coordinator up there. And so she filled us in on, you know, the commendable services they provide and the rich history of the organization. They just opened up, and we'll talk about this, too, a brand spanking new low vision clinic inside the Charles McDowell Center in Louisville. Did you ever go to the McDowell Center, Kimberly?

Kimberly Parsley I did. I have been a couple of times. I went back, I think last summer where they had done post COVID, they had done some remodeling and had an open house and it's really, really nice.

Sam Moore So you went to the open house. [thoughtful]

Kimberly Parsley Uh-huh. Yeah.

Sam Moore Well, this low vision clinic is in the McDowell Center, and it runs twice a month typically, and they'll fill us in. But if you, you know, if you have a certain amount of vision still left to work with and you're trying to figure out how to preserve it, maybe, you know, maximize its effectiveness. You definitely want to hit it up and talk with the doctor and, you know, get her opinion. She is very good at what she does. Very professional. She actually, her main gig is up in Maryland, but she swings down to Louisville twice a month to help with this low vision clinic. She actually used to live in Louisville. So that's, I guess, how she got connected with with this opportunity. But yeah, for any of our low vision, large print listeners, shall we say this could be right up your alley.

Kimberly Parsley Yeah. Yeah. And if any of our listeners knows someone who fits that description, you know, please pass this along to them. Cause I know lots of people who are excited about it, very excited about getting their appointment at the low vision clinic. It's a kind of a big deal.

Sam Moore It is a big deal. They are very excited about it, Jennifer and her crew, and with good reason. In fact, something else the Kentucky Lions Eye Foundation has got going on. They are proudly affiliated with the Mr. and Miss Kentucky Basketball event, which is coming up on Sunday, March the 16th. So that is, you know, gosh, after a week from the Sunday after this podcast comes out, you can make your arrangements to go to Lexington and, you know, attend this event. Kimberly, this honors the top-rated high school male and female basketball players in the state of Kentucky.

Kimberly Parsley Huh. Top rated. Now, how did how did they determine that? Do you know, is it like a voting or is it like a point scored?

Sam Moore There's a committee, I believe. I'm not exactly sure how it's determined, but I'm pretty positive there's a committee and they get together and review nominations and that sort of thing.

Kimberly Parsley Of course, with the Mr. and Miss Kentucky basketball, I think what you're talking about is you're looking at your future Wildcats and Lady Wildcats, probably, right?

Sam Moore Yeah, and hopefully a few Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers—

Kimberly Parsley Right, there you go.

Sam Moore —in there as well. We wouldn't mind that either.

Kimberly Parsley We will just leave out the Cardinals, right? Is that what we're doing?

Sam Moore Yeah, I guess so. Yeah, no offense to our Big Red fans, the other Big Red. If it's top of the league. [laughter]

Kimberly Parsley The other Big Red.

Sam Moore Yeah, the other Big Red, you know, we still love you, but, you know, we got to give first priority to the Cats and Lady Cats, Tops and Lady Tops. [laughter]

Kimberly Parsley There you go.

Sam Moore Anyway, March 16th is the big day for this event, and March 14th, the Friday before, that is the deadline for purchasing your online tickets. So we will include here in the show notes a link to purchase tickets, and also something you might be interested in, Kimberly, they're also going to have an online auction the week leading up to the banquet for Mr. and Miss Kentucky. Really?

Kimberly Parsley Really? Uh-huh.

Sam Moore You can go and, gosh, they're going to have all sorts of different things.

Kimberly Parsley And the proceeds go to the...

Sam Moore Go to the Lion's Eye Foundation. Yeah, and there's a link to partake in that auction as well. It opens Monday the 10th at 7 a.m. Eastern, and it closes Sunday evening the 16th at 7 p.m. Eastern. So you've got plenty of time to investigate, scope out what's available. And, you know, I might have been wishful thinking on the Braille book slightly, but you never know, Kimberly.

Kimberly Parsley You never do. They may have got some donations of those from National Brill Press or APH or something.

Sam Moore And you're trying to sort of, you know, brush up your braille skills with the with the fingers that are still of service to you. [laughter]

Kimberly Parsley I am, and it's getting better every day, little by little.

Sam Moore That's what it's all about.

Kimberly Parsley Yeah. Tiny baby steps

Sam Moore Perpetual strides.

Kimberly Parsley Exactly.

Sam Moore But we will include in the show notes link to purchase tickets for the Mr., Miss, Kentucky basketball, and a link to partake in the online auction so that you can have that. Enjoy a little shopping spree from the comfort of your home, which we're all sort of accustomed to these days.

Kimberly Parsley Yeah. Yeah. And I mean, Lion's Eye Foundation, they do such great work, don't they?

Sam Moore They do. They are. And of course, they're affiliated with the Lions Club and the Louisville Lions Club was a very instrumental in getting that organization up and running many, many moons ago. And, yeah, they have traveling groups that, you know, travel across the state and offer services like vision screenings and things like that to people who are eligible. And, gosh, the list just goes on and on. So you will find you will find Jennifer Hunt Spurling to be a wealth of information, to say the least.

Kimberly Parsley Well, wonderful. I can't wait. So we are about to hear Sam's interview with Jennifer Hunt Spurling.

Sam Moore Enjoy, peeps! Well, if you or somebody you know has low vision or no vision, then chances are you or that special someone in your life will probably, if not certainly possibly, reap the benefits of services and programs offered through the Kentucky Lions Eye Foundation. They have a rich history that dates back a lot farther than you might think and a number of commendable programs and services that they have proudly offered for a number of years and continue to offer other new offerings such as a low vision clinic that just opened its doors in Louisville within the past few weeks or so. The official ribbon cutting is still yet to come, but they are open and ready to serve at this point. So here to talk about that as well as the other info concerning the history and the mission of the Kentucky Lions Eye Foundation programs and some other resources that perhaps we can benefit from is the communications coordinator of the Kentucky Lions Eye Foundation coming to us direct via Zoom from Butler County, Kentucky. It's Miss Jennifer Hunt Spurling.

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Thank you for having me. [chuckle]

Sam Moore Jennifer, it is great to have you with us. Quite a pleasure indeed. Now, we should point out that, of course, the new Low Vision Clinic is opening, actually has just opened in Louisville. And the Kentucky Lions Eye Foundation is also based in Louisville. You were yourself there for a while, but you recently moved back home to Morgantown there where you are originally from. How long have you been back home, Jennifer?

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Yeah, so it's been right at two years.

Sam Moore Two years?

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Yeah, so I was in Louisville for... Oh, 10 or 11 years. I'm losing track of time here, but worked there. And then after, you know, COVID, everything went remote—

Sam Moore Right.

Jennifer Hunt Spurling —and was able to move whenever my husband got a position down closer to home and live within, I'd say three miles of 90% of my family. So nice to be home.

Sam Moore How about that? It's great to be in close proximity to so many folks that you know. and love and grew up with in many cases. In fact, I think I read you're on the family farm, right?

Jennifer Hunt Spurling I am, yep.

Sam Moore Yeah, the same farm that you grew up on. What types of animals do you have there on the farm, Jennifer?

Jennifer Hunt Spurling So my dad and brother have a dairy farm, so we have lots of dairy cows. They also have some beef operations, so some beef cattle, chickens through Purdue. And then my sister and I have a small flower farm on the side as well. So we have... All kinds of things going on.

Sam Moore Quite the well-rounded family. And, of course, Purdue Farms is just up the road from you there in Ohio County, Cromwell. to be exact. So I'm quite familiar with that, too. [chuckle] Well, Jennifer, we have a lot of info for the valued patrons out there that I know they'll find quite interesting. Of course, you graduated from Butler County High School. Now, being a Western alumnus, I should know what Butler County is, but I'm a little fuzzy. Is it the Cougars?

Jennifer Hunt Spurling We're the Bears.

Sam Moore The Bears. Butler County Bears. You didn't play any sports in high school, Dixon.

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Oh, not well. I played volleyball for a brief period, but not well. [chuckle]

Sam Moore Oh, well, you know, you played and it kept you moving anyway. So you gave your feet something to do. [laughter] That's never a bad thing.

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Mm-hmm.

Sam Moore But anyhow, you graduated from there, made your way to Lexington. You became a Wildcat, studied at the University of Kentucky. So why don't you first talk about the knowledge and experience you gained as a student at UK and the means by which that equipped you to excel in your current capacity.

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Yeah. Well, I knew from a young kid that UK was going to be the plan for me. I was a third generation UK graduate. My grandfather was there in the 50s and my dad was there in the 70s and early 80s.

Sam Moore So it runs in the family.

Jennifer Hunt Spurling So it runs in the family. So I was excited to go to UK, studied communications and marketing and, you know, just kind of landed in this role and kind of grew the role that I have now because of the experience and knowledge that I gained at UK.

Sam Moore Absolutely. Both my parents went to UK, so I was sort of the rebel going to Western, but at least I stayed in state. And I'm still a Wildcat fan, so, you know, there's definitely... a special spot in my heart for the Big Blue. Now, while you were studying communications and marketing at Kentucky, did you do any internships or side work like that, maybe in the form of employment or maybe not exactly paid that transitioned into your ultimate career path?

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Sure. I had a couple of internships, but before that, I worked four years at the Singletary Center for the Arts as an event manager there and kind of stayed on even a little bit after graduation. And that's where I really fell in love with event management. And a portion of my job now is event management. So that kind of led me into realizing that I liked that.

Sam Moore When you were working for the Singletary Center, you probably didn't realize that that experience would serve you so well for so long, did you?

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Yep. Yep. I had an internship with the United Way of the Bluegrass, and that kind of introduced me into the nonprofit world and kind of opened my eyes to all of the possibilities there as well. So that also helped push me in this direction.

Sam Moore I see. So your your internship with United Way was sort of your first exposure to the nonprofit sector, shall we say.

Sam Moore Now, Jennifer, you've been a proud member of the Kentucky Lions Foundation staff since 2011. But let's back up a bit prior to that and after your your UK student days were over. And why don't you give us a snapshot of your your previous job titles that you held prior to the foundation?

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Okay. So just right out of UK, I got a job at Central Bank and worked there as a teller for a little over a year. Got a promotion shortly before I left there to come to KLEF, but started at KLEF just simply as administrative assistant. Had a friend who worked in the office at the time and got a really good recommendation from him and came in just not knowing a lot about it, but fell in love with the people. All of the Lions Club members embraced me. We had a great board. We're a very small staff. We had a staff of just three. So I came in as the newbie and kind of learned the ropes for a couple of years. We were later able to hire on a fourth staff member who kind of took over my role as administrative assistant and I moved more into the communications coordinator role.

Sam Moore So right along with what you studied in college.

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Mm–hmm.

Sam Moore So you had a connection in the office that's how you were first sort of drawn to it and became familiar with it and so you came to to Louisville from Lexington, and a few years later became communications coordinator. So you've held that particular title, I guess, for a little over a decade now.

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Yeah, I'd say so.

Sam Moore And as your role has evolved, you've been able to do more and more of it remotely, which of course gave you the freedom there to go back to Morgantown where you're from and handle your duties there. Although you do a fair amount of travel in your job, don't you?

Jennifer Hunt Spurling That's right. Yes, I am in Louisville fairly often to go back for certain events and things that are going on. But also just out and about in the state, visiting Lions clubs and different groups to talk about KLEF and what we do and to kind of help promote our events and just upcoming program needs.

Sam Moore Cool stuff. And, you know, it's worth mentioning, I'm sure most people have probably figured this out already, but yes, the Kentucky Lions Eye Foundation is indeed closely affiliated with the Lions Club. Now, how long have you been a Lion, Jennifer?

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Oh... [thoughtful] [chuckle]

Sam Moore It's probably all a blur now, but... [chuckle]

Jennifer Hunt Spurling It is. I probably joined in 2012 or 13. So it's been a decade or so of that as well.

Sam Moore So shortly after you became part of the Eye Foundation staff.

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Mm-hmm. Yes.

Sam Moore You became a... active in the Lions Club, and they've got a great chapter there in the Louisville area. I guess now that you're in Morgantown, have you transferred to the Butler County chapter?

Jennifer Hunt Spurling There's not currently a Butler County chapter.

Sam Moore Oh, there's not. Okay.

Jennifer Hunt Spurling I'm still technically a member of the club I was in in Louisville, I'm holding on to that until I get around to see the local clubs.

Sam Moore That's cool stuff so just because you're slightly displaced doesn't mean that you've lost your spot in the Louisville Lions Club indeed. So we mentioned your travel. You cover a pretty fair territory. In fact, what exactly does your territory encompass besides Louisville? I know you came to Owensboro to talk to the Support Alliance for the Visually Impaired group, which I personally am affiliated with. Do you do much travel in central and eastern Kentucky?

Jennifer Hunt Spurling We go to Lexington some, and then we will go to Eastern Kentucky. We'll really go anywhere in Kentucky that wants to hear from us. We have a really good group of trustees. We have over 30 board members who kind of represent all regions of Kentucky. So we're lucky that we have people kind of boots on the ground all throughout the state. And so a lot of our trustees will go out and visit clubs on behalf of KLEF. So they do a lot of work for us.

Sam Moore Bottom line, you and your peeps will go wherever it is that you're summoned. [chuckle]

Jennifer Hunt Spurling That's true, yeah.

Sam Moore For sure, which is certainly to be commended. So before it's all said and done, Jennifer, I have faith that you'll set foot in all 120 counties. So I think it's just a matter of time. [chuckle] So in addition to your travel and your... your speaking engagements and things like that. What other duties does your role encompass as communications coordinator there?

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Sure. We have a monthly newsletter that I send out that kind of does a recap of each month of our program numbers, people that we've served that month, as well as events that we've hosted, events that are coming up. You know, obviously our low vision clinic opening, that's been a big highlight in recent newsletters. We had a golf scramble back in October. So that's something that we highlight. In addition to the newsletters, it's social media, any kind of advertising for events or programs that we do.

Sam Moore Website management and that sort of thing. Between all that, it keeps you beyond busy enough. But it's nice to know that when travel is not warranted, you can do that stuff from the comfort of your own home. Definitely has its perks. Now, switching gears from you to the organization with whom you've been affiliated now for 13 years, the Eye Foundation, like we said, its history dates back a lot farther than I'm sure a number of our listeners realize. So how about a general outline, Jennifer, of the Eye Foundation's commendable history with maybe a few noteworthy examples of its growth and evolution over the years?

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Sure. So the I Foundation was started in 1954. The Louisville Downtown Lions Club started the foundation. And then in 1958, it became a statewide project of the Lions Clubs of Kentucky. So then we were getting Lions from all over involved. I will kind of flash forward to several years later, but in the early 2000s and more recent time, we started our vision van program in 2002. So we purchased a Ford EconoLine van. We have it housed with vision screening equipment. And that van was taken around to different health fairs and events throughout the state. It has provided a little over 230,000 free vision screenings to Kentuckians since it started in 2002.

Sam Moore That's awesome.

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Yeah. And a few years later, 2004, we started our KidSight program. Through that program, it's a pre-vision screening program for children ages six and under to try to detect problems early so that they can be treated, if at all possible. A little over 250,000 Kentucky kids have been screened through that program since it started.

Sam Moore Yeah, another impressive number. We'll talk more about the Kids' Side program here in just a few minutes, but the Vision Van program is something to get excited about for sure as well because not only has it made its way to a number of... health fairs and things like that. It has also appeared at the state fair, hadn't it?

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Yes. I'm not really sure when they started doing the state fair, but all of the 13 years that I've been there, except for the years that they didn't have a fair due to COVID, we have been there at the Kentucky State Fair, provided. Usually, the last couple of years, it's been close to between 2,000 and 2,500 people that will come through the booth at the fair.

Sam Moore Yeah, that's a great outlet to be of service to a number of individuals from a number of different counties. But I'm sure the Vision van has also made its way to a handful of county fairs across the Commonwealth as well. So if you've not seen it, folks, bottom line. Keep your eye open. You never know how close you're going to be to an accessible screening via the vision van. So anyhow, that gives us a glance at sort of the history of the Eye Foundation. Why don't you now tell us, Jennifer, about the longstanding mission that the foundation seeks to promote and fulfill on a daily basis?

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Sure. Our mission is kind of wordy, but I'll read it off here. So our mission is to provide vision services through education, detection, prevention, treatment, and empowerment.

Sam Moore It's wordy, but inclusive.

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Yeah. So through education, I'll kind of touch on all those points. We, you know, doing things like this, we're educating people about what we do. We have an Ask the Expert interview series that we do monthly that we post on YouTube that where I interview various experts on different topics. Last month, I talked with someone about diabetes because it was Diabetes Awareness Month. So we—

Sam Moore Okay, so it's about a once a month type of thing.

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Yeah, we try to provide some education through that. And then detection, obviously, with our vision screening programs, that's our primary goal is to find problems. Prevention, again, that's another thing with our screening programs. We're wanting to always educate people on how to prevent eye problems, eye injuries, eye diseases. Treatment through our patron program, we help with various surgeries and different types of treatment. And then empowerment. That's a big one that our low vision clinic is helping with because we feel that that clinic is serving people who, with the services that the low vision clinic offers. Can really empower them to live a more independent life.

Sam Moore Yeah, and sort of take charge of their future. And then we'll talk more about that here in a bit. But if they can't help you, chances are they can refer you to other people and resources who can. So that's a big part of empowerment as well. So great, great work that you and your small but mighty cohorts. A small but mighty bunch are performing there at the Eye Foundation. I'm guessing everybody's based in Louisville except yourself at this point.

Jennifer Hunt Spurling They are, yes. So, we are still, we're back down to a staff of three currently, other than we have the two professionals who are helping on our low vision clinic team. You know, they are new, but they're not full-time KLAF staff members. So, our full-time folks are, well, we have one in Louisville and then one in Southern Indiana, but just right across the bridge.

Sam Moore Okay, right across the border there. Yeah, I think we can lump that into Louisville for sure. [chuckle] So, yeah, you're not that far off yourself, about 100 miles or so. So it's definitely easy for you to get to the office whenever you need to. Now, before we speak of the Eye Foundation's all-new low-vision clinic in Louisville, I'd like for us to discuss further a few other invaluable programs under the umbrella of the organization, the first of which you briefly touched on a second ago, and that is the Kentucky KidSight program. But why don't let's expand a little more. You did say that it's designed to assist in providing screenings for those six and under, but talk a little bit more about maybe how that first came to be, as well as the personnel across the Commonwealth who helped to make that a reality.

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Sure. So KidSight started in early 2000s. There was a vision screening device that was very similar to a Polaroid camera. Lions Clubs kind of across the United States got involved with this. And fortunately, technology has just gotten better and better. We're now using a digital camera, which is kind of a point-and-shoot. You can hold the camera about three feet from a child's face. They just look at the little lights that are in the camera.—

Sam Moore Sort of describe what they're seeing.

Jennifer Hunt Spurling They don't have to describe anything. They just look at the lights and the camera kind of captures an image and then it sends us a printout that can tell us if they are nearsighted or farsighted, if they have astigmatism, if they have amblyopia, and a couple of other factors that could lead us to think that they need to see an eye doctor.

Sam Moore Okay, so these brilliant machines can sort of get a feel for how well kiddos are or are not seeing. the lights and things that are presented to them. And these are conducted by personnel in many counties all across the state, right?

Jennifer Hunt Spurling That's right. We have KidSight teams, mostly either Lions Club volunteers or we've partnered with the Kentucky Head Start Association. We have some Head Starts that have some of our cameras that they provide the screenings to their children. So you don't need any medical history to use this device. We train you on it. It's very easy. And then from there, we give the results to the daycare, preschool, places like that, and then they pass it on to the parents. If a child is referred, we ask that the parents take them to an eye doctor for a complete exam as ours is just a screening.

Sam Moore Just depending on what comes out. But it's great that anybody and everybody who's interested can become trained to perform these exams. And they are free to the recipients of their parents, aren't they?

Jennifer Hunt Spurling That is. That's right. Yes.

Sam Moore Yeah.

Jennifer Hunt Spurling They're just free screenings. A lot of the Lions Clubs will connect with different daycares and organizations in their communities. And it's just kind of a free service that they provide and a good way to connect with people in their communities.

Sam Moore So probably not in all 120 counties, but if you don't live in a county where those children's low vision screenings are offered, chances are you're not far from one. And that information can be readily available to you. Jennifer will let you know how you can email her with any questions you may have based on what we're talking about here before we wrap this thing up. Now, the lives of countless Kentuckians have undoubtedly been enhanced thanks to the Eye Foundation's patron fund program. You talked for a second or two about that a bit ago as well. But talk, if you would, more about its main objective along with the collaborative efforts that make it possible, Jennifer.

Jennifer Hunt Spurling And so our patron program is one of the programs that I work on personally. So on top of communications and event planning, I have two programs that I manage, patron program being one of them. So we have a committee from our board that helps to review the applications that come in. And so anyone who is not insured or what we call underinsured, they need help paying for any type of eye surgery. We help a lot with cataract surgeries. We've helped with cornea transplants all the way up to kind of significant surgeries that are uncommon, like iris transplants. We've helped with a lot of different things. but there is an application process. Applicants will submit their application as well as their financial information to KLEF. I, along with the committee, will review that, and then we have some really good surgery partners throughout the state. We work with the University of Louisville Department of Ophthalmology. Their doctors and the surgery center that we work with provide significant discounts to help us to be able to pay for these surgeries and kind of spread the money to as many people as we can.

Sam Moore So if you're if you're approved for these services, exams, what have you, then you will be referred to one of the partnering organizations.

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Correct.

Sam Moore Where they can receive these services and benefit after they've. been approved. But as far as the application process, that's online via the CLEF website, correct?

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Yes, there's a patron program page and that application can be downloaded from the website.

Sam Moore OK, from the patron page. So that's easy. Now, by the way, folks, when we say KLEF, that's to abbreviate Kentucky Lions Eye Foundation. It's sort of like an acronym there that I find myself using. And I'm sure a number of other folks do, especially those closely linked to the organization. Now, the next one I want to touch on here, Jennifer, is the Hollerin Trust Fund. It has been a godsend to many residents in Louisville and surrounding communities. So for those in our audience that happen to live in that neck of the woods, how about shedding light on the most common beneficiaries of the Holloran Fund, along with the forms of assistance available to these folks?

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Yeah. So our Holloran program is a unique program. It is the only program that we have that is geographically restricted. And that was because John Holloran, when he donated the funds to start this program, that was a part of his, kind of what he wanted.

Sam Moore Stipulations.

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Yeah. So it's Jefferson County residents and then any county that touches Jefferson, including three counties in southern Indiana.

Sam Moore Okay, so yeah, he wanted locals to benefit.

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Yeah. It's for people who are considered legally blind, so they do have to send us a letter from their doctor with their vision and stating that they are legally blind.

Sam Moore Yeah, sort of proof of their condition.

Jennifer Hunt Spurling And the assistance really ranges and depends on what that particular person needs. We've had some people apply for assistance with like bus passes and help getting transportation to classes or school. We've had some that need help with assistive devices like talking microwaves, talking clocks, things that just help them in their everyday life. And we've also had some that have needed help with rent on occasion, you know, just we're all humans. We all get behind on things sometimes and they're, the Holloran program is there to help if they can.

Sam Moore And I think I read even some people have used the Holloran program to assist them in covering the cost of like household appliances too, right?

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Yes. Mm-hmm.

Sam Moore Stuff that they may use that aren't necessarily Fancy or assistive per se, but they're essentials and they're necessary for independent living in their home. So it's pretty flexible, but you do have to. you know, send proof of your vision loss and get complete an application but there's no uh there's no certain age range in order to qualify for these services that people have to follow within, correct?

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Not for the Holloran, nope.

Sam Moore Not for the Holloran, no. Okay.

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Any age, you know, they... We do ask for financial information, so a lot of it is based on financial need. So we're, you know, obviously not giving out brand new cars or, you know.

Sam Moore That's not exactly urgent or... totally a necessity. So, you know, they got to draw the line somewhere. But, but you can, I do believe there is, I noticed the Holloran Fund link on the website. So I'm guessing the application and all the other info that we need is available right there.

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Yes, you can download that application on the website on the Holloran page.

Sam Moore Easy enough. And if you have any questions, you can definitely contact Jennifer or one of her co-workers and they'll be glad to assist in any way possible. Now, we can't let this insightful conversation end without highlighting the Eye Foundations, and we sort of have already, but the brand new low vision clinic, which just opened its doors inside the Charles McDowell Center for Independent Living in Louisville just a few weeks back. I believe it was the second week of November, Jennifer?

Jennifer Hunt Spurling It was, yes.

Sam Moore That's what I thought. I know it kind of runs together, but it's going strong now. I guess we're about four weeks in. The official ribbon cutting is in January, but before we get into specifics in terms of services offered by the Low Vision Clinic, how about a rundown of the team members on hand to serve the clinic's valued clientele, Jennifer?

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Sure. Yeah, this is something we're really excited about. The low vision clinic has really been in the back of our staff's mind since 2019. So it's been about five years of thinking about it, trying to figure out how to make it happen.

Sam Moore The culmination of a lot of planning.

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Yeah, and without these two ladies who joined our low vision clinic team, I don't think it would be possible. But our low vision doctor is Dr. Andrea Smith-Gray, and we have a low vision occupational therapist, Jennifer Gindeman, both of whom previously worked at the low vision clinic, which was operated by the University of Louisville before it closed in 2019.

Sam Moore Okay, so they both work with the U of L. Low vision clinic before that closed. They have both since relocated, haven't they? Neither one of them are right there in Louisville, right?

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Correct. Yes. Dr. Smith-Gray is in Maryland and Jennifer Gindeman is in Chicago at this time.

Sam Moore All right, but you can still meet with these people in Louisville, at least Andrea, because Andrea comes to Louisville to see patrons at the clinic. What about once or twice a month? Is that how that rolls?

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Yep, she's there. We're going to have clinics two days a month, and so back-to-back days. So our first days were November 14th and 15th, and then our December days are December 12th and 13th.

Sam Moore Okay, so that'll be here shortly after this happy little podcast comes out.

Jennifer Hunt Spurling They'll be there visiting with the patients. Currently, Jennifer Gindeman is mostly remote work and she handles a lot of the scheduling and just helping patients over the phone and through email. So she has put in a lot of work over this planning process to kind of build out the business plan and provide details that our team weren't aware of because of her experience. And she's been a tremendous help.

Sam Moore For sure. And she's good at assisting people electronically or on the phone, even via Zoom if it were needed. I'm sure that if she hasn't done that a lot yet, she no doubt will be. a fair amount as we go along. Now, Jennifer, if a low vision eye exam is deemed appropriate, there is absolutely no better source than this all-new clinic. So first off, what qualifications must be met in order to receive this eye exam?

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Okay. So we are pretty open. Anyone in Kentucky and then surrounding areas, Indiana, Ohio, I know there are not a lot of low vision doctors in our region. So we realize that people from surrounding states may come in as well to seek assistance as we might be the closest.

Sam Moore Sure.

Jennifer Hunt Spurling But the main thing is we do have to receive an eye exam or report from their doctor that they have been to the doctor within the last three years.

Sam Moore Okay, so that's the bottom line. They have to have a referral. Of some sort.

Jennifer Hunt Spurling They do. Yes. So their referral form is on our website, there's one that can be downloaded or there's one that you can just type directly into and hit submit and it sends it to us. But we do. A patient can refer themselves and attach doctor's notes if they get the notes from their doctor. But we do need that report from the doctor where they've been there, you know, within the last three years.

Sam Moore Right. So the doctors do have to, to an extent at least, be involved with the referral process. For sure, in order to receive those services and exams from the low vision clinic. Now, what exactly, for those that don't know. Does an eye exam of this nature entail, Jennifer?

Jennifer Hunt Spurling So it's a little more detailed than just a regular eye exam. You know, Dr. Smith-Gray will kind of get a lot of information from you before the exam and then talk to you during the exam just about your goals and what you're wanting to be able to do. And then she will assess kind of how we can maximize the individual's remaining vision and improve the quality of life. So a lot of times she will talk to you about your history, about visual acuity, your visual fields, contrast sensitivity, different optical devices that might be available, visual aids, lighting is a big thing. How to provide the best lighting to get your vision to be the best that it can be and then functional vision as well and kind of assess all of your goals, what you're wanting to try to be able to do, and then recommend different devices or training or any other resources that might help with that.

Sam Moore Okay, so a lot of ground is covered, obviously, during this exam. It's very thorough about how long does it normally take.

Jennifer Hunt Spurling We say it can take up to two hours.

Sam Moore Okay, so allow up to two hours always. Just to be on the safe side because, you know, certain questions may lead to other questions once they're answered and, you know, other referral possibilities. So, you know, don't be in a hurry when you go in there and make sure you keep an open mind and open ears to all the information that Andrea Smith Gray has to. offer indeed. It's very useful and it definitely educates you a lot on what you may need. and what's out there. And we can't neglect to mention that the clinic offers other additional services to supplement the eye exams. Of course, you mentioned the therapist, so some of these are going to be in her ballpark, no doubt. But in conclusion, why don't you give us a brief overview of the other resources and benefits accessible to patrons visiting the clinic?

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Sure. So as I mentioned, you know, everyone that comes through the clinic stores is going to have different goals from whether they're wanting to be able to continue to sew or to read or to write or, you know, just to watch TV. Some may even be in the position to, you know, want to continue to drive. So all of these goals will be discussed. And then from there, you know, there could be technology that's recommended, assistive or adaptive devices, you know, during our Holloran talk. I mentioned like talking microwaves, talking clocks, things that are just helpful for people who are experiencing low vision that might just make certain tasks a lot easier. So, specialized glasses, talking devices, and then there's also independent living skills training that can be recommended, orientation and mobility through the Department and Office of the Blind. Those are things that might get recommended. And then just other community resources that the patient might not be aware of if they're... new to the low vision community.

Sam Moore The important thing to remember is, you know, the clinic itself may be able to provide some of these. And if not, they can refer you to other resources and individuals who can, which is great, especially that therapist. You know, if that's deemed necessary or, you know, recommended for you to work with her, I'm sure that she'd be glad to do so with you via Zoom, short term or long term, perhaps.

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Yeah.

Sam Moore So there's definitely a lot you can learn and potentially benefit from based on what you learn during your vision exam. And again, that is located inside the Charles W. McDowell Center for Independent Living in Louisville. For those who don't know, why don't you tell them where the McDowell Center is located there in Louisville?

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Yeah, so it is easy to get to off of the Watterson. It's on Westport Road near the intersection of Westport and the Watterson. So the address is 8412 Westport Road in Louisville, Kentucky. 40242 is there.

Sam Moore So you can plug that into your GPS and it gets you right to it. She even gave us the zip code there. And like I said, two days a month, they will have clinic days scheduled. And I'm guessing those, you know, access to that schedule is available through the KLEF website too, right?

Jennifer Hunt Spurling It will be. [chuckle]

Sam Moore It will be once more of a schedule is established. Yeah, we know when it's going to be, obviously, this month here in December. And I think next month, one of the people in my group from the support alliance for the visually impaired said she was going to go up there next month. So I guess January's dates are ironed out as well. But as more dates are ironed out, you can check the website, gain access to that schedule, and plan your trips and appointments accordingly. So like I said, check out their website. It's kylionseye.org, all one word, lowercase, all that fun stuff. And from the website, you can gain access to KLEF's social media outlets. There are links for those right there on the web page. You can email Jennifer at, let's see, it's at Jennifer.Hunt, right?

Jennifer Hunt Spurling No dot.

Sam Moore No dot. Okay. Okay. I couldn't remember if there's a dot there or not, but just jenniferhunt, all one word, no caps, at kylionseye.org. And so you can email her that way with any questions you may have about what we discussed today regarding the Eye Foundation, the Low Vision Clinic. Also via the website, you can find out more about how you can support the organization and contribute to its very worthy cause as well. I know this has been very educational for us, Jennifer. We've learned a great deal and had a bunch of fun doing it. I hope you've enjoyed yourself here today.

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Yes. Yes. It's been great. I do have one additional plug that I want to throw out here.

Sam Moore Oh, sure.

Jennifer Hunt Spurling I didn't run this by you before, but we have a large event coming up in March. I failed to mention earlier that we host the Mr. and Miss Kentucky Basketball Award Ceremony each year. And so that is coming up March 16th. So if we have any. high school basketball fans listening, you can see some of the best talent in the state there at that event. And that's something that we raise funds to help support our mission during that event. So just wanted to. Throw that out and invite anyone to look into that to learn more about Mr. and Ms. Kentucky basketball and how it supports the Eye Foundation.

Sam Moore Yeah, I know there are plenty of high school basketball fans, given that we're in such a big basketball state. So make your plans to attend. I've not attended it yet personally, but I know I would enjoy it and really get a kick out of it. So, you know, make plans, keep your eyes open, ears peeled for additional details about the Mr. and Miss Kentucky Basketball event coming up in March. And where is that event held, Jennifer, did you say?

Jennifer Hunt Spurling It's in Lexington at the Griffin Gate Marriott Resort, and it's March 16th. It's a Sunday evening. It's usually held in conjunction with the KHSEA state tournaments. So this year, I believe we're around the girls' state tournament. We're the Sunday after.

Sam Moore Yeah. Cause the, the girls, usually ladies first is generally how it works. And then the, uh, The boys' tournament is usually the week later. Are you going to be emceeing that event, Jennifer?

Jennifer Hunt Spurling We have a much better emcee than me. We have Christy Thomas from the UK Network.

Sam Moore Oh, yeah. Also from WKYT, I believe.

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Yeah, so she is our emcee the last couple of years and does a great job, keeps us on track and really does a wonderful job recognizing all of the student athletes that we have from across the state. We have a little over 50 student athletes from all regions in Kentucky represented during the event, so it's a really fun time.

Sam Moore And many of you have no doubt, like Jennifer said, heard Christy during UK pregame. That's in football season. She handles those duties. and does a great job along with her cohorts as well. So we look forward to that in March. And we also look forward to a number of you folks getting involved and becoming even more acquainted with and acclimated to the Kentucky Lions Eye Foundation. Jennifer, thanks so much. You rock.

Jennifer Hunt Spurling Thank you. Thanks for having me on.

Kimberly Parsley Demand and Disrupt is a production of the Advocado Press with generous support from the Center for Accessible Living based in Louisville, Kentucky. Our executive producers are me, Kimberly Parsley, and Dave Mathis. Our sound engineer is Michael Parsley. Thanks to Chris Ankin for the use of his song, Change. Don't forget to follow or subscribe so you never miss an episode. And please consider leaving a review. You can find links to our email and social media in the show notes. Please reach out and let's keep the conversation going.

Kimberly Parsley Thanks, everyone.

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