But in recent years the demand for low vision services outgrew the available space at Deicke Center, located in Wheaton, Ill. Counselors were forced to interview patients in a reception room within earshot of other patients. Those in wheelchairs could not maneuver a narrow hallway that led to an exam room. Some services were located in a nearby clinic, a great inconvenience for older patients with poor vision.

Today, the Deicke Center is still yellow, still homelike but no longer so little. After a US$2 million campaign, a new building was opened last summer adjacent to the old facility, torn down to make way for a garden. Local Lions and LCIF helped make the new wheelchair-accessible building and its state-of-the-art equipment possible.

The new Deicke Center can accommodate twice as many patients as the old facility. Twice as many people with low vision can learn to maximize their existing vision, to cope with everyday tasks and to live as independently as possible.

Lions in District 1-J donated US$371,075 to support the new building. Eighteen clubs, most of them from District 1-J, also donated US$60,540 toward the project. LCIF made a US$75,000 standard grant.

Lions have supported the Deicke Center for years. District 1-J Lions have been involved with the center since 1987, and the Lions of Illinois Foundation purchases the optical devices the center distributes to needy schoolchildren.

The Deicke Center serves 2,500 people annually either on location or through its outreach programs. Patients come not only from Illinois but also from Iowa, Wisconsin and Indiana, too. Patients suffer from low vision, an eye condition that cannot be improved medically, surgically or with conventional lenses. Sixty percent of the patients have macular degeneration.

Each Deicke patient meets with a rehabilitation counselor to set visual goals and to learn coping skills. An optometrist prescribes sophisticated optical devices, and rehabilitation teacher instructs the patient in the use of the devices, which can be loaned out to the patient.

The Deicke Center has been successful not only in allowing patients to live on their own but in restoring their abilities to do what they love. Eileen, a dedicated crafter, told a Diecke counselor she "wanted her life back" when first interviewed. The deterioration of her vision prevented her from doing the fine detail her crafting demanded.

Technology and skilled practitioners came to Eileen's rescue. The Deicke optometrist recommended a pair of 12 diopter reading glasses, a lamp with an attached magnifier and a closed circuit television. The Deicke rehabilitation counselor taught her how to use the devices. Two weeks later, Eileen, smiling proudly, gave the Deicke staff a basket full of flowers, made from sugar.