GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) - White Cane Day is coming back to Gridley on Saturday October 8th. 

This is an opportunity to contribute to the vision impaired in this community.  The Gridley Lions Club will be accepting donations during the White Cane event in front of Safeway.  This is happening between 9 AM and 2:30 PM on October 8th. 

All of the donations are used in Gridley for the Lions Club’s Eye-Sight Conservation program.  This program provides eye examinations with an Optometrist and the purchase of eyeglasses for those who need them and cannot afford to buy them.

If you know someone who would benefit from this program, contact the Vision Chair Pedro Mota or any Lion member you might know.  There will also be used glasses donation boxes on site, ready to take your old glasses.

For nearly a century, Lions Clubs have worked to help those with blindness or visual impairment. The White Cane is a symbol of independence, mobility and safety for the blind or visually impaired.  Cars in the 20th century gave the blind a terrifying new challenge.

The White Cane with a red tip helped to make the blind more visible as well as independent. In 1931 the Lions International Convention in Toronto held a presentation about the White Cane program that had been developed in Peoria, Illinois. 

A full-scale awareness and advocacy campaign was developed by Lions Clubs that resulted in every state in the U.S. having White Cane Safety laws.  This helped fulfill the Lions challenge from Helen Keller to aid the blind.