Centerville Lions Club holds free health fair

The Centerville Lions Club, in conjunction with the Women’s Interfaith Alliance of Central Georgia, held its second annual health fair to benefit the community on Saturday. This health fair included various exams including, but not limited to, vision, glaucoma and hearing screenings, EKG’s, labs, and flu vaccines. All services were free to participants. 

In charge of the fair was Lions Club and Woman’s Interfaith Alliance member, Betty Taylor. Taylor says that the fair was funded through various donations. “Fortunately the doctors donate their time and they donate supplies; there’s also a company called Caring Meds, and they donate supplies to us.” Taylor further explained that there were six local primary care doctors volunteering services as well as a cardiologist, pediatrician and two optometrists, as well as a nephrologist.

Taylor said that the inspiration for the event came from a previous health event the Lions Club used to hold at the Houston Mall in Warner Robins, conjoined with the Woman’s Interfaith Alliance seeking an outlet to give back to the community. “There are people that need help [and] medical care that can’t afford it, and so this is a great place,” Taylor explained.

Aqsa Rahan, a member of the Woman’s Interfaith Alliance as well the layout designer of the event, echoed Taylor’s feelings. “I myself want everyone to be taken care of; that is our vision.” Rahan further expressed, “We want people to start taking care of their health and be vigilant about it. Healthier people, healthier Georgia.”

Taylor said the venue, The Assembly Church in Warner Robins, was obtained through Lions Club members who attend the church. These members were able to create the opportunity to provide the space free of charge.

Adi Osorio, a participant in the fair, said that she heard about the fair through Facebook and that the fair has benefitted her. She said that she attended to check her health status, and that it could help the local community. “A lot of people don’t have insurance, and here [the services] are free,” Osorio said. She added that she wanted the community to know that this was a good event to attend. “It’s good to come because the people here are a lot of volunteers and it helps people,” Osorio explained.

Anne Touchton attended the fair with two of her friends from Russia. Touchton mentioned that the providers at the event were kind and knowledgeable, and that she’d had fun. She advocated that events like the fair are important for the knowledge of an individual’s own health. “There are a lot of people that can’t get to different things until they find out something’s wrong,” Touchton said. She further explained that the friends that she attended with also hope to benefit from the fair because one of them is having difficulty receiving his insulin from overseas. “That’s why I brought him here, so he could find someone to help him get it,” Touchton noted.

Bill Craig said that he has seen the positive outcomes associated with the health fair, as well as other programs—such as the Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation, which assists uninsured Georgians with low-cost vision and hearing services. “It always gives you a good feeling to see someone that you’ve helped and their reactions to it,” Craig said. He also commented that these reactions were the rewards that the club members were working for. “That’s our goal. The common thing that keeps all these 1.4 million Lions around the world together is to help our fellow man,” Craig explained.