After three cornea transplants and 30 eye surgeries, Nick Hansen, senior in agricultural studies, spends his time volunteering with the Lions Club, an organization that provides eye care services for hundreds of millions across the globe.

When Hansen was in high school, a fellow student accidentally shot him directly in the eye with a firecracker.

Soon after the incident, he was taken to the hospital to remove all of the debris from his eye and finally went through the 33 corrections to fix his eye.

The Iowa State University Lions Club is part of an international service club organization that funds a number of programs and initiatives to address humanitarian needs on a local and global scale, including preserving sight, combating disability, promoting health and serving youth.

“They do so much for people who can’t see, especially for blind people. They provide services like vision screenings for young kids and they are always donating money to help people out,” Hansen said.

The Lions Club of Iowa helps the community by collecting eyeglasses for those in need, holding vision screenings for children, providing scholarships for high school students and hosting an eye bank in Iowa City where the Lions deliver eye tissue and corneas.

“Volunteering your time is an easy way to give back to your community, especially when you know that someone’s life can change from it,” Hansen said.

In the future, ISULC wants to coordinate with the Pre-Optometry Club to help with Iowa KidSight, a program that conducts vision screenings for children. ISULC will also participate in the Mardi Gras celebration in Ames in March, giving vision screenings for children.

“In the past, we’ve actually found children with undiagnosed brain tumors and other diagnoses that made a huge impact on the child’s life. Vision screening is really a valuable service,” said Susan Radke, adviser of ISULC and secretary for the department of naval science.

ISULC has the support of every Lions Club worldwide. Organizations have the ability to partner with any club, helping out in any region where a Lions Club exists. The club’s goal is to become the largest college campus Lions Club in the world. To achieve this, it needs at least 40 active members.

“We really think it is a wonderful opportunity, especially for international students, to help serve not only the local community but all over the world. I don’t know if there is any greater goal than helping your fellow man,” Radke said.