2023 VLEIF Scholarship Luncheon - March 11, 2023, at the Elks Lodge.

This year, the Scholastic Grant Committee approved 21 of 23 Scholastic Grants Applications received.  The qualified recipients split $39,800.00.  Grants ranged from $1,000.00 to $3,000.00 based on number of times the student applied and/or stated need.  The Committee paid special attention to the essays and other data to make these decisions.

VLEIF held the presentation ceremony and luncheon on Saturday, March 11^th starting at noon and was attended by 18 of the 21 recipients and their families and friends.  

 A total of 103 people attended the event including 4 Teachers of the visually Inpaired (TVIs) and everyone seemed to enjoy the moments, especially the recipients.  We had an added bonus, TVI Dr. R.E. Fernandez attended and did on the spot Spanish translations for a number of those who spoke Spanish, but did not speak English.  We hope this can become a part of our presentations in future.

 We had the distinct pleasure of having as our guest, Dr. Mohammed Jaafar, Chief Emeritus of Ophthalmology at Childrens National Hospital.  We thank him for attending.

 Sponsoring clubs all attended and got to know the recipients and families for future club involvement and was and integral part of the presentation ceremony.

 Dr. Suleiman was the keynote speaker, and really wowed the gathering with his explanation of Lions, our use of acronyms and how we became involved with sight preservation as the "Knights of the Blind", an excellent presentation enjoyed by all.

Thanks go out to Lion Ralph Thompson, Merrifield Lions Club, for making the arrangements with the Elks Lodge.