Odd Fellow and Rebekah Memorial Eye Foundation of Manitoba

Manitoba Oddfellows
Oct 12
3 min read

The committee thought it would be a good idea to give a little

history on the Eye Committee.

The first eye program that our order became involved in was the

‘Amblyopia’ project which was approved at the Sessions in 1969.

We purchased an Insta Line machine and our volunteer members

were trained by the CNIB to screen the eyes of kindergarten and

pre-school children for Amblyopia, better known as Lazy Eye.

This project really took off and from 1969 to 1990 – approximately

3,000 to 6,000 students per year were tested by Odd Fellow &

Rebekah volunteers. The numbers decreased with only one of our

Lodges doing testing and then in 2002 this screening was taken

over by paid staff in the school division.

Revenues came from Lodges – they collected $1.00 per member

– and in those years that added up to a substantial amount and

donations from Assembly Presidents/Grand Master’s projects.

In 1985 the Oddfellow and Rebekah Memorial Eye Foundation

was formed.

Presently, the committee consists of nine members – 5 Rebekah

and 4 Oddfellow members plus the Assembly and Grand Lodge

Treasurers.

Also, in 1984 the committee was asked to take over the Annual

Car Draw. Over the 20 years, the foundation produced charitable funds from the car draw. The Car Draw was switched to a cash draw but in

2009 the committee decided to no longer have the cash draw.

Other sources of revenue for the foundation:

 Bake Sales

 Craft Sales

 Hole in One Competitions

 Donations from Lodges

In 1987 we started a number of fundraisers which continue today.

The last extra fund raiser was the Cash calendar December draw.

With so fewer members, the committee is aware that it is difficult

for Lodges to fund raise for their own Lodge.

Where does the Money go that we Raise?

Over the Years donations have been made to:

Misericordia hospital
CNIB
Children’s Hospital
Brandon Hospital
Portage Hospital
Health Science Center

How does the committee decide who to give money to?

We ask for requests for money for specific equipment. Once we

receive the requests, we will decide to give the money and if we

have any doubt we pass the request information onto our medical

advisers. They are very good at telling us which request they feel

would provide the most benefit to Manitobans. The committee

reviews their recommendations and we determine how much we

can afford to donate in a year and then the decision is made.

How much has the foundation donated?

From 1982 – 2024, the total donated is $852,651.71. Most of this has been

used to purchase equipment and some was used to help for

printing of material for the CNIB. The committee has just approved

a donation to Brandon Hospital for a Tonometer (which measures

eye pressure) at an approximate cost of $10,000.

Other Projects

The other project we have is the I.O.O.F. Visual Equipment Fund

which started in 2008. The foundation will purchase equipment and gift it to an individual with eye problems to help them in their everyday life. The maximum allocated each year is $5,000. So, if for example we received 2 requests that qualified for support and they both requested $5,000 – each would only be eligible for $2,500 support from the Foundation.

Note: It is not just for members of our Order. Do you know someone who

needs help seeing so that they can read the newspaper everyday

or something that might help make life a bit more enjoyable if they

could see better? If you need more information, please contact us.

Our Mission is to provide funding for equipment, treatment and

research for the betterment of eye care for Manitobans.

If you would like to help our cause please leave your name and information on the contact feedback section of this web site.