Sights for Hope Teen Client Wins Pennsylvania Lions Peace Essay Contest
Thirteen-year-old Sights for Hope client Caroline Rach has been named Pennsylvania’s winner of the 2025–2026 Lions International Peace Essay Contest, and her winning essay will advance to the international competition.
Caroline’s essay on this year’s contest theme – titled “Together As One” – imagined what could happen if a diverse group of people unites around a common cause or goal. The annual contest gives young people ages 11-13 who are blind or have visual impairments a chance to express what peace means to them. The Lehigh Valley Sights for Hope Lions Club, which is led by Sights for Hope clients, and Pennsylvania Lions District 14-K sponsored Caroline’s winning entry.
Caroline, who lives near Allentown, PA, has participated in Sights for Hope’s youth programs for four years. These programs – including the Camp I CAN! summer program and the Transitions program for pre-teens and teens – teach participants critical life skills for personal independence, connects them with peers who share their experiences, and promotes healthy self-confidence. Sights for Hope’s youth programs were supported in 2025 by Edward and Rosalie Vogrins, IronPigs Charities, Crayola, and the Pennsylvania Bureau of Blindness and Visual Services (BBVS).
Sights for Hope empowers people to overcome the challenges of vision loss and promotes healthy eyesight throughout Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley and Monroe County. Sights for Hope educates people with limited or no vision about adaptive skills, improves their access to essential services, boosts their confidence and emotional well-being, and helps them obtain assistive devices. Sights for Hope also connects pre-kindergarten children to eye care and teaches people how to keep their eyes strong and safe. Founded in 1928, Sights for Hope is a member of the Pennsylvania Association for the Blind (PAB) and the national VisionServe Alliance.
Image: Five people stand smiling in front of a “Sights for Hope” banner. One person holds a certificate, conveying an atmosphere of achievement and celebration.