Edythe Lewis saw plenty of needy children suffering with acute health problems during her career as a public health nurse and school nurse during the ’50s and ’60s.
“These children didn’t have insurance and weren’t eligible for public assistance, so they had vision problems, dental problems and poor nutrition. Many came to school so hungry that they couldn’t concentrate on their lessons!” Edythe said in a 2003 Dayton Foundation article. Mrs. Lewis, who passed in 2014, was an active community volunteer, a Dayton Foundation donor and the widow of Lloyd E. Lewis, Jr. Lloyd was a former member of the Dayton City Commission, a Dayton Foundation Emeritus Governing Board member and co-founder of the African-American Community Fund, a component fund group of The Dayton Foundation.
“The children were ashamed to tell the teacher they couldn’t see the blackboard,” Edythe said, “and everyone wondered why they were failing or dropping out of school. In many cases, there was little we could do to help.”
It was her late husband’s idea in 1989 to establish the Lloyd and Edythe Lewis Fund for Black Children’s Health Care as part of the African-American Community Fund. To date the fund has awarded thousands of dollars for the health needs of homeless children.
“I grew up poor. As a child I couldn’t get a dentist to look at my teeth, because the clinic wouldn’t accept me,” said Edythe, who knew that these problems can persist into adulthood. “The Dayton Foundation is a wonderful place to put our funds, so we can change the way African-American children grow up.”
“Sick children, hungry children and children who can’t see, can’t possibly keep up in the classroom,” she said. “I want to make sure their health is taken care of, so they can stay in school, succeed and become productive citizens. It makes me feel so good now that I’m able to do something to help.”