“No matter how far you turn down the wrong road, you can always turn back.”

That’s a quote from Ronald Bailey, 21, a Vicksburg native, whom should know.

At age 17, Bailey committed the crimes of aggravated assault and simply robbery.

He served a four-year prison sentence and was released in May.

“I was young, dumb and didn’t know anything,” Bailey said of his younger self.

He is working hard to get his life turned around, and the Vicksburg Lions Club this week helped that effort in a big way.

Bailey earned his GED and a culinary arts certificate while he was incarcerated. He’s now pursuing an associate degree in accounting from Hinds. He hopes to one day open his own restaurant to follow his passion for cooking, something he thinks he inherited from his father and his grandmother. The accounting degree will give him the business knowledge he needs to do that.

Bailey, who is a student at Hinds Community College, broke his glasses. He can’t see without them, and that was hampering his abilities in the classroom. And, because he lost his job at River City Steakhouse when it closed, he can’t afford a new pair.

Enter the Vicksburg Lions Club.

A caring teacher knew about Bailey’s difficulty seeing in class and introduced him to a Lions Club member. Lions Clubs around the world have been responsible for saving the sight of many.

Here in Vicksburg, the group pays for between 25 to 30 pairs of eyeglasses a year, a program that is funded through local donations.

We can think of no more deserving recipient of such a kindness.

The work of the Vicksburg Lions Club is a grand example of a community helping those in need within it.

If you want to contribute to the Vicksburg Lions Club, you can send checks made payable to the Vicksburg Lions Club in care of Charles Calhoun, 606 Longview St., Vicksburg, MS, 39180.

For more information about the Lions’ eyeglasses program, see any Lions member or a United Way of West Central Mississippi partner agency for an application.