Club News - July 2019

In Pennsylvania, Boy Scout John E. Yaletchko III made wooden eyeglass collection boxes for the Avon Grove Lions as his Eagle Scout project. The boxes will be placed in various locations in the Avondale West Grove area to collect used glasses.

In Michigan, the Almont Lions Club sponsored two Almont girls in Lions’ contests. Jenny Highberger’s entry in the essay contest, and Megan Larkin’s entry in the peace poster contest won at club, district, and state level, and both were scheduled to compete in Milan.

The Petaluma Host Lions Club in California held its 27th annual Food, Wine, and Craft Beer Festival benefitting the area’s four high school graduation celebrations. This year’s event raised more than US$17,000 that was split between the schools for the Sonoma County Project Grad organization. Project Grad was founded in 1987 as a response to increased drug and alcohol use among students on graduation night.

The Culpeper Mid-Day Lions in Virginia donated more than US$9,000 to the community in the last half of 2018. The Culpeper Food Closet received US$1,800, and Lions raised more than US$9,000 for their sight program, and more than US$5,000 for the youth program. This is in addition to more than $1,800 given to Team Jordan, a suicide prevention coalition.

Over seven years the Early Bird Lions of Washington have given away 12,000 saplings on Earth Day.

The Summerside Lions on Prince Edward Island, Canada, hosted a pancake breakfast with proceeds going to the Prince County Chapter for the Blind to help fund their summer games program.

In conjunction with the Inland Empire United Way, the members of the Cucamonga District Host Lions from California, along with the Boy Scouts and volunteers, put together 500 Easter baskets for low-income and disadvantaged children. Lion Vivian Shiffman, better known as the “Basket Queen,” is shooting for 1,000 baskets next year.

The Ashland Lions Club in Maine, in an effort to replenish items at the local food pantry, held a six-hour food drive on the day before Easter. Shoppers at the local Market Basket donated 4,815 pounds of food that Ashland Lions collected and delivered to the pantry, where additional volunteers restocked the shelves.

In Illinois, the Mascoutah Evening Lions Club was given US$1,000 to spend on a community project in memory of John Stepanek, a member of the Lions club for 50 years. With help from the community and other organizations, the Lions installed a Lion head water fountain in the children’s area at Scheve Park.

In Missouri, Past District Governor Harley Morelock has not missed a Lions meeting in 50 years, so when he had surgery the club brought their meeting to him at the recovery center. “Lion Harley is not just our secretary. He is the heart and soul of the Smithville Lions,” says club President David Borrowman.

In an effort to encourage reading and assist the homeless, the Everett Central Lions Club of Washington provides free reading glasses at the local library. The project has been such a success that it is being expanded to other libraries. Lion Art Ruben proposed the project after he heard stories of individuals looking for reading glasses in the club’s eyeglass collection box.

Correction
In the article We Speak for the Trees in the March issue we incorrectly attributed the quote, “Our planet’s future is inextricably tied to the future of its forests.” That was from a letter written by 40 scientists in response to the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (incorrectly called the International Panel on Climate Change).
We regret these errors.

In Memoriam
Past International Director Robert G. “Bob” Smith died on March 30, 2019 following a six-year battle with Parkinson’s disease. The late past director was honored by his club, the Sacramento Embarcadero Lions, in April at the Third Annual Walk to Cancel Out Parkinson’s. Smith was a Lion for more than 37 years and held many offices within the association including Multiple District Centennial Coordinator. His numerous awards include the Ambassador of Good Will, the highest honor granted by the association to its members. The late past director served with the U.S. military in the 585 Ordinance Armory Recovery Unit in Stuttgart, Germany, and then with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department where he was first a patrolman, then a detective in the narcotics, burglary, and undercover divisions. Determined to serve even after his passing, and holding fast to his International Director theme, “Integrity A Way of Life,” Smith’s remains were donated to the University of California – Davis Research Center.