Club News - August 2023

The Long Point Lions Club and the Long Point Lioness Lions in Ontario, Canada, hosted an evening meal for the A2 Lions International Youth Exchange.

The Visalia Rescue Mission asked the Visalia Breakfast Lions in California to be a sponsor of their Back-to-School Block Party where they distribute backpacks full of school supplies. The Lions donated US$500 and reached into their own pockets to purchase school supplies to donate. They gathered numerous school essentials including 872 pencils and 51 backpacks, then helped distribute the items to those in need. One thousand backpacks full of school supplies were given away.

In Illinois, Aurora Noon Lions Club member Jay Short looked at his club’s rack displaying Lions’ brooms for sale and decided it could be better. Working at home this year, he spent 10 hours making modifications. The rack now features brochure holders and room for event flyers. Broom sales raise funds for Lions' vision and hearing conservation programs. Lions nationwide started selling brooms as fundraisers after World War II, and sales were suspended in the 1970s. Noon Lions revived their club’s broom sales in 2012.

In Indiana, the Westfield Lions Club’s recruiting efforts resulted in the club adding eight new Lions during the 2022-2023 Lion year — the most in any of the 34 clubs in District 25D — bringing the clubs roster to 63.

The Clifton-Fine Lions in New York donated 21 televisions to the Clifton-Fine Hospital.

The Broadalbin-Perth Lions in New York applaud Lion Tom Kevlin who made and donated 108 birdhouses on behalf of his club for Lions Camp Badger, a project of the New York State and Bermuda Lions. A statewide Lions project since 1980, Camp Badger provides services that enhance the educational, vocational, personal growth and independence of differently abled individuals. Decorating and painting the unfinished birdhouses allows campers to develop creativity and motor skills.

In New York, Camp Abilities Saratoga, a week-long summer camp offering adaptive sports and recreational opportunities for children and teens who are blind or visually impaired, celebrated its 10th anniversary. Hosted at Skidmore College, the camp is a service project of the Saratoga Springs Lions Club and has hosted more than 200 campers over 10 years.

Each year three Lions clubs in Alberta, Canada, compete in a can tab collection and for numerous years the Pigeon Lake Lions have crushed their fellow competitors by pounds. The winning club collects all the tabs from their competitors and takes them to scrap dealers in exchange for funds donated to diabetes research. This year’s totals were: In first place, the Blindman Valley Lions with 323 lbs., second place Sylvan Lake Lions with 295.3 lbs., and in third place, the Pigeon Lake Lions with 247.5 lbs.

DeKalb County Lions in Illinois hosted their 44th annual Fishing Derby and party for people with special needs. Derby day also included lunch, canoe rides, boat rides, tractor and trailer rides and a petting zoo.

Much like the gravity-powered racers it features, the Innisfail Lions’ Soap Box Derby in Alberta, Canada, is gaining momentum. Entries in this year’s third iteration of the event doubled that of its first year (2019) with 66 participants. The derby was open to kids ages six to 16, but also provided opportunities for others, including adults, to try their hand at it. Local Kinsmen and Rotary club members provided breakfast and lunch for attendees.

The Byron Delta Lions Club in California annually donates and delivers school supplies to Excelsior Middle School, Discovery Bay Elementary and Timber Point Elementary. For the second year, the Hayward Silicon Valley Lions also donated 60 backpacks and notebooks.

The Lake Norman Lions Club in North Carolina called on shoppers to help with a community service project to provide supplementary food assistance to families in need. Lions collected 640 pounds of food and paper products for FeedNC’s new facility.

The Kanawha City Lions Club in West Virginia partnered with the Kanawha City Piggly Wiggly to place an eyeglass and hearing aid collection box inside the front entrance of the supermarket. Lion William Grizzell refurbished the collection box before it was moved to its new location.

The Portage Lions in Michigan offered food, water and a place to rest at mile 96 of the 36th annual Wish-A-Mile Bicycle Tour in Kalamazoo. The event was started in 1987 by four friends who challenged each other to ride 300 miles from Canton, Michigan, to Mackinac. The ride is the largest fundraiser for the Michigan chapter of Make-A-Wish.