In communities around the world, Lions find ways both big and small to make lives better. We may never know how important our contributions are to a person’s life, but living the We Serve motto will improve the world for the next generation. We found this week’s photo at The Southland Times.
The Waikiwi and Invercargill East Lions clubs donated a $350 adaptive bike to 7-year-old Cheyanne Richards. Waikiwi Lions president John Warren, left, and Invercargill East Lions president Joe Wilson, presented the pink bike to Cheyenne, who has a condition that causes dwarfism. The girl’s mother said the bike was a wonderful gift and looked forward to the strength it would provide her daughter.
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Every May, Lions join together to celebrate Recycle for Sight Month. Through your support of the Recycle for Sight program, people around the world are seeing clearly.
Your club can increase your profile in the community, help people in need and improve the environment by keeping used eyeglasses out of landfills with the Recycle for Sight program. Here are 10 ideas to get your club started:
- Contact places of worship, local organizations, community centers, libraries, retail stores and other busy neighborhood locations and ask if you can offer an eyeglass recycling box.
Keep your eyeglass drop-off locations attractive. Club supplies offers eyeglass recycling boxes and updated Recycle for Sight materials are available for download on our Web site.- Work with local youth groups for a joint collection, such as Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts.
- Collect eyeglasses at a regularly scheduled fundraiser, such as your club’s pancake breakfast or summer festival. This also gives your club the chance to talk more about what happens to the eyeglasses you collect.
- Challenge a local elementary school to help with an eyeglass recycling drive. You can award the student or class that collects the most eyeglasses with a fun prize and alert your local newspaper to the contest for a great public relations opportunity.
- Consider supporting your closest Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center by volunteering your time or making a financial contribution.
- Provide LCI with up to six of your club’s eyeglass collection locations so we can post them on the Web site.
- Maintain your eyeglass recycling locations on a regular basis. Collect the donated eyeglasses, ensure the box isn’t damaged or tattered and keep the area looking clean and inviting.
- Dedicate a portion of your club’s next meeting to learning more about the Recycle for Sight program. Share information from the Club Guide and learn about where the eyeglasses you collect go after the donation.
- Ask your local media if they can publicize your efforts. A fill-in-the-blank news release is available and information about how to approach members of the media is available online.
While there are 1.35 million Lions globally, we can achieve so much more when we work with like-minded organization. Together, we can increase our ability to improve the community and the world.
Recently I visited former United States President Jimmy Carter, a long-time Lion who served in many capacities within our organization through the years. The Lions Clubs International Foundation has partnered with The Carter Center since 1999, providing more than 148 million people in 15 countries medication to prevent river blindness. LCIF and The Carter Foundation also work to eradicate trachoma in Africa.
When I met with former President Carter to thank him for his dedicated service, President Carter offered to help our organization prepare for our 100th anniversary in 2017. With his assistance, we will share the joy of living the We Serve motto throughout the world. I believe that when we work together, anything is possible.
As Lions, we spend many of our service hours providing kids with the tools they need to become successful citizens. Our Leo clubs give young people leadership skills and our Lions Quest Program teaches self-confidence and problem solving. We found this week’s photo at the Eastern Arizona Courier.
The Stafford Lions Club visited each first-grade class in its county to talk about the history of the American flag. Lions gave all students a flag and helped them compare the United States flag to the Arizona flag. One of the Lions, who is a retired engineer, talked about contributing to the spacecraft that took the American flag to the moon. According to the Lions, this is one of the most rewarding projects the club has completed.
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Every day, Lions help their neighbors care for their eyesight through screenings, cornea transplants and eyeglass recycling. In Belize, the San Pedro Lions Club ensures that the residents of Island of Ambergris Caye receive access to vision care.
For the past several years, the club brought an optometrist to the island monthly, because there weren’t any eye doctors there. The club recently started providing the service two days per month, paying for the doctor to travel by air from Belize City and stay overnight on the island. Lions furnish the eye clinic with supplies and recycled glasses. The club’s mascot, a tiny dog named Pepe, waits with patients while they receive care.
