Lions - People Helping People Everywhere

Over 4 years ago, when I was at a local Wal-Mart, I ran into a fellow Toastmaster wearing a yellow vest, carrying a bucket, and taking donations.

I was getting a drink from a soda machine and she came up to me asking, "Would you like to help the blind?". At that moment, I realized that she was a member of the local Lions Club, an organization dedicated to helping the blind and other less fortunate individuals in both our communities and throughout the world.

She and her fellow Lions honored me by inviting me to their local Lions Club and eventually to become a member. I did so.

Two years later, after Mary and I got married, I relocated to her house and community and transferred my Lions membership to the nearby Club, and I have been very active there since.

Lions was founded in 1917 by a Chicago businessman, Melvin Jones, and several of his colleagues, with the idea of giving back to the community that has helped them become successful in their respective industries. Their motto is a very simple one... "We Serve".
In 1925, Helen Keller spoke to the Lions at their International Convention and urged them to become "knights of the blind". From that point, they decided to focus their primary efforts on helping the blind and blindness prevention.

Thanks to Lions, countless numbers of less-fortunate people worldwide have received healthcare, eye surgeries, adequate housing, and in the case of the recent Asian tsunamis, relief supplies.

Lions have also given of their time and money to build ballfields for handicapped children through the Miracle League, send less fortunate children to camp, and support local food pantries and homeless-related programs.

For nearly 90 years, regardless of the project, Lions have worked hard and continue to do so, all for the betterment of their communities, their country, and their world.

Here are two major projects created and supported by Georgia's Lions Clubs:

- Georgia Lions Lighthouse in Atlanta, whose purpose is to help fund quality hearing and vision care for less-forturnate Georgia residents.

- Georgia Lions Camp for the Blind in Waycross, providing a safe and fun place for blind and other visually-impaired Georgians a place for recreation and rehabilitation.

Next time you see a Lion collecting donations in your community, please give what you can, for every penny you give will be used wisely to help others.

If you have old eyeglasses, hearing aids, or even old cellphones, then please donate them to the Lions. Chances are, your local vision center (Pearle, Wal-Mart, etc.) may have a drop-off box that was placed by a nearby Lions Club. All such donations are used in some way to help less-fortunate individuals both here and worldwide obtain necessary vision and hearing care.

For more information about Lions-supported programs, or if you wish to become a Lion yourself, then please visit either one of the following websites:

Lions International: www.lionsclubs.org
Lions of Georgia: www.galions.org

Lions everywhere greatly appreciate the public's support in their efforts to help others and gladly welcome both donations and new members.

Thanks again for your visit and please come again. :)