“Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.
For over 20 years, I have been a member of a local Lions Club.
We (Lions) serve by hosting vision screenings, providing eyeglasses and eye exams to local low-income uninsured residents, and meeting other needs such as food for our local pantries and holiday assistance to needy families.
Lions Clubs throughout Georgia support the following statewide projects…
Georgia Lions Camp
In 1972, the Okefenokee Lions Club of Waycross, Georgia, started a summer camp for blind and visually impaired persons. This camp was held at nearby Laura S. Walker State Park.
Two years later, other Lions Club in south Georgia started a movement to create a permanent camp presence.
Thanks to then-Governor (and fellow Lion) Jimmy Carter, the Lions of Georgia were able to secure 62 acres of state-owned land adjoining Laura S. Walker State Park and from there, the camp as we know it was officially established.
Since the establishment of the first camp, the Lions of Georgia have hosted thousands of blind and visually impaired campers from children to teens to adults.
To learn more about the camp, please visit www.GLCB.org.
Georgia Lions Lighthouse
In 1949, the Atlanta, Albany, and Moultrie Lions Clubs started the Georgia Lions Lighthouse by contributing US$1000.00 each.
Because of their work 75 years ago, the Georgia Lions Lighthouse has provided vision and hearing care to low-income uninsured Georgia residents. This care includes eye surgeries as well as eyeglasses and eye exams. Last fiscal year (July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023), the Lighthouse has served over 18,000 patients.
To learn more about the Lighthouse, please visit www.LionsLighthouse.org.
Guide and Service Dogs
Nationwide, Lions Clubs support organizations that provide guide dogs to blind and visually impaired individuals and service dogs to others with physical or mental disabilities. Here are links to three of such organizations Lions support…
I have toured the Leader Dogs and Southeastern Guide Dogs facilities in Michigan and Florida, respectively, and was quite impressed with how they train their dogs and work with those who receive such dogs.
At the Leader Dogs school, I got to experience what it’s like to have a guide dog.
… and here’s a photo from our visit to Southeastern Guide Dogs…
To hear a first-person account of how a guide dog has changed someone’s life, please listen to our Steve Williams and Friends podcast episode “Sweathogs and Guide Dogs”.
About the Lions Club
In 1917, a Chicago businessman named Melvin Jones gathered a group of peers and created an organization dedicated to serving the needs of others in their community. At that meeting, they decided to call themselves “Lions”, and they would later adopt the motto “WE SERVE”.
At the 1925 Lions convention in Cedar Point, Ohio, Helen Keller addressed the delegates. Here is a quote from that speech…
“Will you not help me hasten the day when there shall be no preventable blindness; no little deaf, blind child untaught; no blind man or woman unaided? I appeal to you Lion, you who have your sight, your hearing, you who are strong and brave and kind.”
After hearing Ms. Keller speak, the Lions adopted the cause of fighting blindness worldwide. In the years since, Lions have expanded their worldwide service to fighting hunger, diabetes, and childhood cancer, as well as protecting the environment and providing disaster relief.
So what is your passion for community service?
As shown in the video above, Lions Clubs are serving local communities and are looking for people from all walks of life to serve alongside them. All you need is a servant’s heart and the Lions will help you channel that passion for service.
For more info and to find a local Lions Club, please visit WeServe.org.
When you give of yourself in service of others, you get back more than you will ever imagine. The Lions Club has helped me channel my passion for service and I’ve made so many friends both in my local club and throughout the world.
No matter how you serve, be the change that YOU want to see in the world!
Thank you for reading and until next time…
Peace Out, Y’all!
SOURCES:
https://www.azquotes.com/quote/343537
Georgia Lions Camp, Inc., website https://www.glcb.org
Georgia Lions Lighthouse website https://www.lionslighthouse.org
Lions International website https://www.lionsclubs.org