Lions Helping Others – A Celebration of Service
On behalf of the Lions of District 22-W I would like to welcome you to our website. If you are a non-Lion I would especially like to thank you for your interest in discovering what Lions are all about as they serve their communities and the world. Under the various tabs you will find a wealth of information including where our clubs are located, what service projects our clubs support and other club and district events which, together, demonstrate how Lions serve our communities and improve the lives of others.
By following our motto, We Serve, our district Lions work hard through a wide variety of service projects and fundraisers which assist those in need including veterans, the visually and hearing impaired, those with diabetes, those suffering from pediatric cancer and others. Lions strive to improve our environment, help feed the hungry, provide assistance with vision issues by recycling used eyeglasses and providing vision exams, frames and lenses for those unable to do so. Lions loan durable hospital and convalescent equipment at no cost, recycle used hearing aids and batteries, participate in state adopt-a-highway program, volunteer at food banks and pantries. Lions also support youth related programs including sight saving vision screenings for children, scholarships to graduating seniors, social and emotional learning programs through Lions Quest, scouting programs, sports teams, all sorts and types of education programs, youth reading programs, camps for children with diabetes and children with hearing issues and much more.
Within the website you can find information in our district newsletters that explain how our Lions support our various foundations. Lions of District 22-W support five various humanitarian foundations including the Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF) that provides humanitarian services around the world. Lions of District 22-W provide financial assistance to the Lions Vision Research Foundation (LVRF) that provides assistance and support of the Lions Vision Center at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore in the areas of low vision research, development of technology, evaluations and rehabilitation training and service. District 22-W Lions support the Lions Low Vision Rehabilitation Network Foundation (LOVRNET) that is a community based healthcare program that addresses the shortage and distribution of low vision rehabilitation services. District 22-W Lions promote youth service projects through the Lions Youth Foundation and also support the Lions Savings Kids Sight Foundation which provides operating funds for vision screening programs for children.
For the Lions of District 22-W I selected the theme – Lions Helping Others, A Celebration of Service – because I want our Lions to celebrate the service that our clubs provide to their communities. Oftentimes, we simply complete a project and move on to the next without taking the time to pause, reflect and then celebrate with our members and our communities the good that has been accomplished. As Lions we need to share our successes so that our communities know that we are there for them and that we are always reading and able assist as able. By celebrating our successes we can entice others to join with us in our mission of service. Finally, by celebrating our successes through print and social media we are able to share the message that Lions truly are a worldwide service organization.
I leave you with two appropriate quotations, the first, from St. Francis who once said: “Start with what is necessary. Then do what is possible. Then suddenly, you are doing the impossible.” The second is from Edith Wharton, the Pulitzer Prize winning novelist who said: “There are two ways of spreading light – to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” Lions are a beacon of light for the world.
Charles L Croft, Jr.
District Governor – 22W
LaVale Lions Club
