Eatontown Lions Club Celebrates 75 Years of Service
The Eatontown Lions Club, a 501(c)(3) organization whose motto is “We Serve,” will celebrate its 75 years of service to the local and world communities, Thursday, October 12, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Sheraton Eatontown, 6 Industrial Way E., Eatontown.
Lions clubs work to improve the environment, build homes for the disabled, support diabetes education, conduct hearing programs; and, through their foundation, provide disaster relief around the world.
The fee is $75 a person. R.S.V.P. to King Lion Linda Butler at lindabutler@optonline.net. Checks, payable to Eatontown Lions, can be sent to Eatontown Lions, P.O. Box 74, Eatontown, NJ 07724.
Lions volunteer their time, conducting service projects and raising funds. For example, The Eatontown Lions Club members screened over 1200 children, including preschool children as young as three years old, for vision problems at eleven New Jersey schools and day care centers. It is important to diagnose eye problems at an early age because often the conditions can be corrected then. After age seven, it is more likely the problem can be treated but not corrected.
The children were screened for several common vision conditions using a state of the art vision screener. It works like a camera to identify problems in just a few seconds. The screener can detect Myopia (nearsightedness); Hyperopia (farsightedness); Astigmatism (blurred vision); Anisometropia (unequal refractive power); Strabismus (eye misalignment); and Anisocoria (unequal pupil size).
Since its formation in 1917, Lions Clubs International has grown to include nearly 1.35 million men and women in 45,000 clubs located in 197 countries and geographic areas.
HISTORY of the International Lions Clubs: The International Association of Lions Clubs began when Chicago business leader Melvin Jones believed that local business clubs should expand their horizons from purely professional concerns to the betterment of their communities and the world at large. After contacting similar groups around the United States, an organizational meeting was held on June 7, 1917 in Chicago, Illinois.
The new group took the name of one of the invited groups, the “Association of Lions Clubs,” and a national convention was held in Dallas, Texas, USA in October of that year. A constitution, by-laws, objects and code of ethics were approved. A call for unselfish service to others remains one of the association’s main tenets.
After its formation, the association became international in three years when the first club in Canada was established in 1920. Major international expansion continued as clubs were established, particularly throughout Europe, Asia and Africa during the 1950s and ’60s.
In 1925, Helen Keller addressed the Lions international convention in Cedar Point, Ohio, USA. She challenged Lions to become “knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness.” From this time, Lions clubs have been actively involved in service to the blind and visually impaired, holding eye screenings. . In 1990, Lions launched its most aggressive sight preservation effort, SightFirst. The $200 million program strives to rid the world of preventable and reversible blindness by supporting desperately needed health care services.
Broadening its international role, Lions Clubs International helped the United Nations form the Non-Governmental Organizations sections in 1945 and continues to hold consultative status with the U.N
In addition to sight programs, Lions Clubs International is committed to providing services for youth. Lions clubs also work to improve the environment, build homes for the disabled, support diabetes education, conduct hearing programs and, through their foundation, provide disaster relief around the world.