Why LCIF?
There’s something very exciting going on in the northeast corner of our state. In the Wallowas, an area of great natural beauty, a non-motorized trail is being built alongside existing railroad tracks within the publicly-owned Wallowa-Union Railroad Authority. The trail, known as the Trail-with-Rail, is being spearheaded by the Joseph Branch Trail Consortium.
Winding through the Grand Ronde and Wallowa River valleys, the trail will begin in Elgin and end 63 miles later in Joseph, connecting the towns of Minam, Wallowa, Lostine and Enterprise along the way. The trail will offer residents and visitors of all ages and abilities a safe and accessible way to get outdoors to recreate, commute and exercise away from ever-busier roads and highways.
It will probably come as no surprise that the Elgin Lions are involved in this project. The trailhead will be built on the 27-acre parcel of land directly across from the Elgin Train Depot, which will also serve as Pocket Park for the city. The Elgin Lions are working on financing a public restroom at the park for the city as well as those utilizing the trail. Through an LCIF Community Impact Grant, District G was awarded over $3,000 which will be used to jumpstart this project.
On the other side of the state, District R was awarded a $100,000 Hunger Grant which will be used to build a new Ella Curren Food Bank in Polk County. The current food bank in Independence serves people in 16 different zip codes. Last year 37,000 people or roughly 3,580 people a month were served. With the grant money, the food bank will be rebuilt. The grant requires that the district match a percentage of the grant totaling $12,500 and that $12,500 be raised from other resources. This grant was approved by the Lions International Board of Directors this past February.
These are the two grants that we received from Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF) in 2024. Since 1984, MD-36 and its individual districts have received LCIF grants totaling $1,969,059. These grants range from renovation of the Oral Hull kitchen to the purchase of an ambulance to the construction of a patient guest house to equipping a low vision clinic to a kennel expansion for Dogs for the Deaf and many more. Emergency grants received include flood relief, wildfire relief and COVID relief.
If you have a grant request idea, please work with your District Governor to get it submitted to LCIF. Grant categories include: ● SightFirst ● Matching ● Diabetes ● Disaster ● Lions Quest ● Designated ● LCIF Leo Service ● Community Impact ● Hunger ● Childhood Cancer
More information on grants can be found on the Lions International website.
It’s yearly budget planning time for many clubs. As you plan where and how you will give, please consider a donation to LCIF. Around the time you receive May’s Oregon Lion, I am going to ask district secretaries to distribute a comprehensive list of all grants we have received from LCIF since 1984. When you see the enormity of these grants, I think you will be amazed, as was I.
Please consider giving generously to LCIF.
Yours sincerely,
Phyllis Carlin, Council Chair