Lions Clubs of Multiple District 36, Oregon and Northern California

We Serve

Eugene, OR USA

541-484-0452

Lions of Oregon & Northern California are a part of an international network of 1.4 million men and women in 200 countries and geographic areas who work together to answer the needs that challenge communities around the world. Lions are best known for working to end preventable blindness, the giving of eyeglasses and hearing aids for the needy and local service projects.

 

Mission Statement of Lions Clubs International:

 

"To create and foster a spirit of understanding among all people for humanitarian needs by providing voluntary services through community involvement and international cooperation."

 

JANUARY 2020 OREGON LION

December 17, 2019  /  Guest User

Creating Harmony Through Service

Sharon Rollins.jpg

     Deadlines!  I have to confess that finding the time to write this column while in the middle of the busiest time of the Lions service year is a bit of a challenge. Our garage is full of the heavenly scent of dozens of Christmas greens for the Lake Oswego Lions holiday fundraiser for the club community service account.  Our bonus room is full of food and practical items donated, purchased and waiting to be packaged to help several families who need our help this season.

     So, I have decided to share some of the most meaningful writings that I’ve recently read in explanation of why we as Lions work to help others in our communities.

     “I expect to pass through this world but once. Any kindness that I can show, or any burden that I can lift, let me do it now, let me not withhold or defer it, for I shall not pass this way again.”  Attributed to Stephen Grellet

     “What are we going to do with our lives, with these wild and precious lives? Will we give our lives to causes and ventures worthy of us, or will we squander them on fleeting fancies and unbridled furies?  Tell me, what is it we plan to do with our one wild and precious life?”  Phillip Gulley

     “What is kindness? It is all the things Lions do: It’s serving in our communities and beyond. But kindness is one of those words that can get overused, and the real meaning sometimes becomes lost. Kindness is any act that makes life better for any living thing, even for just a moment. Isn’t that what we’re really doing when we serve food or donate our time?  Aren’t we trying to give people a moment in which they feel important, a moment in which they are not alone?

Kindness can be something small … or it can be grand... When done right, an act of kindness feels good to the person performing it.”  International President Dr. Jung-Yul Choi

     Now that our Lions year has moved into the second half, convention season will begin very soon. District R will gather in Corvallis on Saturday, February 8. District O will share fellowship and information on Saturday, February 29 in Hillsboro. Friday, March 20 and Saturday, March 21 will bring the District E Convention, to be held in Grants Pass. District G will gather on Friday, April 24 and Saturday, April 25 in La Pine (held a bit late in order to avoid weather complications). Our MD 36 Convention will be held in Canyonville at the Seven Feathers Casino Convention Center, beginning on Thursday, May 14 with the OLSHF and Council of Governors meetings and continuing to the convention events on Friday, May 15 and Saturday, May 16.  Look for the registration forms for these Lions learning and social events to appear in this and in coming issues of the Oregon Lion.

     We’re Lions and WE SERVE!

“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 Lions, you who have your sight, your hearing, you who are strong and brave and kind. Will you not constitute yourselves Knights of the Blind in this crusade against darkness?”
— Helen Keller's Speech at 1925 International Convention Cedar Point, Ohio, USA June 30, 1925