The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON-Lions Club International (LCI) is the largest and most active community service organization in the world, according to Glen Mendell Vice-president of the Dayton Lions Club.

Mendell said the Lions Club motto is "We serve," and they do.

There are 1.4 million members in 46,000 clubs, in 210 countries, working to provide people with vision and hearing assistance, to help people dealing with pancreatic cancer, and diabetes and working to reduce hunger.

He said the Lions Club International Foundation provides grants and volunteers to partner with other organizations to help prevent river blindness in Africa, South and Central America.

The LCI Foundation has also provided substantial assistance with help on the ground in Puerto Rico after the devastation of Hurricane Maria in 2017, and works with the Gates and Carter foundations to vaccinate large numbers of vulnerable people against measles, he said.

In the Pacific Northwest, Multiple District 19 of the Lions Club provides funds and participates with Sight Life, formerly called N.W. Lions Foundation.

Mendell said Multiple District 19 also maintains and operates Lions Health Screening Unit, which is available to all Lions Club service areas for free health screenings. They also operate the eye bank for cornea donations.

There are matching grants available in Multiple District 19 for blindness prevention, restoration of vision and hearing, and for making life easier for people living with those disabilities.

He said the Dayton Lions Club contributes to the above efforts at the local, regional, and international levels as well, but most of the funds raised in the community stay in the community.

"This local non-profit club prioritizes its goals by assisting those in need with vision and hearing care. As an example, in 2018, the Dayton Lions provided over $23,000 to help those in financial need with vision examinations and glasses. As part of our emphasis on vision assistance, we also collect used eyeglasses to be cleaned and reused in locations where people are not able to afford vision assistance," Mendell said.

The Dayton Lions also assist local youth by providing public service opportunities and training, as well as vocational and college opportunities and training.

Last summer, the Dayton Lions provided volunteer labor and equipment to remove debris from the property of a local family who lost their home in a fire.

"The Dayton Lions, like many service organizations, has experienced a decline in membership. We are now down to a group of about a dozen members," Mendell said.

Low membership makes it more difficult to provide some services, or to perform fundraising efforts for Lions Club projects.

Mendell said, "We are always looking for new members who would like to provide assistance and service to our community, as well as contribute regionally, and globally."

There is an opportunity to support the Dayton Lions Club, and their service projects by attending their fifth Annual Crab Feed fundraiser, at the County Fairgrounds Pavilion, on Saturday, March 7.

Tickets are $35 per person, and they can be purchased at Banner Bank in Waitsburg, Banner Bank in Dayton, at Dingles of Dayton, and from any Lions Club member.

For more information about volunteering with Dayton Lions Club, or to purchase tickets to the Annual Crab Feed fundraiser, contact Glen Mendell by phone at: (509) 382-2350.