Thank you to the Morrison community for your support in 2015, which allowed our club to fulfill many ways of serving at the local, State, and International level.
This past year a donation was made to Lions Clubs International that supports many programs all over the world. A donation was also made to the Lions of Illinois Foundation, along with a portion of the funds collected during the annual Candy Days in October. The Morrison Lions also supported diabetes research, which is a leading cause of blindness. A donation was given to Eversight Illinois, an eye bank which does research and education and provides cornea transplants. Support was given to Camp Lions, providing camping experiences for visual and hearing impaired children and adults. Another donation was given to a valuable program called Leader Dogs for the Blind, located in Rochester, MI. This facility provides leader dogs free of charge and includes the recipient’s travel to and from the facility, lodging, and meals during the 26 day training period.
Within our regional Illinois District, support was provided to the Center for Sight and Hearing located in Rockford, IL. This center is staffed with doctors for treatment of low vision and hearing problems. The center offers services including a store offering aids for those who are visually and hearing impaired. The club also donated to the District 1-D Disaster fund to support tornado relief efforts in the Fairdale, IL, area.
At the local level donations were made to Morrison Boy Scout Troop 96 and Morrison Youth Baseball. Last summer the Club also sponsored a T-ball team. An annual college scholarship was awarded to a graduating Senior, and we helped five local adults with eyeglass purchases. The club donated to the CGH Health Foundation Eyeglasses for Kids program, which provided eyeglass assistance to 12 Morrison area children. The club purchased an otoscope (used to check students’ ears) for the Morrison schools from Vivian Tenboer memorial funds. A donation was made to the Odell Public Library for the purchase of large-print books. The club supported the Helping Hands organization for purchase of Christmas gifts, and club members also donated caps, scarves, gloves, and mittens for needy area families during December. Lions contributed to Morrison Friends Food Pantry items throughout the year. After completion of the picnic pavilion, which was officially dedicated at the Sports Complex in 2015, extra funds remained. The club voted to purchase a water cooler that has been installed at the concession stand.
Your support has allowed our club to serve in so many ways. A sincere thank you to all who support our fundraisers. We could not do it without you.
We invite anyone to find out more about Lions by attending any of our meetings, held on the first and third Tuesday at noon at Happy Joe’s Pizza, 109 W. Main Street, Morrison, IL. Visit our website at www.e-clubhouse.org/sites/morrisonil.