Morrison Lions will be at several locations in downtown Morrison on Friday, October 13, and Saturday, October 14, 2017, passing out candy mints and receiving donations. The contributions received during this two day period support many local projects, including Helping Hand, Boys and Girls Little League, Odell Public Library, Scouts, Boys State, and individuals needing eyeglasses and hearing aids. A portion of the money is also returned to the Lions of Illinois Foundation, for support of Camp Lions for children and adults with vision and hearing disabilities; the mobile Diabetic Retinopathy/Macular Degeneration Program; mobile vision and hearing units; Leader Dogs for the Blind; the low vision program; other sight and hearing related programs.
Morrison Lions approved a donation to Resthave Home to assist in their sponsorship of the Family Fun Day held on Sunday, September 24. Some members will also be volunteers. The annual donation to Helping Hand was approved. Helping Hand purchases clothing items and toys for families in need, to be distributed in advance of Christmas Day. Members also personally contributed to Lions International to aid in the recent hurricanes.
A Legacy Project to commemorate the Lions International Foundation’s 100 year Anniversary was approved by the Morrison Lions Foundation. Pending City approval, the roof on the pavilion at French Creek Park will be replaced with a metal roof. A new basketball hoop will be installed at the park, also. With weather permitting, this project will be completed this fall.
At the meeting held on Tuesday, September 5, Lion Jim Winslow and his wife, Janet, presented an interesting program on their five-month journey, starting in January and ending May 2017. The trip took them to Hawaii and various South Pacific islands. The cruise included stops at Tahiti and New Zealand as they headed to Sydney, Australia. Nine weeks were spent touring in the southeastern part of Australia. While in Sydney, they saw the world famous Sydney Opera House. Many sights were visited including a zoo and the Great Barrier Reef, where they could view water wildlife first hand. They also saw trucks with snorkels for driving through water and rode a sky rail over mountains. They visited Melbourne and the capital city, Canberra, where they saw the war memorial for W.W. I and II, and the Vietnam soldiers. Many side trips were taken to see local sights.
They stated there are many parks in Australia that were put there by Australia’s Lions Clubs. They left for home from Sydney and stopped in New Caledonia, the Fiji Islands, and Hawaii. They arrived in Seattle, WA, and boarded a train to return to Chicago, IL. The presentation included many pictures and a display of memorabilia purchased during the trip.
Morrison Lions meet on the first and third Tuesday at noon. Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, October 3, at Happy Joe’s at noon. Karla Burn will be in charge of the program. Anyone interested in learning more about Lions are welcome to attend. Visit our website at www.e-clubhouse.org/sites/morrisonil to learn more about our club.