PIERCETON – Pierceton Lions Club is a service organization that has been in existence since September 1929, when it was organized and chartered with a membership of 20.
Presently, there are 26 members who do much locally, nationally, and internationally to contribute to the well-being of all citizens. Do you wonder what keeps us busy and happy?
For starters, how about year-round, every-year collection of used eyeglasses and hearing aids for cleaning and assessing for distribution (two trips yearly) in Mexico to vision-challenged and hearing impaired children and adults? Local and countywide Kid Start, that is Photo Screening for Head Start and pre-school children, adult glaucoma screening and eye examinations with transport and financial aid as needed. Local and state diabedes support including camp sponsorships at Camp John Warvel, yearly donation of student dictionaries to all third-graders, support for cancer control, leader-dog training, Eye and Tissue Bank and School for the Blind and Visually-Impaired in Indianapolis, sponsorship of the Pierceton baseball team, Boy and Girl Scouts, holiday gifts of food, toys, and clothing to area children, donations of food, money and time to the Pierceton Food Pantry, publication of The Community Calendar (started four years ago), featuring local businesses, birthday and anniversary dates of residents, town events, and school sport schedules, construction of needed ramps for disabled residents, and bi-annual environmental cleanup along U.S. 30.
The organization also donates funds to disaster areas such as Katrina, Haiti, Japan and Missouri.
They do fundraising through annual Christmas poinsettias and spring flower sales, annual calendar sales, food booths at Oswego Trader Days, Art in the Park and Tomato Festival in Brower Park, Pierceton Days, Back to the Days of Kosciusko, plus several chicken barbecues and Fish Frys. Project Day, which is a street collection on Memorial Day weekend, is a big annual event.
Are you aware of one very important fact? 100 percent of all donations goes to the recipient – not 1 cent goes to administration of the club.
