WESTERN HARNETT LIONS CLUB
SERVICE PROJECTS AND FUNDRAISERS
Service Projects and Fundraiser PDF
Vision Screening/Spot Program
Our Lions Club offers free vision screening to all students in the Harnett County Elementary and Middle Schools. Last year we screened over 8,300 students for eye problems such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, or lazy eye that need attention by an eye professional. Experience is not required; it takes about 15 minutes to provide the necessary training.
Mobile Screening Unit
Our club uses the North Carolina Lions Mobile Screening Unit to offer free vision and hearing screening for addults in our community. In 2019, we provided this service at the Food Lion on Highway 87.
Adopt a Highway (Trash Pick-up)
Our Lions Club conducts this service project as part of the NC Adopt a Highway program. Our club has been doing this project for over fifteen (15) years. Lions pick up trash on Buffalo Lakes Road the 3rd Saturday of each month. Trash bags, gloves, safety vests, and pick up tools are provided. Once finished, we usually meet at Jitterbugs Coffee Shop (they often treat us to free coffee in appreciation of our efforts).
Bicycle Man Charity
The Bicycle Man is a Fayetteville-based charity dedicated to providing bicycles for children who cannot afford them. The goal of the charity is to give away approximately 1,000 bikes at Christmas time. Throughout the year the charity collects bikes, repairs them, and cleans them. Lions can work at the Bicycle Man site to repair bikes or just help to collect bikes from the Carolina Lakes community. Bicycles do not have to be in working order as any bike is accepted.
Bread Basket – Sanford, NC
The Breadbasket is a nonprofit organization in Sanford dedicated to providing a free, hot meal to those in need. We always support the 2nd Thursday of the month. We also provide support on the 5th Modays and Tuesdays. We prepare and serve the meal, and clean the kitchen afterward. We typically serve about 150 meals a day.
Buddy Back Pack
Buddy Back Pack of Harnett County is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing nutritious food to school children who would have little to eat over the weekend.
Our Lions help pack food for the children which are then delivered to the schools throughout the county. This activity takes place every Friday during the school year and usually takes no more than one hour. Occasionally, we are also asked to help unload and sort food at another time during the week.
Camp Dogwood – Summer Camp
Camp Dogwood is a North Carolina Lions camp for blind and visually impaired adults located on the shores of Lake Norman. Each summer NC Lions host 10 week long sessions for 80-85 visually impaired persons (VIPs). Our club volunteers for one week and provides help to assist counselors with the blind campers. Each Lion is assigned various duties such as helping with putt-putt golf, fishing, bowling, crafts, lodge duty, field trips or other duties. There is no charge for volunteers. All meals and lodging are free. Lions Donna and Vince Schimmoller have done this for many years so if you have any questions, please feel free to ask them.
Camp Dogwood – Clean Up Week
Every year our Lions help prepare the facility for the summer camping season. Tasks range from power washing, painting, sorting glasses, minor landscaping work and other jobs. Lions show up on Sunday afternoon, get their assignments for the next few days and then have dinner. Work begins Monday morning. Lodging and meals are free.
Fishing Tournament for the Visually Impaired – Outer Banks, NC
The Lions of North Carolina coordinate a fishing tournament for visually impaired persons (VIPs) at the Outer Banks during the third week of October. It is a 3+ day event. Volunteers arrive on Sunday afternoon, have lunch, and then prepare the hall for the 400-500 VIPs that will arrive on Monday. During the event we help with fishing, meals etc. In the evening you may be lucky enough to be asked to be a dance monitor. Twerking not allowed! The cost of the outing for the Lion volunteer is $100 which includes lodging for 4 nights and all meals except for Sunday night and Wednesday lunch. It is OK if you can only volunteer for a portion of the time.
Food Drive
Every year, our Club coordinates a Food Drive to benefit the Five N Two Food Pantry of Harnett County. Non-perishable food, along with monetary donations are collected. The donated food and money is then delivered to the Five N Two Food Pantry on Monday.
Stuff the Bus – Carolina Lakes
Every August, our Lions Club holds a “stuff the bus” event where residents of Carolina Lakes donate school supplies for Harnett County Elementary schools. The project ensures no student is forced to start school in need of basic school supplies.
Habitat for Humanity – Harnett County
Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit organization dedicated to building and improving homes for individuals and families determined to be in need of an affordable mortgage. Our Lions Club has assisted Harnett County Habitat for Humanity on numerous projects, helping on homes in Dunn, Lillington and Cameron. Upon completion, we attend the event when the home is handed over to the new homeowner.
This is our largest fundraiser bringing in about $10,000 each year. The tournament is held at the Carolina Lakes Golf Course the first Saturday after Labor day in September. We usually have about 80-100 golfers. The entry fee includes green fees, cart, range balls, lunch and drinks. We also have a raffle, usually consisting of a handmade knife by Willie Cook and other baskets donated by businesses and Lions.
Float – Independence Day Parade – Carolina Lakes
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Our Lions Club participates annually in the Carolina Lakes Parade. We determine a “theme” and decorate a vehicle, golf carts, etc to participate in the parade. The parade starts at the clubhouse and finishes at the marina. . Residents, families and children gather and sit on the sides of the road as the parade passes. Lions throw candy to the children. This event serves as a visible forum to promote our club in the community.
“Fly the Colors” (Flag Program) – Carolina Lakes
This is both a fund raiser and a service project for our club. On ten (10) designated holidays a year, Lions post an American Flag in front of a resident’s home at sunrise and then take it down at sunset. We currently put out and take down between 175 and 200 flags on each holiday. We have 6-7 flag captains that take a route of 20-35 flags in their neighborhood. We are always in need of help for someone to take a route or serve as a substitute. This program raises about $5000 each year for our club.
Grants
Each year we put in for grants to various businesses and organizations to support our service work. Below is a list of the grants that the Club has received. The first two grants were for the purchase of the SPOT Camera we use in the schools vision screening program. The other grants were used for either sending campers to Camp Dogwood, or for purchasing glasses for students who otherwise could not afford them.
2012 Central Electric Membership Corporation - $3000
2013 Lions Club International $3500
2013 Knights for the Blind Foundation $1500
2015 Central Electric Membership Corporation - $3000
2016 Central Electric Membership Corporation - $3000
2017 Central Electric Membership Corporation - $3000
2018 Central Electric Membership Corporation - $1800
2018 Harnett County Community Foundation - $500
2019 Central Electric Membership Corporation - $3000
2020 Central Electric Membership Corporation - $3000
TOTAL $25,300
LEO Club
The Western Harnett Lions club sponsors a Teenage Lions club in Carolina Lakes called LEOs. LEO stands for Leadership, Experience, and Opportunity. This club provides a structure to promote leadership, service and to earn service hours while providing fun and meaningful activities for our youth. Though our Lions Club will sponsor the LEO Club, the teens in the club will actually be running it and coordinating activities. This will give teens an opportunity to gain leadership, confidence and experience in holding meetings, planning events and socializing.
Matching Funds
Matching Funds is a program whereby we provide the funding for eye care for individuals who would otherwise be unable to afford treatment and glasses. We receive requests throughout the year from individuals in need of eye care. We work with eye care professionals and refer individuals in need to those professionals for specific treatment. We serve individuals from the Western Harnett Lions Club area.
Mother’s Day Breakfast
On Mother’s Day, our Lions Club sponsors a breakfast at the Carolina Lakes Clubhouse for residents of the community. The purpose is not as a fundraiser; it is to offer mothers in the community a free breakfast. This has become quite a popular event as we serve about 100-125 meals. We probably need about 20 volunteers to conduct this event and we can always use extra hands.
Recycling Program
Our club recycles old glasses, ink cartridges and hearing aids. We have collection boxes at several optometrist offices, Walmart’s, libraries, and the Carolina Lakes Club House. We sort them and package them for delivery to Camp Dogwood. Camp Dogwood volunteers collect the glasses from across the state and send them to a prison in Indiana. There, the glasses are cleaned, the prescription is read, and they are put in protective sleeves. They are then sent to a mission group that gets them to people that need them in a Third World country (glasses are not permitted to be re-used in the United States). .
Rides for Paul
Lion Paul is a blind Lion member in our club and a resident of the Carolina Lakes community. Paul needs a ride to his business in Spring Lake. The round trip takes about an hour. On the day before you are scheduled to take Paul to work, you call him and coordinate his pick-up time for the next day.
Trunk or Treat - Carolina Lakes
Each year Carolina Lakes hosts a “Trunk or Treat” event for the children in the community. It is normally held the Saturday or Sunday before Halloween. We decorate a vehicle for Halloween and pass out candy. This event serves as a fun and visible forum to promote our club in the community.
Box Tops for Education
Box Tops for Education is a national program that for more than 20 years has provided money to local schools. Nationally, box tops have been traded in to purchase books, computers and even playground equipment. WH Lions Club collects box tops for our local schools. Our coordinator collects them at each meeting. To help our schools, just look at the products you normally buy (like cereal for instance) and see if there is a box top for education coupon on it. Clip the coupon and bring it to a regular membership meeting. When we have a sufficient amount collected, we will distribute them to the local schools. The redemption is typically handled by each school’s Parent Teacher Association. This is a great (and easy!) way that our club supports our local schools.
Neighborhood Helping Hand
Our Lions help our elderly and other members of our community. If you know of someone who needs help due to illness, while their spouse is deployed or for any other reason contact us for help.
Blood Drive – Carolina Lakes
Annually, on Columbus Day and Martin Luther King Day, the WH Lions Club supports the American Red Cross by sponsoring a blood drive in the Carolina Lakes community. Our goal is usually 30 donor pints and we exceeded that goal at our last drive (38 donor pints).
Kindergarten Student Reading Program – Highland Elementary
Weekly, Lions work with Kindergarten students at Highland Elementary identified by teachers as needing additional help. Lions work one on one with the same students on sight words and reading aloud to the young students to improve their language skills. Lions in this program dedicate themselves to one hour per week. Each Lion usually works with two students per week, 30 minutes for each student. This is a relatively new program for the WH Lions as we began this program in the fall of 2019.
February Social Event
Every year around Valentine’s Day we host a social activity such as a Dinner/Dance, Mystery Theater, Elvis Impersonation etc. or some type of fun activity at the Clubhouse. The meal is catered, and members donate or solicit items that are raffled off on a Live or Silent Auction. We usually have about 85-95 folks attend the event.
