The Bethlehem Lions Club supports the following organizations and activities via donations of club members’ time and/or financial donations derived through our local fund raising activities.
- Town of Bethlehem Senior Citizens Services
- Annual Senior Citizens Picnic
- Eye and hearing exams support
- Eye glasses and hearing aid assistance
- Scholarships for graduating high school seniors living in Bethlehem in schools in the Capital Region Area
- Bethlehem Central High School "Senior Night Celebration"
- Bethlehem Tri-Village Little League
- Eyeglass and Hearing Aid collections
- Vision Camp for the Blind
- Guiding Eyes For The Blind
- Empire State Speech & Hearing Clinic/Camp Badger
- Lions Hearing Conservation Society of District 20-Y2
- Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF)
- Lions Eye Bank of Albany (Sight Society Of Northeastern New York, Inc.)
- New York State Bermuda Foundation Northeastern Association of the Blind at Albany - NABA
- File of Life
- Hoffman Car Wash Tickets fund raiser
- Chocolate Bunny Sales
- Pancake Breakfast
Town of Bethlehem Senior Citizens Services
The Bethlehem Lions Club has supported the town Senior Services department with numerous material and financial donations over the years. Notable donations include:
* handicap steps for the town pool
* the bulletin board on the outside wall of the town pool entrance
* handicap picnic tables.
* The File of Life program, administrated by the town Senior Services department was initiated by Lion Red Goyer (deceased). To this day, the Bethlehem Lions Club continues support of this program as a tribute to Lion Red for his many decades of community service to the town.
Annual Senior Citizens Picnic
Each summer on the 3rd Thursday of August, the Bethlehem Lions Club holds their annual picnic at the Elm Avenue Park. The picnic is free of charge for all senior citizens living in the town.
College Scholarships
Each year, the Bethlehem Lions Club sponsors two $1,200 Lion Wallace B. Erlichman Memorial Scholarships. The scholarships are available to graduating high school seniors that live in the town of Bethlehem and are awarded based on the amount of community services those individuals have participated in and their academic standing.
Bethlehem Central High School "Senior Night Celebration"
Each year, we provide a monetary donation to be used towards the purchase of food for the evening and prizes that are awarded at the end of the conclusion of the event.
Bethlehem Tri-Village League
The Bethlehem Lions Club sponsors 1 little league team each year with a monetary donation used for the purchase of uniforms and equipment.
Eyeglass and Hearing Aid Collections
The Bethlehem Lions Club has collection boxes placed in various locations throughout the town. Town residents are encouraged to place their used eye glasses and hearing aids in the collection boxes. Members collect the items, and with other club’s in District 20-Y2 package them up for distribution to third-world countries.
Donation of Hearing Aids, Eye Exams and Glasses
At various times, the Bethlehem Lions Club receives a donation request to provide eye glasses or hearing aids for individuals who are financially unable to provide them for themselves. The Bethlehem Lions Club works with the individuals and various local industry resources to provide hearing and eye exams and hearing aids and glasses.
Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF) - www.lionsclubs.org/EN/lci-foundation/index.php
Lions Clubs International Foundation supports the Sight, Youth, Disaster Relief and Disability humanitarian work of the local Lions clubs. The Foundation aids Lions in making a greater impact in their local communities, as well as around the world. Through LCIF, Lions ease pain and suffering and bring healing and hope to people worldwide.
Sight Society of Northeastern New York, Inc. (Lions Eye Bank at Albany) - www.lionseyebankalbany.org
The Sight Society of Northeastern New York (Lions Eye Bank at Albany) is a private non-profit organization dedicated to providing ocular tissue for transplantation, medical education and research. The Bethlehem Lions Club assists the Lions Eye Bank with donations derived through our local fund raising activities.
Vision Camp for the Blind –www.visionsvcb.org
VCB is owned and operated by VISIONS/Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired, a not-for-profit social service and vision rehabilitation agency serving blind youth, adults, elders and blind children with their parents. Located on 35 acres in Rockland County, New York, has grown to be one of the largest and most comprehensive residential respite, recreation and rehabilitation facilities of its kind in the United States. Each year, VCB serves nearly 600 people of all ages who are blind or visually impaired along with their families. Its unique guide rail system and adapted facilities and equipment enable participants to independently access a wide variety of activities.
Guiding Eyes For The Blind - www.guidingeyes.org
Guiding Eyes is an internationally accredited, nonprofit guide dog school with a 50-plus year legacy of providing the blind and visually impaired with superior Guiding Eyes dogs, training, and lifetime support services. Their services enrich the lives of blind and visually impaired men and women by providing them with the freedom to travel safely, thereby assuring greater independence, dignity and new horizons of opportunity.
Northeastern Association of the Blind at Albany – NABA - www.naba-vision.org
NABA assists individuals who are blind or visually impaired to achieve independence and growth. This is accomplished by providing services and support that are responsive and flexible to each person's unique needs. Social and workshop activities for its members generate employment for blind individuals, and the goods produced are sold to help support the growing association. The Bethlehem Lions Club assists NABA with donations derived through our local fund raising activities and through grants funded by Lions Clubs International.
Lions Camp Badger - www.lionscb.org
Founded in 1939, the Empire State Special Needs Experience, Inc. (ESSNE) (formerly the Empire State Speech and Hearing Clinic) is a non-profit special education summer school operated as a New York State Lions Club Project at Lions Camp Badger. Located in central New York on 420 acres of beautiful woodlands with a man-made lake, the ESSNE provides a living and learning experience uninhibited by traditional school buildings and classrooms. Lions Camp Badger is the only residential Lions affiliated summer camp in the country to offer an academic program under the auspices of the State Education department. The academic team consists of certified teachers from various backgrounds which include elementary education, special education, and speech pathology. The school program is run Monday thru Friday and has instruction based on each student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP). The program places an emphasis on the transition from school to the world of work in addition to the subject content required for each individual. Personal grooming, food prep., kitchen skills, cleaning and doing laundry will be included in the skills exposed and encouraged in the transition program
New York State Bermuda Foundation – www.md20lf.org
The New York State and Bermuda Lions Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit 501(c) 3 organization that assists in the support of charitable efforts of Lions Clubs throughout New York State and Bermuda. The Foundation solely, or in conjunction with Lions Clubs, foundations and other organizations, provides its assistance through a grant process or through direct or indirect programs and services with an emphasis on sight, hearing and other humanitarian services.
Email Info@bethlehemlions.org
