East Liverpool Lions Club

EAST LIVERPOOL LIONS CLUB

The Lions CLub was formed by Chicago businessman Melvin Jones in 1917.  The purpose of this new endeavor was sight-saving.  The Lions became an international group in 1920.  In 1924, with great interest in this relatively new organization, 21 East Liverpool doctors, lawyers and businessmen began meeting every Friday at noon for lunch.  The idea caught fire and on September, 29 1924 the East Liverpool Lions Club was chartered.

Perhaps the single event having the greatest impact on the association’s service commitment occurred in 1925 when Helen Keller addressed the Lions at their international convention at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. She challenged Lions to become “knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness.” Lions Club International Foundation is the oldest service organization in the world. The Lions motto is “We Serve.”

 The East Liverpool Lions Club has served the community in a variety of ways. Various fundraisers are held to provide the money necessary for eye exams, eyeglasses and eye surgeries. Annual eye screenings are conducted for early elementary school students by a local optometrist, assisted by club members. The Lions Club supports Ohio Lions in Columbus, Ohio; the Ohio Lions purchase pilot dogs for the blind. The ongoing collection of used eyeglasses aids needy people in other countries who do not have regular access to eye care. The Lions also promote and support diabetes research.

Current fundraisers include selling brooms and trash bags, with new ideas being introduced every year. 

Household brooms are $12

Industrial brooms are $14

Push Brooms are $14

Garbage bag - a sleeve of  50 heavy duty bags is $14.00

The brooms can be purchased at Marty's Pharmacy in Lacroft or 1st National Community Bank on Bradshaw Ave.

Garbage Bags can be purchased from Marty's Pharmacy in Lacroft or by contacting Bob Allgood at 330-853-0992

An annual Children’s Christmas Party is held each year for needy first-graders.

The Pottery Festival Queen and her court have been honored at the Friday noon lunch meeting since the inception if the Pottery Festival. Another community outreach effort is the East Liverpool High School Band concert each fall in Devon’s Diamond in downtown East Liverpool.

In 1987, Lions Club International announced that women would be admitted to the club, which was formerly only open to men. The local chapter began accepting women into the membership in 1990, with Past President Artis Calhoun being the first woman inducted. Recognizing the opportunity for the East Liverpool Lions Club to be remembered as serving the youth of our city, Past President Marilyn Wolfe presented the concept of a perpetual honorarium scholarship, through "The Tuition Mission Foundation"  (formally called the Dollars for Scholars®), to the board. It was unanimously approved.

In 2013, the East Liverpool Lion's Club held its first Disc Golf tournament followed up with this year's tournament.  The Disc Golf Tournament is a fundraiser for both the East Liverpool Lion's Club and to help raise some funds to help with the upkeep of the course. 

In 2012, the club invited a family of Amish to cater a fundraising dinner for the community both raising funds and bringing cultural awareness to East Liverpool. The Amish Dinner has been held for the last three years.  We hope to continue this dinner in the future.  Usually this dinner is held sometime in the spring. 

To this day the East Liverpool Lions Club continues to strive to maintain its historically high standard of community service.