Club Projects
The Fargo Lions participate in many fundraising and community service projects throughout the community, as well as our club meetings and social events.
Fargo Lions - "We Serve."
Fundraising Activities:
Monday Night Football Raffle – For our major fundraiser, members are asked to sell raffle books that cover all 16 Monday Night Football games of the regular NFL season. Each $20.00 donation to the club grants the donor a book that has a 1 in 100 chance of winning a $50.00 prize for each of the Monday Night Football games in the season. For those of us familiar with a Super Bowl board you get the idea. It is a fun and easy fundraiser for the club and participants.
Traffic Control at the Bluestem Amphitheater - The Fargo Lions partners with Jade Presents to assist with the parking and exit traffic for the summer concert series. It's a fun way to raise money for the club and to see a concert in a beautiful outdoor amphitheater.
Find the SignUp Genius link to sign on to work each concert posted in our Member Home section of this website. (You'll need your email adress and website password to access the page.)
We Serve
Community Service Projects:
Sight-4-Kids Vision Screening – At the heart of our Lions club mission, members partner with local schools at the start of each school year to provide basic vision screening for students. When finances prevent families from purchasing eye exams or eyeglasses, Fargo Lions will help out. See our Contact page for information on this process.
Vision Assistance Program - Area social service agencies and school nurses refer area individuals in need of financial support in order to obtain eyeglasses. Our partners EyeMart Express and Family HealthCare are crucial partners in keeping this program financially sustainable. Fargo Gateway Lions Club and Horace Lions Club are funding parneters in this important community program.
Eyeglasses Collection - community members donate their used eyeglasses at most optical shops throughout the community, at larger area Hornbachers stores, or at Bergstrom Eye & Laser Clinic at 2601 South University Drive in Fargo. These eyeglasses are sorted and processed forward by the Fargo Lions Club to be used in mission trips throughout the world.
Lions Conservancy Park – Following the flood of 1997, the Fargo Lions partnered with the Fargo Park District, Riverkeepers, NDSU and other groups to sponsor this natural park set in the green space along the Red River of the North. Check out this article posted in the Lions Magazine: http://mydigimag.rrd.com/publication/?m=6639&i=657123&view=articleBrowser&article_id=3651219
Litter Patrol – Club members gather each Fall and Spring to collect litter along a stretch of adopted roadway on South University Drive near our park.
Salvation Army Red Kettle Drive – Lions volunteers ring the bells for the local Salvation Army fundraising campaign every Christmas season.
Feed My Starving Children - Fargo Lions Club members participate alongside hundreds of other community volunteers to paackage food for folks in hunger stricken regions throughout the world.
Lions Relations – Throughout the year, groups of Lions attend meetings of other area Lions clubs to share experience and fellowship and a spirit of Lionism. Lions from throughout North Dakota will be hosted at the ND State Convention by Co-Chairs Lion Paula Swanson (Fargo Lions Club) and Lion Keith Zeutschel (Horace Lions) in 2024.
Community Grants – The result of all of our fundraising is our ability to provide local groups and individuals with financial assistance. Previous recipients include the Haiti Eye Mission, Ronald McDonald House, Anne Carlson Center, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation One Walk, HERO, Michigan Leader Dog Program, Great Plains Service Dogs, individual sight assistance requests and much more.
Spirit of the Sandbagger 100 Year Anniversary Project -
The Fargo Lions Club ommemorated its 100-year anniversary in 2021 by creating a public art project funded by the community and donated to the City of Fargo to honor the spirit, determination and cooperation of all who volunteered to protect the community from historic flooding in 1997 and 2009 by filling and laying sandbags.
The artwork is called “Spirit of the Sandbagger”.
A website has been set up where you can find further details about this project. Visit spiritofthesandbagger.com
Prairie Public Broadcasting has produced a video documenting the creation of the artwork. You can view the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvpntVDJGis
An important aspect of the artwork is that we wanted it to be accessible to all, especially anyone with a visual impairment. In summer of 2023, we received the photo shown here of a Fargo student, Ethan Thiseth, "viewing" the artwork embossed on one of the bronze placques. He was thrilled that not only could he read about the art piece, he could feel the sculpture. Also pictured reading the braille on the plaque is Edward Freer of Langdon.
Fun Fact: Ethan provided the countdown to lighting up the artwork when the dynamic lighting was installed on May 31 of 2022. At that time, the plaques were not yet installed so this may be Ethan's first "look" at the artwork, despite playing a key role in our celebration of the lighting.
THANKS TO OUR SUPPORTERS AND DONORS!
We raised $200,000 to commission, erect, and light The Spirit of the Sandbagger artwork.
Since this project is all about individuals and businesses serving the community, we invited community members and organizations to participate through donations toward the expenses of this project. The following individuals and organizations made this artwork possible. All donations, large or small, were most welcome and appreciated!
A bronze plaque describing the project for visually impaired visitors is installed at the site. Another plaque lists the major donors and supporters. The City of Fargo has been entrusted as caretaker of this wonderful commemorative artwork. You can visit it at 2nd Street and 1st Avenue North in Fargo along the river front.
Floodwall Level ($10,000 and over)
Mike & Peggy Bullinger Family Heyer Engineering Industrial Builders, Inc. Alex Stern Family FoundationSandbag Level ($5,000-$9,999)
James R. Dawson Fund Mayor Bruce & Lorraine Furness Gary & Ruth Hanson Mayor Dr. Tim & Kathleen Mahoney Dick & JoEllen Solberg AdShark Dakota Monument Company Fargo Gateway Lions Club Fargo Lions Club Fargo Moorhead Area Foundation Fargo Moorhead Convention & Visitors Bureau Foss Architecture & Interiors, Inc. Gate City Bank Horace Lions Club Houston Engineering KPH Inc. Moore Engineering Northern Improvement Sanford HealthShovel Level ($1,000-$4,999)
Robert and Bonnie Ames Theodore and Marian Appel Mary Ann Armbrust Mike & Jan Benson Dr. Lance & Ruth Bergstrom Family Fund John and Anita Dobbs David & Bonnie Johnson Dr. Max R. Johnson Neil and Nancy Jordheim Neil & Nancy Jordheim Fund** Robert & Kathy Littlefield Kelly & Todd McComb++ Nikki & Blake Nelson++ Tim & Jane Pettinger Tim & Jane Pettinger ** Paul & Mary Jo Richard Toni & Joe Sandin++ Richard Schaefer Blake & Kathie Strehlow Ann & Pat Zavoral AE2S Apex Engineering Group, Inc. General Equipment & Supplies Heartland Trust Company Horace Lions Club** Luther Family Buick GMC Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC Master Construction Scheels All Sports Surgical Associates** ** In Honor of Dennis Walaker ++ Bullinger Family ContributionFloodfighter Level ($1-$999)
Susan & Troy Anderson Kelly Binfet** Patrick Brown Joe & Dana Dobbs John Fischer Mark & Kay Forkner Brian Grave Carol & Tom Gustad John Hoeven Sandy Huseby Blake Itterman Bonnie O. Johnson Kim & Deborah Kaul Connie Koehmstedt Mark Kolstad Ian Patrick Komorowski Barb & Ron Martin Constance Mital-Herold Karna Nelson Mel Olson Milton Ota David & Vickie Piepkorn Thomas & Joyce Pettinger Mona and Keith Rindy David and Beth Rogness Scott Seiler Julie Snortland John & Sherry Stern Leland Swanson, Jr. Diane Syverson Dick & Pat Tedford Katherine Tweed Ene & Nicholas Vogel Alerus First Western Bank & Trust Key Contracting, Inc. SRF Consulting Group The Title Company VISION Bank Ward Muscatell Automotive Group ** In Honor of Dennis WalakerGrants
Alex Stern Family Foundation North Dakota Lions Foundation North Dakota Vibrancy Grant * Produced in partnership with the North Dakota Department of Commerce. Sanford HealthIn-Kind Gifts
AdShark Marketing D & S Beverages Dakota Monument Company FM Area Foundation Foss Architecture + Interiors Heyer Engineering Industrial Builders, Inc.
