GALESBURG NOON LIONS CLUB

HISTORY & MISSION

PROUD OF OUR PAST......In the summer of 1920 a group of men met at the local Elks Club to discuss becoming members of Lions International, a service-based organization founded three years earlier by Melvin Jones, a Chicago insurance agent. Galesburg was granted a charter on November 18, 1920 by Judge John F. Garner, International Director from Quincy. The Quincy club was our sponsor and attorney L. Fred O'Brien was elected as our first club president. Galesburg became the 12th club in Illinois and the 109th in the International Association.

CONFIDENT IN OUR FUTURE......This year we will proudly celebrate our 92nd anniversary as the largest service group in Galesburg. The occasion will be promoted with a special Charter Night event at a weekly Wednesday meeting in November. Our most recent milestone anniversary, the club's 90th, featured a visit from Kay Fukushima, a former Lions International president. The energy and experience of our membership, as well as their individual abilities and skills, will allow us to continue serving residents of Galesburg, Knox County and the surrounding communities in the future as we anticipate our 100th birthday in 2020. 

MAKING A DIFFERENCE......The Galesburg Lions, along with Lions International and the thousands of clubs throughout the world, have sight conservation as its primary mission. The Lions accepted the challenge of Helen Keller at the 1925 International Convention in Cedarville, Ohio, to become her "Knights of the Blind in the Crusade against Darkness" and have since promoted programs of detection and treatment for vision-related disease. In recent years our club has expanded its efforts to include assistance for hearing-impaired individuals as well. Applications for financial assistance are reviewed each month by the club's board of officers.

HAVING FUN SERVING OTHERS -- Our members participate in two major annual fundraisers, Pancake Festival in February and Candy Day in October. We also sponsor a pancake breakfast at the Stearman Fly-In in September, walk in the Christmas Parade in December, collect food for local pantries, ring the bells for Salvation Army and maintain several eyeglass collection sites.