Kelly from Umpqua Bank on Pt. Fosdick shows off a beautiful bike brought in by one of their customers. The Gig Harbor Lions Club is collecting gifts for the Giving Tree from over 50 local merchants who have generously agreed to post gift tags in their businesses. Members from the community then pick up a tag, shop for the gift and return it to the merchant. The Lions then take the gifts to the Gig Harbor Peninsula FISH Food Bank for distribution to qualified families!

The Gig Harbor Lions Club is proud to announce the push is on for this year's GIG HARBOR LIONS CLUB CHRISTMAS GIVING TREE. Working in cooperation with the Gig Harbor FISH FOOD BANK, our club has coordinated with over 50 local merchants to pick up gifts purchased locally by members of our our generous Gig Harbor community. Those gifts will be distributed to local families in Mid December.

GIG HARBOR LIONS SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION

We are very pleased to support the youth of our wonderful community and we currently give scholarship grants to students at our three local high schools:

Peninsula $1500

Gig Harbor $1500

Henderson Bay $1500

In addition, we porvide a scholarship in the form of the (GIG HARBOR LIONS MILT BOYD AWARD which is selected by the Performing Arts Department of Peninsula High School. this scholarship grant is for $300.

New in 2024, our board had authorized a $500 scholarship to a deserving Tidehawk student in tthe Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, NJROTC. More on this soon.

Use our contact page to ask for more information on any of these programs.

And speaking of scholarships. Here is a THANK YOU note we received recently from a Gig Harbor High School student who received one of our scholarship grants and is now pursuing a Nursing degree:

Good morning,

I just wanted to reach out to you guys and send you an update of my academic progress given where we left off in June.

I got a call in the beginning of July letting me know that I had been taken off the waitlist and was being offered a position at Washington State University, Nursing, Yakima. I accepted their offer and moved to Yakima in mid July. I have a cute little apartment down here where I have been living for three and a half weeks now. Nursing school has been fun! I've met a lot of new people and continue to learn new things everyday. I love it here 😊.

I wanted to say thank you again to everyone who helped make this happen for me. As I go through the program, I am reminded of the support that the Lions Club has shown me this past year, and I am eternally grateful. Truly!

Let me know if you have any questions for me. I'll continue to update you guys as the program progresses.

Respectfully,

Kylie Roppolo

Lions Club Scholarship recipient, Gig Harbor High School, 2023.

GIG HARBOR LIONS CLUB CHRISTMAS GIVING TREE

---COMING IN DECEMBER 2024---

Gig Harbor Lions Announces our annual

"Holiday Wreath Fundraiser"

to Benefit our three local High School Scholarship Programs!

Great news! Our Fall online scholarship fundraising campaign for the Gig Harbor Lions High School Scholarships at Lynch Creek Farm is Underway! We are proudly partnering with Lynch Creek Farm in Shelton WA again this year. They produce absolutely BEAUTIFUL wreaths, centerpieces, gifts and garlands delivered in time to decorate for the upcoming holidays.

Every time you shop online through our group's fundraising page we receive 15% back from your qualifying purchase. It really is that easy!

You can support our efforts via our online storefront by clicking this link https://www.lynchcreekfundraising.com/teams/301070-gig-harbor-lions-scholarships or by cut and paste to your browser to www.lynchcreekwreaths.com and entering our Campaign ID #301070 during checkout.

Orders placed by Nov 10^th are postage free in the contiguous US. After that, $4.99 postage.The event ends Dec 10^th 2023 (2^nd Sunday in December).

A flip catalog: Lynch Creek Farm Fundraising Brochure 2023 | PDF to Flipbook (heyzine.com)

Please have a look at their wonderful offerings and order your wreaths, centerpieces, gifts and garland for delivery SOON! Every Purchase will benefit SCHOLARSHIPS FOR OUR THREE LOCAL HIGH SCHOOLS!

Thanks to everybody who helped make the Gig Harbor Lions Club Flapjack Fundraiser a huge success. $2788 was raised to benefit Mary Bridge Children's Hospital Family Support unit as well as funding local High School Scholarships! We also collected 81 cuddly teddy bears for the kids at Mary Bridge! Here are a few photos from that fundraiser!

Also, we are combining Applebee's with this community Teddy Bear Drive to benefit Mary Bridge Childhood Cancer Families. The bears donated by March 31 will be combined with the Applebee's bears and given to Mary Bridge at the same time!

See Flyer Below!

November/December 2022

The Gig Harbor Lions Christmas giving Tree is underway. See our Main Page for details!

GIG HARBOR LIONS SCHOLARSHIP FUNDRAISER

MEMBERS AND FRIENDS OF THE GIG HARBOR LIONS CLUB:. We are once again offering beautiful holiday wreaths from Lynch Creek Farms in Shelton WA. This is a great way to help us earn money toward scholarships and also to buy beautiful wreaths and garlands and centerpieces for the holidays. It is not too soon to place your order as some of the designs do run out at the last minute. These products are first class and very fresh. They are delivered all over the US for free and you get to pick the date of delivery. Buy for yourself, give as a gift or share this info with friends to help us earn 15% of total sales. You MUST use this link to order: www.lynchcreekfundraising.com/c/299963

You can also spread the word by going to Gig Harbor Lions on Facebook and Like and share the post about the wreath fundraiser for this year. (be sure you don’t share last years!)

Thank you for your support of this worthy cause.

Have you ordered yet? Use the link to benefit the Gig Harbor Lions scholarship fund. www.lynchcreekfundraising/c/299963

One of our newer members, Erin Roach, presented a fascinating program on what it's like to be the recipient of a cornea transplant. Erin was a wonderful presenter and went into great detail about all the medical professionals who helped him along the way. His simple advice to others: "If you are experiencing any vision problems, GET IN TO SEE A DOCTOR!"

April 13, 2022 Meeting

Gig Harbor Police Chief Kelly Busey gave a great "Chief's State of the City" address to our Lions club. Chief Busey has been with the Gig Harbor Police Department for 31 years! Chief Busey and his wife Shawna were wonderful guests!

March 9, 2022 Meeting

We were honored to have as our guest speaker Chief Dennis Doan of the Gig Harbor Fire/EMT. Chief Doan has been a firefighter for 34 years and came to Gig Harbor in 2021 and became our chief. Originally from the Boise, ID area, Chief Doan and his wife hae settled into the community nicely and the Chief gave us a very nice State of the District address. Welcome, Chief Doan and Thanks!

Here, Gig Harbor Lions President Ruth Pereson gives Chief Doan a Gig Harbor Lions Challenge Coin as a thanks for his presentation.

February 23, 2022 Meeting

We had the oportunity to meet and greet the President and CEO of the Gig Harbor Chamber of Commerce, Miram Battson. She gave us a rundown of upcoming events in Gig Harbor, and graciously modeled a Gig Harbor Lions vest along with President Ruth Peterson!

October 27, 2021 Meeting

We were pleased to host our District Governor Luis Montes-Gonzalez at our October meeting. Luis was his usual charming self and gave a great presentation on the state of our District. Thank you, DG Luis!

`DG DONNA MURR`

`Visits the Gig Harbor Lions Club`

February 10, 2021

On tonight's ZOOM call, starting at upper left: Secretary Sharon Kirry, PCC John Kirry, President Doug Johnson, Past President Bill McMonnies, Vicki Johnson, 1VP Ruth Peterson, District Governor Donna Murr, Don Felthouse, Past President Sue Schmidt, Past President Dave Tucker, Past President Al Aosved and newly transferred member Zem Murray. Not shown: Cameo appearances by Treasurer Bill Arness and Zone Chair Balarie McLeod.

DG Donna's Message to the Gig Harbor Lions Club:

"Greetings fellow Lions and thank you for this opportunity to visit with you and hear about all the wonderful things you are doing in your community. I hope and pray you are all safe and healthy.

I commend you for carrying on the mission of our organization. We are in our 103rd year of serving others and when I originally thought about my theme back when I was 2VDG, I decided it was going to be “Continue the Legacy through Service.” However, as my year approached, I changed it to “Continue the Legacy through Kindness”. We have an amazing legacy, and we must continue to carry out that legacy through Kindness and Diversity.

A big act of kindness can change someone’s world.

When I was planning for your club visit, I asked for the names of club members who exemplify the meaning of kindness and those members are Lions Ruth Peterson, Sharon Kirry and Vicki Johnson.

'Lions Ruth and Sharon went above and beyond friendship and Lionism assisting Vicki following some major flooding occurred in their basement. They came to her rescue and helped with the damage.'

'Lion Vicki helped a complete stranger at the checkout line who didn’t have enough money to pay for her groceries, so Vicki stepped in and paid for her entire cart or food.'

I would like to recognize Ruth, Sharon, and Vicki with my District Governor Kindness Award. I have collected keychains for most of my life, which is where I came up with the idea to present my “Kindness Keychain” to members who fit the description of kindness. Thank you for your commitment to Lions and for your service to others."

Other Awards: DG Donna then presented some awards to deserving Gig Harbor Lions. She had the honor of awarding service chevrons to two distinguished members of our club. Lion Bill McMonnies for 30 years of service, and PDG Bob Wagers for 40 years of service! Congratulations to both these Lions who have served our community with dedication!

Lion Bill McMonnies and PDG Bob Wagers

Other Awards: PCC John Kirry then presented some awards given by Lions International to deserving Gig Harbor Lions.

The first award was the Key Member award, given to Lions who had distinguished themselves by inviting two or more new Lions to our club. According to LCI, this award should be "brief but impressive" and PCC John did his best to at least try to fulfill the latter. He donned his impressive hat, got out his impressive noisemakers and employed his impressive fireworks background photo and presented the Key Member award to President Doug Johnson.

The second award presented was the Lions International Centennial Diamond Membership Pin to Past President Al Aosved for his dedicated service as our Membership Chair.

Congratulations to Doug and Al!

And finally, PCC John Kirry showed off his certificate earned as a faculty member of a recent Lions International Certified Guiding Lions online training program. John was part of a six-person team of trainers who taught a five hour online class to a diverse group of Lions from around the world. After completing the class assignments and an evaluation, these students successfully earned the title of "Certified Guiding Lion," and will be called upon to assist and mentor new and existing clubs in their respective areas of the world.

Upcoming Service Project Special Note from President Johnson:

"Join us on February 27 as we conduct our quarterly "Adopt A Road" duties for the city of Gig Harbor. Our assigned territory is a 1.5 mile stretch of roadway in the Finholm district. We will be meeting together at the Finholm View Climb at 9AM on Saturday, February 27 to get this fun job accomplished. As always, Lion Bill McMonnies' wife Lois is expected to throw out the first bag of garbage! Covid pending, of course, but we hope to have coffee after at the Devoted Kiss!"

November 17, 2020

GIG HARBOR LIONS CLUB CHRISTMAS GIVING TREE IS UNDER WAY!

Gig Harbor Lions are once again organizing the Giving Tree project to provide Christmas gifts for children in our community. The gifts will be distributed to the FISH Food Bank, Children's Home Society on the Key Peninsula and the Boys & Girls Club at Evergreen Elementary.

You can pick up gift tags from the following businesses and return the unwrapped gifts to them. The Lions will pick up the gifts for distribution. Thank you all for helping with this community wide project!

Businesses: Beach Basket Christmas Shop, Devoted Kiss Café, Market Place Grill, Harbor History Museum, Dolly Mama, Treasures4Humanity, For the Love of Spice, Ticked Pink, Birdnest Gallery & Framing, Blue Moon Massage & Spa, Columbia Bank (downtown), Dolly Mama Too, Weathered Cottage, Java & Clay Café, 7 Seas, Rainy Day Yarns, Heritage Distillery, Edge Pilates, Wild Birds Unlimited, Mt Rainier Clinic, Kimball Coffeehouse, Ultimate Looks, Peninsula Family Dentistry, Beard Swim Club, Sound Credit Union, Kitsap Bank, Columbia Bank, Peninsula Retirement Living, Van der Venn Jewelers, Ben & Jerry’s, Cutters Point Coffee/Uptown, J Jill (in house only), Massage Envy, Eye Candy, Kitsap Credit Union, Chico’s, Teaching Toys Too/Teaching Toys, BBQ2. Lunch Box Laboratory, Elks Club, El Sombrero Restaurant.

Huge thank you to Lion Ruth Peterson, Giving Tree Coordinator, and to all the Gig Harbor Lions who help with tag distribution and pickup on all the gifts our wonderful community provides every year!

CHRISTMAS GIVING TREE UPDATE, DECEMBER, 2019

The Gig Harbor Lions Club is proud of our nearly 90 years of serving this community. Since 2013 our club has organized the VERY successful Gig Harbor community "Christmas Giving Tree."

IN 2019, our volunteer Lions, in conjunction with 47 local merchants and generous community members have procured nearly 3000 Christmas gifts for needy kids in our community. These gifts will be distributed by our community partners Children's Home Society, FISH food bank and Boys & Girls Club.

Christmas Giving Tree Chairperson Ruth Peterson. Drivers and haulers Doug Johnson, Dave Tucker, Bill McMonnies, Moose Ianke and John Kirry.

TOYS: 2672

PAJAMAS AND WARM COATS 242

GRAND TOTAL 2914

Among many other wonderful displays in 48 businesses throughout Gig Harbor is this beautiful CHRISTMAS GIVING TREE at KITSAP BANK on Pt. Fosdick.

Another fantastic display of generosity from ULTIMATE LOOKS salon, with owner Sue King.

Our generous community takes pride in giving to those in need. THANK YOU!

Lion Bill McMonnies drives a pickup load to the Boys & Girls Club.

Sharon Kirry checks out the tree in the lobby of Gig Harbor's GALAXY THEATER. The GALAXY is to be commended for providing gift tags and receiving over 700 gifts for our Christmas Giving Tree Program.

March, 2018: Gig Harbor Lions administer Vision and Hearing exams to local students!

Members of the Gig Harbor Lions club ventured to Lighthouse Christian School in Gig Harbor On March 16 to administer sight and hearing test to second graders. The members were: President Dave tucker, Secretary Sharon Kirry, PZC Joe Morales, Elaine Morales, Sue Schmidt and MD19 Vice Council Chair John Kirry.

CHRISTMAS GIVING TREE CHAIRS, 2017

Sharon Kirry, Sue Schmidt, Elaine Morales, Ruth Peterson. For the full story, see below.

We were VERY pleased to receive this photo from the Boys & Girls Club in Gig Harbor showing the gifts that individuals had made from our community. Many more gifts were donated until the end of the porgram, creating a great Christmas for local kids thanks to coordination between the Lions club, Fire Department and Boys and Girls club volunteers! Thanks to you all, THE CHRISTMS GIVING TREE PROGRAM IS A GREAT SUCCESS!

2018 Gig Harbor Lions Club Giving Tree A Huge Success!

The Gig Harbor Lions Club has been deeply commited to the community since 1931. This year, our Lion Ruth Peterson has written a wonderful article in the Peninsula Gateway about the Christmas Giving Tree Program spearheaded by the Lions. To see this great article, click here.

The 2018 Gig Harbor Lions Club Photo Calendars are Almost Gone!

You have two more opportunities to get calendars at the Post Office on Judson. Saturday, December 9th and Wednesday, December 13th. Both day swill have Lions members out front from 10:30 until 12:30. Thank you Gig Harbor for your wonderful response to our calendars!

Many thanks to our advertisers, including Harbor Place, Gig Harbor Automotive, St Anthony Hospital, Tides Tavern, Olympic Pharmacy, Gig Harbor Chamber of Commerce, Dr Richard Coyner,Best Western Wesley Inn, Mackert Automotive, Dr Scott Studerus, Kent Cashman State Farm Agency and Gig Harbor Ace Hardware!

And many thanks to our fantastic photographers who donated spectacular images of the Gig Harbor area: Ruthanne Annaloro, Roy Burnett, Diane Fetzner, Michelle Hoag, Ed Johnson, Kathy Jutte, John Kirry and Chrystal Delphia!
And finally, many thanks to our talented calendar designer Ed Kane and toSteve Noble and the team at Abbott's Printing

Gig Harbor Lions Host Low Vision Seminar. Sept 16, 2017

Lion Richard Dixon leads the Gig Harbor Lions Club Low Vision seminar at Harbor Place in Gig Harbor. Paul, with optics provider Eschenbach, brought equipment and devices to aid those affected by low vision.

"Magnification, Illumination, Education" are Dick's main talking points. WithJohn Kirry, Ruth Peterson, Dave Tucker, Moose Ianke, Joe and Elaine Morales.

***Click here* *to see DETAILS about our successful Finholm View Climb refurbishing and rededication on May 6, 2017!***