ABOUT THE HAMMONTON LIONS CLUB
Chartered on August 20, 1963, the Hammonton Lions Club is in its 54th year of service during the 2017-2018 club year. Current officers are Michael Villani, (President), Alan Cicatiello, (1st Vice President); Marie Tomasello (2nd Vice President) Lisa Frederico, (Secretary), and Lori Orsi (Treasurer). The club is currently made up of 84 men and women who come from diverse backgrounds and careers bringing a variety of skills, talents and resources to help serve others.
The Hammonton Lions Club is proud to be a part of the Lions Clubs International family whose main mission is the preservation and restoration of sight. This mission has been expanded to provide additional services in local communities and throughout the world. The needs are great and Lions’ services have been broadened to include health, youth, the elderly, the environment and disaster relief. The Hammonton Lions are very active and proud to support programs and projects that exemplify the Lions’ motto, “We Serve.”
Support of sight, community, district and international programs by the club averages about $15,000 annually. Main fundraisers include our Great Cash Giveaway, participation in Hammonton’s Red, White & Blueberry Festival and donations to our White Cane program.
The club collects eye glasses for recycling, holds eye screenings, provides eye exams and glasses to the needy, supports youth sports programs and school projects and events, collects food for the local food pantries, and donates personal items to Covenant House, a homeless shelter for teens and young adults. Members volunteer at the Field of Dreams which gives disabled children an opportunity to participate in team sports. The club sponsors a local Leo Club which provides our youth opportunities to serve through Lionism. The club created and helps to maintain Leo Park, erected several flag poles in town, and participates in the county Adopt-A-Road program. The Lions also participate in community events such as Recycling Central and National Night Out. Each year, the club honors a volunteer in our town by hosting a Citizen of the Year Dinner and donates $500 to the recipient’s choice of charity.
The Lions were very involved in Hammonton’s Sesquicentennial Celebration which will be held during 2016-2017. The club raised money by selling a commemorative throw reflecting sites and icons in our town’s past and the present. Proceeds from the throw were used by the Lions to provide three free concerts in Leo Park and to create a time capsule for future generations. The time capsule, a beautiful wooden cabinet, was designed and built by students in the graphic design and industrial arts programs at Hammonton High School. The Lions held the closing ceremony of the sesquicentennial celebration in May, 2017 to dedicate the time capsule which will be opened during the town’s bicentennial in 2066. Both the throw and the time capsule are prominently displayed in town hall.
The Hammonton Lions Club is an integral part of the community with its sponsorship and support of events and projects. The club looks forward to greater service through growth in membership, increased use of technology and several media and the development of partnerships with businesses and corporations.
