Our 103rd Club President Anneta Drilling-Sowa
JOLIET NOON LIONS CLUB
Lions are men and women who volunteer their time to service humanitarian causes in their local and world communities. By conducting service projects and raising funds Lions strive to help those in need, wherever need exists. The Lions' motto is "We Serve".
Helen Keller addressed the Lions at their International Convention in 1925, challenging them to become "knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness". Since that time, service to the blind / visually impaired and hearing impaired has become two of the association's most significant activities.
The first organizational meeting of the charter members of the Joliet Lions Club was January 19, 1921 and Pence Orr was elected to the office of president. Since then, the Joliet Noon Lions have sponsored the Children's Picnic at The Guardian Angel Home, initiated a tape service for blind students, and established the Braille trail in Pilcher Park, and contributed Braille materials and machines for the Joliet Public Library.
We continue to: provide eyeglasses and hearing aids for area citizens, collect used eyeglasses for the Lions of Illinois Foundation for use in developing countries, send sight and hearing impaired students to Camp Lions; a Lions of Illinois Foundation program, help with the Diabetic eye screening at Will/Grundy Medical Center, do eye screening at local schools and senior centers and financially assist Southern Will County Cooperative for Special Education (SOWIC), Cornerstone, Trinity Services, Northern Illinois Food Bank.
Working with 13 area Lions Clubs and Lions Clubs International Foundation, the Noon Lions spear-headed the fundraising to fully eqiuped one of the newly added client room at Lightways Hospice in Joliet, IL.
Most of this has been financed throughout the years with fundraisers such as: Candy Day, Pancake Breakfasts, Cubs Caravans, Lion's Night with the Slammers, Rose Days, Cash Bash, money raffles, and generous donations from individuals and area businesses.
The Lions also participate in our International association's service activities emphasizing work with the sight and hearing impaired, diabetes awareness, education and research; environmental issues, community welfare, international understanding of service to others, Childhood Cancer Research and Care, and programs dealing with the youth.
JOLIET NOON LIONS CLUB
SERVING THE JOLIET AREA FOR 103 YEARS
Lions Clubs International is the world's largest service club organization with more than 1.4 million members in approximately 46,000 clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas around the world.
