Current Projects
Service Projects - Funds to support these projects come from the Charity Accounts of the clubs involved.
- Thanksgiving Dinner: Each year, for the past 26 years we have prepared and served dinner on Thanksgiving Day to around 125 seniors at the Salvation Army's Silvercrest Retirement Home in Santa Rosa. Volunteer help and donations from around the Community helps to make this an annual success. Contact Lion James Fitzgerald at 707 623-5825 for information on this project.
- The Santa Rosa Host club, in association with the Montgomery Village Lions Club, prepares and serves dinner on Christmas Day to approximately 1200 shut-ins and needy families, plus serving over 300 walk-ins. Shut-ins are served by a small army of Lions and other volunteers, who deliver dinners to just about anywhere in Sonoma County. Volunteer help is welcome, as are donations of food or cash. Contact Lion Dee Dee Byrne at 707 953-4402 for information on this project.
Santa Claus at Kawana Springs School: During the Christmas season, we visit the Kawana Springs Elementary School, and with one of our members dressed as Santa Claus, give gifts and serve punch and cookies to the Kindergarten & First Graders. Gifts are either donated by local businesses (Walgreen's Drugs is a frequent donor), or they are purchased by our Club.
Lions Project for Canine Companions for Independence: Three or four times per year we prepare and serve luncheon to the CCI graduates at the ceremony when they receive their assistance dogs. Contact Lion Mike Rogalski at 707 575-5090 for information about this project.- Vision Care: Working with volunteer physicians and optometrists, the Lions Vision Center provides eye care for the needy. Eye exams and glasses are provided free of charge, or for a nominal fee, for low-income families. For further information contact Lion Barry Bialkoski at 707 696-8224.
- Eyeglass Donations: Your used eyeglasses are "recycled" by the Lions Clubs, to provide glasses to those who need them, but cannot afford to buy them. This is an important program for all Lions clubs, and we are most grateful to receive donations of complete glasses. Please do not donate separate frames or lenses. You may bring your used eyeglasses to any optometrist in Santa Rosa, and ask that they be donated to the Lions Club, or, if you click on the link near the bottom of the Home Page for this web site, you will see a map with eyeglass collection sites for your convenience. Alternatively, you may contact Lion Mike Rogalski our Sight Conservation Committee Chairperson at 707 575-5090, for guidance. Thank you!
- Other projects that our Club regularly supports include White Cane Sales and Salvation Army Bell Ringing.
Ad-Hoc Projects
Ad-Hoc projects are those that are unplanned, usually necessitated due to emergency conditions such as forest fires, earthquakes & the like. Our Lions Club, along with other Lions Clubs and service organizations raise funds and deliver relief supplies to the effected areas.
As recently as last year, our Club, along with other clubs in our Lions District 4-C2, provided direct relief to the Cobb Mountain communities of Lake County, CA, following a disatrous forest fire. Funds were raised and delivered to the area. Among the supplies provded were emergency housing, food, blankets, bottled water, diapers, shovels, and sanitary facilities. In addition, our Club coordinated the effort to obtain much needed matching grant funds from Lions Clubs International.
Fund Raising
In order to fund our many Community service projects, money must be raised from the general public. We do not keep any of these funda for internal administrative purposes. 100% of the money goes directly back to the public, either in cash or as supplies or equipment.
Fund Raising Projects - Listed below are several of the projects we run in order to fund our Charity Accounts.
- See's Candy Sales: Each Holiday season we sell See's candy. Each Club member sells candy to friends and family, as well as the general public. The Club gets a commission on the sales.
- Lions "Teddy Bear" Pancake Breakfast: Each spring we hold an "all you can eat" pancake breakfast, featuring eggs, sausage, pancakes, juice and coffee. Tickets are pre-sold and at the door. Funds are used to provide for needy children.
- Fashion Show: In late spring, the women of our Club put on a fashion show and luncheon. Garments are modeled and offered for sale. Funds are gained from ticket sales and commissions on clothing sold.
- Parking Lot Sale: In the fall, we hold an all-day flea market. Much like a thrift shop, we solicit donated items, which are then sold to the general public. Proceeds are used to fund our Community service projects.
