Donations and Volunteerism

There's no better feeling of achievement then volunteering. This past year alone I joined my local chapter of The Lions Club International.

We make strides to improve the hearing and vision of our most vulnerable fellow citizens by raising funds to provide eyeglasses and hearing aids to children and senior citizens.

Since joining the Lions club, I have helped my club wash thousands of used eyeglasses that have been sent overseas to developing countries. I have volunteered at local blood drives. I have helped organize fundraisers.

I encourage you find a local Lions Club near you and find out more about the programs and services we provide to our communities. 2017 marks the Lions International Clubs 100th year anniversary. Every club has some special projects in the works for this historic period in our organizations history.

If you can't volunteer your time with an organization like the International Lions Clubs, you can always donate to your local service centers. This past week alone I tried to donate several bags of non-perishable food to my local service center. Unfortunately they were closed and did not have an after hours drop box for food. Thinking outside the box I took the bags to a well known motel that houses low income individuals and families. They have a laundry room that doubles as a walk in food pantry for the residents.

Every town has a well known motel or two that has the same situation. You probably have a local shelter too that could benefit from your food donations.

Very often we forget or just overlook completely, because we are to afraid to stand up and do something. Sure there are some of these less fortunate people who are taking advantage of our poverty assistance programs, and make us not want to do the charitable thing. Then there are also some that are too proud to ask for help publicly.

You always see the donation boxes on the side of the road asking you to donate clothes, books, and shoes. Most of us clean out our closets and throw our garments in those boxes. Sure that helps out others but we need to also remember that the human body needs food to survive. Most pantries are non-profit with no government funding and rely on food donations.

As we say in my club no donation is too small. One small act of kindness goes a long way.