Grayslake Lions Club does more for community than meets the eye
If you think that the Lions Club is just an organization where old dudes collect used glasses, then think again.
The Grayslake Lions Club is much more. Our club was founded in 1940 with 36 members. It is now a coed club with 53 members, of which 30 percent are women. It is part of an international organization that can be found in 200 countries, on six continents, with 45,000 clubs and 1.4 million members worldwide.
The Lions clubs are all volunteers who donate their time, with 100 percent of the donations going toward charity.
The Grayslake club is a true civic group dedicated to community service, focusing on: blindness, hearing impairment, diabetic awareness and improving the lives of younger community members by providing scholarships and vision screening.
We collect 2,000 to 3,000 used eyeglasses in the Grayslake area yearly. The eyeglasses are analyzed for their prescription, sorted and donated to needy people worldwide. We provide eye exams and glasses for needy youth in our community and others, as needed.
We collect used hearing aids, provide hearing screenings and diabetic awareness.
Our members are actively involved with the Leader Dog program, where dogs are trained for the blind.
Other community service projects include yearly scholarships for Grayslake high schools, donations to the Avon Food Pantry and Shop with a Cop, where needy children shop with a Grayslake police officer for Christmas.
We contribute to many other organizations in our community, as well as a number of national vision-impaired charities.
Our fundraisers are a September Steer Roast that has been held annually for 56 years, an April Pancake Breakfast and a Texas Hold 'em Poker Tournament in September.
We meet monthly for a dinner meeting, where we regularly have a speaker that updates us on issues concerning our community or representatives from the charities that we support.
If you are interested in attending one of our meetings or joining our club, contact Judson Revelle at (847) 812-0875 or Rob Depke, (847) 223-8272.