By David Taylor
A half dozen Lions are roaming in the Crosby area. The Crosby Lions Club disassembled a few years ago, affected by the pandemic, and now the district wants to see a thriving group return, most especially to be the flagship sponsor for the very active Leo Club at the high school, the companion youth organization for the club.
“When the Crosby club quit meeting, the Huffman Lions took over the sponsorship of the Crosby High School Leos, and they have continued as a strong volunteer group,” said District Governor Bill Simpson.
He was joined by Past District Governor Chuck Martin and next year’s First Vice District Governor Mike George. Last year, the high school Leo Club at Crosby grew to 150 strong.
The trio of district leadership presented the details about the Lions Club, their mission, details on how the local club is organized and run, and challenged those present to begin seeking additional members. The club can reorganize once they have 20 members.
The Texas Lions Foundation recently donated $3,000 to the Churches United In Caring in Crosby to assist with hurricane relief and recovery efforts.
While they’re not the largest service club, Rotary International holds that honor, they are the largest in the world claiming 1.4 million members across 200 countries.
“Theoretically, we have more Lions Clubs in different parts of the world than the United Nations,” Martin said.
Crosby and Huffman both lie in District 2-S2, the smallest geographical area of the clubs, but probably the most populated, claiming Harris and six surrounding counties including parts north of 59 in Fort Bend.
“What is our mission? We’re here to empower volunteers,” Martin continued. “Our vision is to be the global leader in community and humanitarian services. We want to be first on the ground in a crisis, even before the American Red Cross shows up.”
The Lions Club began in 1917 and was organized in Chicago by Melvin Jones, an insurance agent.
“He wanted to do more for his community than what was going on, so he gathered his friends and colleagues and met in October of that year in Dallas. The Lion’s Club was formed and they became an international organization in 1920 when they chartered a club across the river from Detroit in Canada,” Martin said.
1925 was a special year for the club.
“Helen Keller came to the Lions Club International in Sandusky, Ohio, at the international convention and asked the Lions to be the ‘knights for the blind.’ That mission gave the Lions Club a single mission and project they could sink their teeth into,” he said.
Leo Clubs were first formed in 1957 involving willing young people in the same mission and assuring the club’s continuity and lasting effect.
More than 100 years later, Jones’s ideas and wishes for his club have been met repeatedly.
The Foundation was formed in 1968 and continues to fund large projects and aid in disasters around the world.
With their incredibly well-known work with vision and glasses, they also have established eight pillars of projects they hope to accomplish: to provide support for the families of children with cancer; work to reduce the prevalence of diabetes and improve the quality of life for those living with the disease; take steps to meet immediate needs and provide longterm support for communities devastated by natural disasters; find ways to protect the environment to create healthier communities and a more sustainable world; identify the world’s most crucial needs and provide humanitarian aid where it’s needed most; to improve food security and access to nutritious food to help alleviate hunger; help prevent blindness and improve quality of life for people who are blind or visually impaired; and lastly, to support young people so they make positive choices, lead healthy and productive lives, and become the next generation of service leaders.
“With each of these we have responded in our individual clubs,” Martin said. “We have a special camera that we use to take a photo of the kid’s eyes and within five seconds can tell you whether or not that child needs to go see an optometrist for a complete workup or if they’re good to go,” he said.
Martin’s club also collects plastic bags and recycles them.
“We take them to a recycling company that mixes the bags with some wood chips, glue, and it produces a three-person bench that will last up to 25 years,” he said.
Each club is allowed to pursue their own dollars and projects. There are dues that are mostly minimal and help the foundation. Most money remains in the area for community projects.
To learn more about the Lions Club, they will host another organizational and informational meeting on Monday, Aug. 19, at 6:30 p.m. in the Crosby Community Center.
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