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Potsdam Lions Club celebrating 75th anniversary

Posted 11/27/11

POTSDAM – The Potsdam Lions Club celebrates its 75th anniversary on Dec. 7. Dec. 7, 1936 marks the date that the Potsdam Lions Club received the charter formally recognizing the club. Within weeks …

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Potsdam Lions Club celebrating 75th anniversary

Posted

POTSDAM – The Potsdam Lions Club celebrates its 75th anniversary on Dec. 7.

Dec. 7, 1936 marks the date that the Potsdam Lions Club received the charter formally recognizing the club. Within weeks of being chartered by Lions Clubs International, the Potsdam club began living up to it motto, “We serve,” by sponsoring a Christmas party for 42 underprivileged children. Thus began a long history of concern and help that has touched virtually every youth group in the community.

Early on the Lions were involved in major projects to serve the community such as Garfield Pond, Postwood Park and the construction and maintenance of the Fall Island Lions Park. They have also contributed considerable sums to the building of the Pine Street Arena and the Rescue Squad and Community Center building. And they organized the 13 regional Lions Clubs to raise funds in a joint venture with Habitat for Humanity to build a home in Parishville.

Most of what the Potsdam Lions have contributed, however, has been far less visible. Over its history, many thousands of dollars have been spent to help those who are visually impaired. This has involved several regional and local activities. For many years, Lions have provided eyeglasses to school children who would otherwise have gone without. In recent years, Lions have screened the vision of preschool children to identify vision problems such as lazy eye that can contribute to learning difficulties.

To celebrate their anniversary, the Potsdam Lions Club has dedicated their efforts this year to growth and enrichment of its programs. The first initiative was to raise funds to support the continuation of vision screening and eyeglasses for needy children. With the help of the Sullivan family and WPDM, almost $5,000 was raised. Growth in community support will lead to a new park bench and additional plantings in Fall Island Park, additional funds for Thanksgiving turkey purchases, and developing greater awareness of community needs. Finally, Lions will seek membership growth by opening their meetings to community visitors. The hope is to attract additional men and women committed to making a contribution toward a better community.

In May, the Potsdam Lions Club will host a 75th anniversary dinner meeting with participation from other local Lions Clubs to honor the contributions of the many people who have served as Lions and to begin progress toward a century of service.

The club expresses gratitude to the many individuals and organizations who over time have supported and joined in their efforts in serving the community.