From the Lions Den March, 2017
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By error, much of the article for February was omitted. So, looking back to January, at our general meeting, we honoured our departed Lions member, Marion Worrall with a minute of silence. Her kind nature and generous spirit will be missed.
We received a “Thank You” for our contribution to the Ag Hall renovation. The project is now complete and looks terrific. Len Epp thanked the volunteers who set up and dismantled the colourful lights in the Japanese gardens. 920 people came through the Christmas light up at the gardens this past season! Lions Clubs all over the world are celebrating the 100th birthday of the organization. From June 30 to July 4, the Centennial convention will be happening in Chicago. Collectively, 2000 kits of medical supplies and food packages were sent to Haiti to help with relief after hurricane Matthew. An emergency grant to the North Carolina Lions to provide food, water, blankets and medical supplies was donated to help with disaster-effected areas. The Lions provided new technology and screening for premature babies in Cuba, to diagnose and treat retinopathy, which has rescued many from permanent blindness. At our February meeting, Sabrina Somerville was accompanied by Dia, her guide dog, and her mom, Kathryn. She gave some of her life history, related some of her experiences, and thanked the Lions for her scholarship. She uses braille and adaptive technology and was able to go on a trip to the UK last July. One item of the Lions support for Sabrina was the acquisition of a thermal braille printer to help her studies. In September she went to space camp in Alabama for those with visual impairment. After doing more prep courses this year she will be going to either UVic or SFU and hopes to study biology, genetic science, or engineering. Another interest is computer programming which is more of a hobby now. She has had her 3-year-old guide dog since July, 2015. Bill Warning attended a meeting with doctors and representatives from the Health Centre, Lions, Conservancy and other community groups. A facilitator has been hired for Southern Vancouver Island. 30 attended and the reps explained what each group does. A focus was on keeping people on Mayne Island longer, providing procedures not now available here, and getting better resources on the island. On January 24th, Janet Guy accompanied the Salt Spring “Vision Checkers” who came to the Mayne Island school to do vision screening. Any defects or abnormalities discovered are information for the principal who passes this on to the parents. 2 out of 23 had need for correction here. As the Salt Spring Lions help with cost of glasses, if needed, it was suggested that we might do the same. Janet is looking into the costs per child. Alan Guy mentioned that the April 21-23 District Spring Conference for our District 19 is at the Mary Winspear Centre in Sidney. One of the guest speakers is Bob MacDonald from Quirks and. Quarks. We will be announcing our local centennial project soon, and the local phone books will be ready very soon. Remember to bring your no longer needed eyeglasses to one of several drop-off boxes on the island. Someone will be able to use them. David Chase http://www.mayneislandlions.org |
