EAST LONGMEADOW — People often attend community events that are organized or sponsored by the East Longmeadow Lions Club, but Lion Bob Adams said those events, often free to the public, do not come without cost. The Lions Club aims to raise $15,000 for its events and charitable contributions.
Born in 1917, the Association of Lions Clubs was formed to tackle social problems. In 1925, legendary blindness activist Helen Keller laid down a call to action for the Lions Clubs to become “knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness.” Since then, Lions Clubs around the world have worked to help people who are blind and have low vision, while also contributing to local communities.
The East Longmeadow Lions Club organizes several events for the town, including the 4th of July Parade, a golf tournament, a cornhole tournament, wine and beer dinners, National Night Out, the Distinguished Citizen’s award and a picnic for the visually impaired. By far, the two largest events of the year are the Fishing Derby in April and the Holiday Weekend Kickoff.
The fishing derby attracts between 130 and 170 children each year. Heritage Park’s pond is stocked with about 900 fish, 500 of which the Lions Club purchases. The remaining fish are donated by state and federal fisheries. Prizes are awarded for various categories and grab bags worth about $40 are given out to participating children. This event alone costs $7,000 to organize and host.
Adams said the derby is important to people in the community and shared that a woman who grew up in East Longmeadow and has since moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, makes the trip back to town each year so her children can participate in the fishing derby the way she did.
There are a few different events involved in the Lions Club’s Holiday Weekend Kickoff. In addition to coordinating with small businesses in town to offer holiday-themed events, the Lions Club organizes a parade of trucks decorated with holiday lights to usher Santa Claus to the lawn of the First Congregational Church, where he lights the town’s Christmas tree and takes photos with children.
The town’s tree was donated by a Lions Club member 40 years ago. Adams explained that such a tree has a lifespan of about 45 years.
“We’re spending money to try to keep that tree going,” he said, but it will need to be replaced soon. The plan is to plant a new tree behind the existing one and allow it to grow in place for a few years before removing the over-mature tree.
Adams pointed out that all the organization’s administrative costs are covered by member dues so that all the money collected by the Lions Club can be used for the community events or donated to organizations that the Lions Club supports, including Lions Club International, Massachusetts Lions Eye Research Fund, Valley Eye Radio, Journey for Sight, Readers’ Digest for Visually Impaired and hurricane relief.
Closer to home, funds collected by the East Longmeadow Lions Club are used for glasses for town residents in need, the local food pantry, the East Longmeadow Rotary Club and East Longmeadow Council on Aging.
“We used to solicit people multiple times through the course of the year,” Adams said. Now, the organization runs an annual fundraising campaign. “We have a great list of sponsors” who support the East Longmeadow Lions Club every year. Among them, he said, Rocky’s Ace Hardware and Monson Savings Bank are “very good to us.” He added that new businesses and individual sponsors choose to support the organization each year.
About a quarter of donations to the Lions Club come from individuals, while about 30% is donated by people through their companies, Adams said. The remaining donations come as sponsorships from business and charity organizations.
Last year, the Lions Club raised $11,000. “We make do with what we’ve got,” Adams said.
There are four sponsorship levels: bronze for those giving between $10 and $99, silver for sponsorships between $100 and $299, gold for sponsorships between $300 and $499, and a platinum level for those giving over $500.
“Lions Club International is a huge organization, but the local Lions Club is just local people,” Adams said. The group has grown from 32 people to 40 recently, but he said membership has been trending down in recent years. For the Lions Club to continue hosting community programs, he said it needs to attract new members as well as sponsors. If interested in sponsoring or joining the East Longmeadow Lions Club, reach out to eastlongmeadowlions@gmail.com.
