KENT OHIO LIONS CLUB
The Kent Ohio Lions Club was chartered November 18, 1946, with 55 members under President Lee Maag, after a summer organizational drive by Reverend Lynn Pugh of the Mogadore Lions club. The Kent Ohio Lions club is part of Ohio Lions Multiple District 13-D and Lions International.
Lions Club is a general purpose service organization which was soon transformed into a club in support of eye care and programs for the blind when charged by Helen Keller in 1925 at the Lions International convention in Cedar Point Sandusky, Ohio. She challenged the Lions to become knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness. Lions Club International has more than 46,000 clubs in 193 countries and geographical areas and 1.3 million men and women. Kent Ohio Lions Club has a rich history of sight-related services and projects, including annual sponsorship of one or more pilot dog scholarships with Pilot Dogs of Ohio (to date we have provide 54 pilot dog scholarships for a total of approximately $233,000.00,) providing eye care and glasses for adults and children in need, collecting thousands of glasses for use in Latin America and international eye-care projects, financial support for are eye banks and for regional and national societies for the blind. During the past three decades, The Kent Ohio Lions Club has provided support for Dr. William Brinker who leads regular eye-care missions to South and Central America to remote and rural areas that otherwise would not have such services provided to them.
The dual mission of The Kent Ohio Lions Club is to provide service to the Community while providing members opportunities for fellowship and camaraderie and to make the community a better place to live. We currently have 75 members.
A chief fund-raising effort is the highly successful Carnation Day. In 2004 we raised an all-time high in funds. Other fund-raising is The Kent Heritage Festival, where we have a food booth and raffle, the Annual Kent Ohio Lions Pancake Festival which in 2005 celebrated its 51st Pancake Festival and Entertainment Books and Salvation Army bell ringing. We also do eye screening and hearing tests of over 3,000 students annually in conjunction with The Kent Schools System. The club also provides financial support for a wide variety of civic services each year, donating approximately $20, 00.00 in support of on-going and one-time projects.
The Kent Lions Club acknowledges the valuable assistance of The Kent State University sorority, Delta Gamma, which functions in a reciprocal capacity with Lions in fund raising and eye-care services.
