Series that features tenants of the Clear Lake Area Community Center
“Together, WE SERVE”
Written by Cheryl Paulson, Lions President
The Clear Lake Lions Club was chartered in 1966 and has been serving the Clear Lake community for the past 57 years. We currently have 24 members. Our club’s activities are 100% devoted to community service. Our motto is “We Serve”. We are the eyes that see the needs within our community and the hands that work together to make an impact. Together, Lions Clubs across the world make up the world’s largest service organization with over 1.4 million members. Our global causes are Diabetes, Vision, Hunger, Environment, Childhood Cancer, and Youth.
Throughout the years, we have completed many projects for our community. Each year we conduct vision screening at the Clear Lake Elementary School and help with hearing screening. We also collect school supplies during the month of August which we deliver to the elementary and junior/senior high schools. In the Spring we conduct Adopt-A-Highway Roadside Cleanup on Highway 63. In January we deliver and serve snacks to residents of Golden Age Manor, Willow Ridge Health Care and Amery Memory Care. In November we spend one day volunteering to be bell ringers for the Salvation Army. Every week during the school year, two of our members pack and deliver food items to the Clear Lake Elementary School for families who participate in the Backpack Program. (This program was first sponsored by the Clear Lake Lions Club in 2016 with a commitment to always have volunteers who order, pack and deliver the food.) We support our Clear Lake Park by purchasing and building benches, assisting with cutting up and bundling wood for the campers, and any other activities which come up where we can help. We aid local families in need by building disability ramps and paying for glasses and hearing aids in dire situations. Some of our members are cornea donor transporters. We also have members who are volunteers for Lifeline Food Pantry. Our Club has also sponsored students to attend the Wisconsin Lions Camp at Rosholt for students who are blind and visually impaired, deaf and hard of hearing, cognitively disabled, or diabetic.
Through our fundraising we are able to provide monetary support to areas of need within our community. Our annual charity golf scramble the first Saturday in August is our largest fundraiser followed by the brat stand at Clear Lake Heritage Days. In December we have our annual Lions birthday calendar drive and all the proceeds go to Lifeline Food Pantry, in which our club matches the first $600. We also have mint sales at Nilssen’s Market and brat stands at the Clear Lake Derby. 100% of all money raised from our fundraisers is donated directly back to our community (per Lions International bylaws). Some of our regular donations include the Clear Lake Library, Clear Lake Area Community Center, Clear Lake Museum, Clear Lake Chronicle, Clear Lake Elementary School Backpack Program, Clear Lake Ambulance Service, Clear Lake area fire victims, Clear Lake Park, Clear Lake High School Post Prom, Christmas for Children, scholarships for graduating high school seniors, Clear Lake School Earth Day Poster Contest, Shrine Circus for 3rdGraders (which we have been doing since 1967) and a local cancer fund. We have funded special projects for the Clear Lake School District which have included donations for playground equipment for the Elementary School and television monitors for the commons at the Junior High/High School.
There are so many local events and projects we have done throughout the past 57 years that are too numerous to list. Some of interest include raising funds for a new medical and dental health clinic and locating a doctor and dentist to practice in Clear Lake. We also sponsored local Girl Scouts Troops, T-ball teams, and purchased uniforms for the Clear Lake Little League Baseball Team. In 1967 we promoted and spearheaded a drive for a scoreboard for the high school athletic field. We also constructed a new sign for Clear Lake Park in 1968. For many years we purchased tickets for the high school football team to attend the Little East-West Shrine game at River Falls. We planted hostas at the Clear Lake Senior Apartments in 2015 and built a storage room for the Elementary School Backpack Program in 2019.
Bottom line, where there is a need, there is a Lion. We are always looking for ways to help our community. We ask that people in our community reach out to us when there is a need.
One of the best ways you can make a difference in our community is to help keep our Clear Lake Lions Club active and strong. Consider becoming a Club member or even volunteering for any of our service activities. When caring people join together, roll up their sleeves and take action to make their community better, it’s a beautiful thing—and an incredible feeling for everyone involved. That’s Lions. Everyone is invited to attend our regular monthly meeting which is held at 6 p.m. on the third Monday of each month at the Clear Lake Area Community Center.
Together, WE SERVE.
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