By Toni-Elena Gallo
The Port Jefferson chapter of the Lions Club is an organization that strives to make a difference in the community in which it serves.
Founded in Chicago back in 1917, the club was launched by a “group of businessmen who wanted to do more for their communities,” according to the Lions International website, and reiterated on a phone interview with Rick Giovan, a member of the Port Jeff chapter’s board of directors and former president. Today, the Lions Club has over 48,000 clubs with 1.4 million members in more than 200 countries and geographic areas, working by the credo “we serve.”
According to Giovan, the Port Jefferson chapter is committed to helping people of all backgrounds, specifically those facing food insecurity, substance use problems — as well as their families — sight and vision problems and people with disabilities.
The emphasis on helping people who suffer from low vision came to be in 1925, when Helen Keller encouraged the Lions to become “the knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness” at their international convention.
Among the charities that are supported, “we work with the Guide Dog Foundation [in Smithtown], the Cleary School for the Deaf [in Lake Ronkonkoma] and the Port Jefferson Library, where we help fund certain devices to help members with low vision,” Giovan said.
“We’ll sometimes get a call from a school guidance counselor saying something like, ‘This fourth grader really needs glasses, and the family just can’t afford it,’ and it is so nice to be able to help in those situations.”
The club membership is made up of people from “all different socioeconomic backgrounds,” Giovan said.
“There is no requirement to pay the club. Some members may offer a $1,000 check to a cause, while another member may be more generous with their time and has their hands and feet on the ground more. Everyone does what they can,” he added.
The Port Jeff Lions Club community fund raises money through donations, as well as numerous yearly fundraisers. There is a golf classic, movie nights — where theaters are rented out for guests and members — and car shows, to name a few.
Two initiatives that the club is especially passionate about are its annual Holiday Food Baskets and Christmas Magic events.
According to Giovan, every Nov. 22 prior to Thanksgiving, Lions members along with community volunteers and school children, unpack the food trucks they have ordered from, and bag groceries — three for each family with some money used to purchase the merchandise coming from local businesses, and the rest from donations.
“The club asks for $50 donations for this event, but you can give less or more — whatever people can. And, if they would like to donate, they can send a check to P.O. Box 202, Port Jefferson, NY 11777,” Giovan said.
“After that, we make deliveries on the 23rd, and give each family a ham, as well,” he continued. “It is very satisfying to see people so grateful. Oftentimes, we’ll see a young, single woman, with a couple of kids, living in a very modest apartment, and they just appreciate the food so much.”
The Christmas Magic night has been run by the Port Jeff Lions Club president, Linda Eicholz, for the past three years. This unique occasion sees a Lions Club member take the wish list of a local child, and “purchase all of their requests,” Giovan said.
“One of the members will dress up as Santa, and say, ‘I have a big bag for Nicole,’ for example, and hand that child a wrapped bag of all of their presents. It brings such a smile to their faces.”
For more information about the Port Jeff Lions Club events, how to donate and how to become a member, please visit the website: e-clubhouse.org/sites/portjefferson.
