Monroe Sights for Hope Lions Club Activates with Inductions of its First Members
The Monroe Sights for Hope Lions Club, a branch of the Stroudsburg Lions Club, inducted its first members on Friday during its initial business meeting.
The 13 members were installed Friday by Pennsylvania Lions District 14-U Governor David Leon. First-year membership fees for all Sights for Hope clients have been underwritten by the Stroudsburg Lions Club. The club’s first members include 12 clients and Jennifer Pandolfo, Sights for Hope’s Associate Director and Director of Services. All members inducted on or before June 30 will be designated as charter members.
The district also inducted club officers Regina DeCuzzi, who was elected President; Aurora Skinner, who was elected First Vice President; and Susan Lieberman, who was elected Secretary.
The Monroe Sights for Hope Lions Club was created in partnership with the Stroudsburg Lions Club and Pennsylvania Lions District 14-U to provide Sights for Hope’s Monroe County clients a chance to be active in their community. People who do not have a visual impairment and live in Monroe County also may become members. Club meetings will take place at Sights for Hope’s Monroe Services Center near Stroudsburg, PA, on the last Friday or Thursday of each month at 12:30 p.m.
The Lehigh Valley Sights for Hope Lions Club, a branch of the Whitehall Lions Club, formed in February. The separate clubs are necessary because Lions in Lehigh and Northampton counties are part of Pennsylvania Lions District 14-K and Lions in Monroe County are part of Pennsylvania District 14-U.
Lions Clubs International is the world’s largest service club organization, with 1.4 million members in 200 countries. Lions are known throughout the world for their work to improve the lives of people with visual impairments and to prevent avoidable impairments. Sights for Hope traces its inception to efforts by Lions clubs from Lehigh and Northampton counties in 1928. Lions clubs and districts in the Lehigh Valley area and Monroe County provide financial support to Sights for Hope annually.
Sights for Hope blends a service tradition inspired by Helen Keller nearly a century ago with contemporary practices to remove the barriers to independence and success caused by visual impairments. Sights for Hope transforms the lives of people with visual impairments in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley and Monroe County through life skills education, specialized technologies, individualized support services, free vision screenings for children, and community education programs. Sights for Hope services impact more than 10,000 people in a typical year and are provided at little or no cost. A total of 85% of Sights for Hope clients with visual impairments are from low-income households. Sights for Hope is a member of the VisionServe Alliance, a network of North American agencies that serve people with visual impairments.
Image: The first members of the Monroe Sights for Hope Lions Club and Pennsylvania Lions District 14-U Governor David León