Lions Clubs Exceed the Challenge to Increase Giving as Costs and Needs Rise

By Sights for Hope Team |
A Lions Club member speaking to a crowd with a hand-held microphone

Lions Club members from Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley and Monroe County have donated $48,369 to Sights for Hope so far in 2022-2023, exceeding Sights for Hope’s requested increase in giving.

In its annual fundraising letter to Lions groups, Sights for Hope asked them to increase their donations by 10%, citing rising costs driven by inflation and a recent 14% growth of its client population. The Lions had contributed $35,939 in 2021-2022. This year’s amount also is the highest achieved since 2019-2020, when nearly all the giving took place prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Clubs in the Lehigh Valley area are part of Pennsylvania Lions District 14-K. Clubs in Monroe County are part of Pennsylvania Lions District 14-U. There are 35 clubs and district groups in Sights for Hope’s service area, and 31 have made gifts this year to date. Of these 31 clubs and groups, 20 increased their giving from the prior year.

Many of this year’s Lions Club gifts were announced Saturday at the Lions4Sight 2023 Breakfast at the Lehigh Valley Hotel and Conference Center in Bethlehem, PA. Clubs and groups have until June 30 to increase the giving total.

Contributions made by Lions groups in 2022-2023 as of April 29 are as listed below. The list also includes pledges and contributions through Sights for Hope’s annual C. Well Sweepstakes.

  • A combined contribution of $8,300 from Pennsylvania Lions District 14-K and the District 14-K enterprises.
  • Contributions totaling $8,050 from the Emmaus Lions Club.
  • Contributions totaling $5,060 from the Lehigh Township Lions Club. The Lehigh Township Lions Club also secured a separate $10,000 grant to Sights for Hope from the Lions of Pennsylvania Foundation.
  • Contributions totaling $3,314 from the Emmaus Lioness-Lions Club.
  • A $2,000 contribution from the Pocono Lions Club.
  • A $2,000 contribution from the Slatington Lions Club.
  • A $2,000 contribution from the Upper Lehigh Lions Club.
  • Contributions totaling $1,500 from the Saucon Valley Lions Club.
  • A $1,500 contribution from the West Lehigh Area Lions Club.
  • A $1,250 contribution from the Tannersville Lions Club.
  • A $1,200 contribution from the Bethlehem Township Lions Club.
  • Contributions totaling $1,200 from the former Lower Lehigh Lions Club, which disbanded in August 2022.
  • A $1,200 contribution from the Mountainville Lions Club.
  • A $1,100 contribution from the Kuhnsville Area Lions Club.
  • A $1,100 contribution from the Moore Township Lioness Lions Club.
  • A $1,000 contribution from the Bath Lions Club.
  • A $1,000 contribution from the Easton Lions Club.
  • A $1,000 contribution from the Hellertown Lions Club.
  • Contributions totaling $1,000 from the Lehigh Township Lioness Lions Club.
  • Contributions totaling $550 from the Coplay Lions Club.
  • Contributions totaling $450 from the Coopersburg Lions Club.
  • Contributions totaling $310 by the Wilson Borough Lions Club.
  • A $300 contribution from the Alburtis Lions Club.
  • A $300 contribution from the Hanover Township Lions Club.
  • A $250 contribution from the Bushkill Smithfields Lions Club.
  • A $250 contribution from the Moore Township Lions Club.
  • A $200 contribution from the Bangor Lions Club.
  • A $200 contribution from the Northern Lehigh High School Leo Club.
  • A $200 contribution from the Palmer Township Lions Club.
  • A $100 contribution from the Lehigh Valley Sights for Hope Lions Club, which is comprised primarily of Sights for Hope clients.
  • A $100 cash contribution from the Whitehall Lions Club and the contribution of a Spot Vision Screener device.
  • A $50 contribution from the Stroudsburg Lions Club. The Stroudsburg Lions Club also underwrites the Monroe Sights for Hope Lions Club, which is comprised primarily of Sights for Hope clients. The Monroe Sights for Hope club is a branch of the Stroudsburg Lions Club.
  • A $50 contribution from the Western Pocono Lions Club.
  • Net contributions of $285 from attendees of the Lions4Sight Breakfast, including purchases of 50-50 drawing tickets.

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 sponsors or supports the Lehigh Valley Sights for Hope Lions Club and the Monroe Sights for Hope Lions Club, a branch of the Stroudsburg Lions Club, to enable its clients to serve their communities.

Sights for Hope transforms the lives of people with visual impairments and blindness by removing the barriers to their independence. Sights for Hope’s services teach adaptive skills to accomplish daily life activities; provide supports that counter the effects of visual impairments and blindness; increase access to medical care, healthy food, and other essentials; and advance solutions that enhance sight capabilities. More than 40% of Sights for Hope’s clients live below or near the federal poverty line. Founded in 1928, Sights for Hope carries forward in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley and Monroe County a tradition of service inspired by Helen Keller and is a member of the Pennsylvania Association for the Blind.

Image: David León of the Stroudsburg Lions Club speaking to the crowd with a hand-held microphone at Sights for Hope’s Lions4Sight 2023 Breakfast