Lions Club Contributions Surpass $50,000 for First Time in Four Years

By Sights for Hope Team |
A person wearing a blue shirt and a yellow vest with the Lions International emblem and several Lions pins

Lions clubs and organizations have contributed more than $50,000 to Sights for Hope in 2023-2024, reaching that mark for the first time in four years.

The year’s Lions giving totaled $51,808. This is only the second year in the last seven when the $50,000 mark was topped. Most Lions contributions by clubs in Lehigh, Northampton, and Monroe counties are made for Sights for Hope’s annual Lions4Sight Breakfast. This year’s largest donors were the Emmaus Lions Club, which gave $9,900; Pennsylvania Lions District 14-K, which gave $8,500; and the Lehigh Township Lions Club, which contributed $6,350.

After reaching $51,129 in 2019-2020, with the breakfast held in the fall of 2019, Lions giving decreased when the COVID pandemic reduced the ability of clubs to conduct fundraisers. After raising $48,769 in 2022-2023, Sights for Hope set $50,000 as this year’s goal.

This year also is the first time in at least seven years in which every club in Pennsylvania District 14-K – which represents Lehigh and Northampton – contributed. Efforts to reach the two milestones were driven by District 14-K Governor Denise Shaffer and Daniel Lombardo, a past District 14-K Governor and Treasurer of Sights for Hope’s Board of Directors.

“This year’s Lions campaign results reflect a post-pandemic recovery and a renewed commitment from Lions to be partners in our mission,” said Dennis Zehner, Executive Director and CEO of Sights for Hope. “The participation of all 14-K clubs speaks to the dedication of local Lions leaders to ensure the enduring strength of that partnership, which has lasted nearly 100 years.”

Sights for Hope traces its inception to efforts by Lions clubs from Lehigh and Northampton counties in 1928 with inspiration from the iconic activist Helen Keller. Multiple Lions serve on Sights for Hope’s Board of Directors and Lions volunteers support its vision screenings for pre-kindergarten children. Sights for Hope also sponsors 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: A person wearing a blue shirt and a yellow vest with the Lions International emblem and several Lions pins.