Lions To Collect On Sightsavers Day

The Newtown Lions will be at Lexington Gardens and Dunkin’ Donuts on Sightsavers Day, Saturday, April 24, ask shoppers to contribute to the Connecticut Lions Eye Research Foundation (CLERF).

Although all the Connecticut Lions Club support many different charities, the organization’s primary goal is sight. CLERF offices are at Yale University, where research is ongoing to eliminate many eye-related diseases worldwide.

The Newtown Lions have been involved in many town projects recently. At Nunnawauk Meadows, they provided a large-screen television for the community room and a gazebo. They outfitted the project room of the children’s department in the C.H. Booth Library, helped the Blue and Gold Boosters obtain lights for the football field, donated to the town hall mural project, to the Parks and Recreation Campership Program, to the Newtown High School Band’s trip to the Rose Bowl, and adopted the Ability Beyond Disability (formerly Datahr) home on West Street. The Lions raised funds and constructed Adventure Quest and two new playgrounds at Treadwell Park. They are working on three AmeriCares projects to repair or paint three local homes for homeowners unable to maintain their homes.

Through the Newtown Lions Club’s annual budget, the Lions provide eye exams for referred Newtown children, contribute to Meals on Wheels, the FAITH Food Pantry, Boy Scouts Camp, DARE, fuel banks, the Family Life Center, and food baskets at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The Lions most recent project was the pancake breakfast benefiting Al’s Trail.

The Connecticut Lions Clubs support camperships for children with juvenile diabetes and cancer, plus the Lions Camp for handicapped children and the Connecticut Low Vision Centers.