“We have a great group of people serving, and it’s good to see that we can impact the community.”
Since 1917, Lions Club International has worked to make a difference in many communities around the world. There are more than 46,000 Lions Clubs’ in the world with more than 1.4 million members. The goal for the club is to help with eyesight and blindness prevention, as well as fundraise for the local community.
The Palmyra-Riverton-Cinnaminson Lions Club has been helping to make a difference since its establishment in 1944, with more than a dozen members on board.
“We have two big fundraising events each year, and we also have Lions Club meetings twice a month, member Joe Threston said. “We enjoy making an impact in the community, and we feel we are continuing to do so.”
Every April, the club holds a flea market at Cinnaminson High School, while in September it holds a golf outing at Riverton Country Club. It also has blue bus benches throughout the three towns, which helps increase awareness of the group.
The Lions Club is a service organization that offers a wide range of services to the community. It works with the DelVal Eyebank to provide scholarships to Cinnaminson High School students at graduation, and helps with the distribution of goggles for the Palmyra-Riverton Sports leagues.
“Other than our fundraising events, we want to help in a variety of ways,“ Threston said. “We also try to help with the local schools in offering vision screenings and the giving of eyeglasses.”
Since he joined the Lions Club more than 15 years ago, Threston has seen some changes in the club and expects it to continue to change in the future. The former president of the club stated he knows change will happen, but hopes it happens for the good.
“We are looking for more members now than in the past,” Threston said. “With more members, we can increase our program and services to the community.”
The club’s main two fundraisers have seen people in the community come out and show their support, with the golf outing being the biggest fundraiser.
Goals and missions won’t change for the Lions Club, but the approach to service the community may see some changes with the increased technology.
“Technology will cause some change in our ways to reach out to the community,” Threston said. “Our mission as a whole will not change, so we will continue to do the work that we know we are capable of.”
The ability to be able to help in the community has been a good feeling all around for Threston, and he hopes the club can continue to provide that service into the coming years.
“We have a great group of people serving, and it’s good to see that we can impact the community,” Threston said. “You get satisfaction seeing the work you’ve put in is truly helping others.”
For more information regarding the Palmyra-Riverton-Cinnaminson Lions Club, check https://www.facebook.com/Palmyra-Riverton-Cinnaminson-Lions-Club-498121250351892/.
