Damascus Lions Club of Damascus, Maryland
Jan. 4 Dinner Meeting @ Wesley Grove UM Church
Jan. 11 Board Meeting @ Gladhill Bros
Jan. 15 & 16 NBC 4 Health & Fitness Expo
Jan. 17 Blood Drive @ DVFD Activity Center
Jan. 18 Dinner Meeting @ Wesley Grove UM Church
Feb. 1 Dinner Meeting @ Wesley Grove UM Church
Feb. 7 Board Meeting @ Gladhill Bros
Feb. 15 Dinner Meeting @ Wesley Grove UM Church
The December 2010 Lions Tale is now available.
An African proverb tells us, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
Working together. That’s the Lion way. During this season of giving, we are quite busy working together and thankful to be in a place where we can help others. We will go far.
Last month, we delivered Thanksgiving meals to 30 families. And this month we will do it again, and then some, with Christmas gifts for all. Thanks to all the Lions who contributed to these two major projects. From the food collectors, sorters, packers and shoppers to the delivery teams and clean up crew, the donation collector and the donors, it takes a lot of hands to accomplish these tasks. Thanks, too, for taking the name of a child and getting their gift. To a family that is struggling during these times, your generosity helps make their holiday a better day. Our holiday basket coordinator, Lion Mary Frances Gosnell, along with her core team of “elves,” spends the better part of November and December making sure we are ready to roll. Thank you all for your time and effort.
I recently received our report from LCOF on our eyeglass donations. Thru the end of November, we have collected over 500 pairs of glasses! Much thanks go to our eyeglass collection Lions, Shyue & Su Huang and Lion Del Mayhew who is our representative to LCOF and gets the donated glasses into the system. Your work brings sight to literally hundreds of people… think about it!
We continue our vision mission locally, with Lion Midge Tench screening requests for eye exams and glasses. The number of requests has increased this year and we are grateful for Midge’s work in this area. It’s not always easy to determine the level of need for such requests and Midge does an outstanding job. Thank you Lion Midge!
The Red Cross terminated our blood drive last month due to stink bugs. Yes, you read that right, there were too many stink bugs in the activity building for them to continue to collect blood. Living out here in “the country,” it never occurred to me that there would be such a criteria, but there you have it. Fortunately, a mouse did not run across the floor, too. Thank you, Lion Charlie Hertel for not injuring any of the Red Cross staff. Thank you to all the Lions who came and helped to set up and make the blood drive one of our top projects. New Lion Ken Cook will be our new face for the blood drives. Our next drive is scheduled for Monday, January 17th, Martin Luther King Day. Working together, we are not about to be derailed by stink bugs… or the Red Cross.
The weather has turned cold here on us and has slowed progress on the skate park. It is nearly done, with the surface material still to be installed on the equipment; we may see it open later this month. Keep your eyes peeled for the announcement on the ribbon cutting ceremony.
Our schedule for the month of December is not normal. We will have our regular dinner meeting on the 7th at Wesley Grove, and then our Christmas party will be the following week on the 14th at Damascus United Methodist. The board meeting will be on the 21st at Gladhill Bros. This change was made to facilitate the holiday delivery schedule. Please see the timeline for that project in the newsletter.
We accomplish so much together! May you also enjoy your holiday with family and friends this season. Be safe, stay warm and love with all your heart.
Yours in Service,
King Lion Marcia
It was a sight to be seen when the Huang Box Truck backed into the storage area of Damascus Motors on Thursday afternoon. It was piled high with boxes of food collected by the Rocky Hill Middle School Leo Club – some 3776 items. What a haul! I understand the eighth graders received the reward for collecting the most cans. And then on Friday, just as several Lions had finished sorting food for the Thanksgiving delivery, in came that Box Truck again with another load – this time from DHS. Three service clubs at DHS joined their energies for another big collection. They placed a box in Safeway which was nicely done and I understand, stood at the gate of the football games collecting. What a great idea!
We selected a menu of foods to deliver for Thanksgiving from the canned goods, purchased peanut and jelly for each family as well as the perishables and a turkey. The Goldstein Family delivered their tastefully baked and trimmed pumpkin bread for each family. Rock Hill Orchard donated apples for each family as well.
From beginning to end, the Thanksgiving Project had 44 Lions, family and friends assisting with making it happen, burning about 185 hours and costing us $ 1,367.00. We served 30 families all with children totaling 140 family members.
My THANKS goes out to all who participated – wherever you gave assistance from sorting food to packing boxes to delivering the food. All of which makes the project happen because Lions say “WE Serve!” Thanks to Lion Chris Fletcher for profiling all the families and Lion Bob Newlin for managing the Food Drives.
Below: Damascus Lions Club members and friends help organize food baskets to be delivered to needy families in Damascus. Photos were taken at the Damascus Motor Company garage where the food baskets were assembled and delivered. Photos courtesy of Gary Rogers.[salbumphotos=68,144,3,n,n,taken_timestamp,center,]
The Fall Pancake Breakfast and Bake/Craft Table event was held Saturday, October 16, 2010 in the Dining Room at Damascus United Methodist Church from 7-11 a.m. On Friday, October 15th the setup helpers made the Dining Room ready. Those, who helped, were Bob Newlin, George Hibbard, Bill Mahylis, Warren Schwab, Tom Jackson, Mary Frances Gosnell, and Joann Woodson.
Early Saturday morning the food and drinks were prepared. Bake Sale/Craft Table items were accepted. Helpers during the day were Lions Barbara and Tony Barry, Fran Burlas, Martin Carr, Ann Davis, Alice Denell, Bernie Duplan, Donna Feuillet, Chris Fletcher, Mary Frances Gosnell, Charlie and Tammy Hertel, George Hibbard, Su-Ling Huang, Charlie and Marcia Holpuch, Tom Jackson, Bill Mahylis, Wayne Marr, Ray Molesworth, Bob Newlin, Jack Peters, Ken Phillips, Dee and Rusty Reichmeider, Gary Rogers, Joy and Warren Schwab, Lee Sellers, Bob Snapp, Roy Stanley, Carol and Charlie Stone, Sue Suddath, Midge Tench, Mike Thornett, Bobbie Warfield, John Washington, Eloise and “Tuck” Woodfield, Joann Woodson and Cheryl Wyatt. Leos from Middle and High Schools were Elizabeth Barry, Jonathan B (?), Chrissy Basvino, Amanda Clomar, Sarah Connor, Melanie Johnson, Makey Murdock, and (?) Pats. Other volunteers were Candice Hertel and David McReynolds. We served 278. After all bills are paid, we will announce the profit.
Special thanks to those who sold tickets.
The Bake/Craft Table received item donations from Lions and Partners in Service were Barbara Barry, Tess Gladhill, Mary Frances Gosnell, Irene Hardy, Candice Hertel, Marcia Holpuch, Tom & Jonnie Jackson, Helen
Mahylis, Ray & Jennifer Molesworth, and Jack & Frann Peters, Ken & Sue Phillips, Carol Richards of Carol’s Creations, Gary Rogers, Joy Schwab and Bobbie Warfield. Bake/Craft Table profit was $400.00. Maybe the best ever!
Lions Joy Schwab and Sue Suddath thank you all for making this event a successful one. We hope we have remembered all those who helped. If not please let us know.
[salbumphotos=67,144,3,n,n,uploaded_timestamp,center,]
The President’s Message
If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap.
If you want happiness for a day, go fishing.
If you want happiness for a month, get married.
If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune.
If you want happiness for a lifetime, help others.
- Chinese Proverb
Based on the proverb, Damascus Lions can expect happiness for a lifetime. There can be no doubt that we help others. October was a very busy month for us with activities going on every weekend but the last. We kicked off the month with our 64th Year Charter Night celebration with our guest speaker, District Governor Sandi Halterman. Congratulations go particularly to Lion Mike Thornett, recipient of the Emerson Slacum Community Service Award; Lion of the Year Honoree, Lion Gary Rogers; and Lion of the Years, Lion Ken Phillips. It is a difficult task to honor a single Lion in this club as so many are worthy! Thanks to the selection committees who were burdened with the job and finally settled on these three valued recipients.
Before the dust settled, we were on to Basket Bingo on Friday to raise funds for our scholarship program. Many Lions stepped up at the 11th hour to sponsor baskets and sell tickets and pushed us to our goal for the year. Many pairs of eyeglasses were collected that will be sent to the recycling center. Thanks to you all for your rally and support. Lions Mary Frances and Tess have this event down to a fine art with the organization and planning.
Pancake Breakfast was also a success thanks to the help of many. Club members turned out in quantity and worked the floor, minimizing the effect of the missing Leos. The bake table was well-appointed and saw great sales for the day and there was a steady stream of customers enjoying the great menu that went into production long before daybreak. Lions Joy & Sue join me in thanking the ticket sellers, cooks, servers, floor staff, bakery group, dishwashers, ticket-takers and clean up crew (did I get everyone?) for their help and cheery attitudes and making it another fun Lion activity.
Clean Up Damascus Day was provided a boost with Lions helping to staff the registration area. Thank you to those who signed up to help. Lion Carol Cook headed up a road crew for our club to add our contribution to the beautification of Damascus for the day. Route 27 looks so much better after the Damascus Lions go down the road. Thanks to all who showed up to help. An additional activity for the day was the ground-breaking ceremony held at the Recreation Center for the Skate Park. 3rd VP Lion Barbara Barry was our official representative, joined by County Council Chair Ike Leggett and one of our newest members, Lion Tom Didone, as well as past member Linda Panagoulas, Director of the Rec. Center, and organizers of Clean–Up Damascus Day, Sue and Mindy Miller. There is a photo on the Montgomery County government web site and the Gazette ran an article on the park as well.
So catch your breath and gear up for November. The pace is actually a bit slower, but not by a lot. We’ll be participating in the Thanksgiving food distribution on the 20th. And we have a blood drive scheduled for Monday, November 22nd. Remember, there’s a new process in place now to give blood. You need to sign up in advance with the Red Cross for a time slot. Christmas will be upon us before you know it and we’ll be getting our children to shop for this month.
Once again, I hope I have included everything here you need to know and haven’t left out something important. I am so proud of this club and the great work you do. Be involved and enjoy happiness for a lifetime.
Yours in Service,
King Lion Marcia
One more time the Damascus Lions have experienced a successful Basket Bingo supporting our Scholarship Program. The DVFD Activities Building on Friday Night, October 7, was a buzz of bingo players eager to get their game cards, find their assigned seat, tackle some good food from the Fireman and spend some money on the games of chance.
After all the shaking of the bushes for ticket sales and basket sponsors, we started Friday night with all expenses paid in full. So whatever was spent that evening was profit and that was a good feeling. That good feeling could only come from the selflessness of individual Lions who sponsored baskets, sold abd bought tickets and rendered their time and energies on Thursday and Friday night. Thank you, Lions, so much for your support. Should anyone who sponsored a basket need a written receipt,, please contact Lion Mary Frances. Letters and acknowledgement of sponsors/donations were mailed to non-Lions. Should you see Fireman Ronnie Watkins, thank him for being our bingo caller. And also, Fireman Mike Zeigler, thank him for taking care of our games of chance as well as helping with bingo winners on the floor. There were also other fireman who helped with setting up of the tables and chairs as well as putting the chairs away. They made it easy for us!
Lion Tess Gladhill filled the baskets with the help of Mary Kay and Tastefully Simple consultant’s donations. Lions Su and Shye donated a basket of wine and accessories and Lions Rusty and Dee donated a wheelbarrow full of wine, autumn décor , cheeses and accessories which was a separate raffle. Partner-In-Service, Jennifer Molesworth, worked packaging the bingo game cards and Special cards as well as did all the mailing of the fliers.
We sold 130 tickets for our bingo, 22 Lions put in approximately 200 hours on the project and we earned a profit of $4900. WOW, Can’t believe it!
Thanks to all of you, Lions and Partners-in-service, for your support. You are the best!
The Damascus Lions have been in the Holiday Giving Project since its inception. In fact, it was the Damascus Lions who began the project in the early 1950s. The Lions collected used clothing and toys and gave food to families in the area that Lions were familiar with that needed assistance. It may have been one or two families at that time but it was a well received project. As time passed by, Damascus Help became involved and provided the nearly new clothing and purchased some clothing. The Lions would collect and purchase the food and deliver to the assigned families, sometimes upward to 60 families. Help started keeping a list of area families that were in need. Our Lion Members, Hilda and Ken Diggs, heralded Help in so many different ways. Upon Hilda’s illness and around 1995, DELIA, Damascus Ecumenical Layman’s Association, along with Help administered the program and at that point, the Lions took 30 families as we then needed to purchase the clothing and the toys ourselves.. And about 6 years ago we added Thanksgiving to our project. Thus, the plan we follow today went into effect. Today Faith Connections, Inc. administers this up-county project serving upward to 300 families. The families must apply for this assistance through the county. This is where Faith Connections get the names. With their program, families getting multiple deliveries of food and gifts are almost nonexistent. Great Program!
View the November time line and the December time line. Assisting with the Holiday Giving Project this year is, Lions Chris Fletcher who does all the contacting of the families and profiling them, Bob Newlin, who coordinates the non-perishable food drives with the schools and Barbara Barry, who is my Co-Chairman.
Thanksgiving, we will deliver food only to our families. We are offering families a choice of meats this year so when the teams pick up the food to deliver, we will need to take a bit more time to make sure we have the correct meat for each family. Usually each family will have two boxes of food – enough for the Thanksgiving dinner, items for lunches, soups and another meal of pasta etc. We will purchase eggs, milk, butter, bread, potatoes, fruit, onions and the meat.
For Christmas, names of children will be distributed at the Nov. 16th meeting to Lions who would like to purchase a gift for a child. The guideline for the gift is a value of $25.00. A Shopping Team will purchase an outfit for each child spending approx. $30 per child. We will also purchase a family gift. Again we will pack up to three food boxes for delivery along with the gifts for each family.
A family in the community bakes and donates homemade bread for Thanksgiving and cookies for Christmas for each family.
The Lions prefer to deliver our food and gifts to the respective families. It has become a part of experiencing the spirit of the Holidays for us. We encourage signing up to support the project. Should you have any questions, please direct them to Lion Barbara Barry or Lion Mary Frances Gosnell.
Schedule for the Damascus Lions Club members:
DATE TIME ACTIVITY
Nov. 2 Sign up sheets for sorting and delivery Teams for Thanksgiving
Nov. 18 3:00 PM Pick up food from Rocky Hill Middle School
Nov. 19 2:00 PM Pick up food from Damascus High School
Nov. 19 1:00 PM Sort food and pack boxes at Damascus Motors
Nov. 20 8:00 AM Delivery Teams pick up food baskets at Damascus Motors and deliver them
Nov. 16 Children’s names will be distributed for Lions to purchase a gift for a child
Dec. 7 Sign Up Sheets for duties and Delivery Teams for Christmas Delivery
Dec. 1 Shopping Spree to purchase clothing for children
Dec. 14 Lions bring wrapped gifts that they purchased to the Holiday Party
Dec. 15 12 Noon Pick up food from John T. Baker Middle School
Dec. 15 2:00 PM Pick up food from NRC
Dec. 15 2:00 PM Move food to Damascus UM Church from Damascus Motors
Dec. 15 8:00 PM Sort food at Damascus UM Church
Dec. 16 Noon to 5 pm Teams Pack food for families and Wrap gifts at Damascus UM Church
Dec. 17 Noon to 5 pm Teams Pack food for families
Dec. 18 8:00 AM Delivery teams pick up food and gifts from Damascus UM Church and deliver to families
