Our Club collects eyeglasses donated by members of our community; we help process those eyeglass at the Northern VA Lions Eyeglasses Recycling Center, and the fruits of that work – recycled eyeglasses – are distributed to help needy persons around the world see better.

Twice monthly, several members of our Club take donated eyeglasses to, and work a few hours at, the Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center.  In Arlington, the center is  in a Virginia Hospital Center building.  Lions have their own entrance to the building.

In the recycling center, the first  step is washing and inspecting the eyeglasses.  The clean and serviceable eyeglasses are stored in “Washed” bins until volunteers can “process” them.

Teams from several local area Clubs process the eyeglasses using sophisticated machines in the Center that read the correction of each lens.  The volunteers mark that correction factor on the plastic bag they put the eyeglass into.  The product of this volunteer effort are eyeglasses that have been through the complete process, packaged and then shipped around the world to help others.

Lions Read Eyeglass Lens Correction

So, what are the measures of Fairfax Lions Club’s service at the recycling center?  We track the number of Lions, and the hours they work at the Center each month, and the number of donated eyeglasses and hearing aids we collect and deliver to the center.

Service Delivered by Fairfax Lions to NoVA Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center

Volunteers         Hours        Glasses          Hearing Aids

(For 12 months, Lions year 2017-2018)

90              193         7415                18

(And so far this year July-August, 2018)

11               22          2217                  0

Private First Class Christina M Gaizick of Fairfax County Police Traffic Safety Services spoke at the Lions dinner meeting on August 21st.

Private First Class Christina M Gaizick

Christina gave us a wonderful refresher on safe driving, including updates due to technology.  For example, instead of the placing your hands at the 10 and 2 o’clock positions on the steering wheel (as most of us were taught), the recommendation now is 4 and 8 o’clock.  This is to reduce the chance of air-bags forcing your hands back into your face in an accident.  And, with 4 and 8 positions, “shuffle steer” the wheel thru your hands when turning – no hand-over-hand movements.

Would you like to visit a Lions dinner meeting, as our guest?  Just send us an email:  fairfaxlions@cox.net 

Each year, our Lions Club President may select a Lion-of-the-Year.  The criteria and process for selecting that person rests completely with the King Lion.  Our club is a member of Fairfax City’s InterService Club Council.  A primary activity of the ISCC is a ceremony each year to recognize the volunteers-of-the-year across the many service clubs that make up the ISCC. That ceremony took place on August 1 in the Sherwood Center, a very nice city facility just off Old Lee Highway.  For Lions year 2017-2018, Immediate Past President selected Lion Marilyn Tanner as the 2018 Fairfax Lion of the Year.

Past President Marty Lockard represented Fairfax Lions Club, commented on the service mission of all Lions, and introduced the wonderful contributions made by Lion Marilyn Tanner to this community.  Those include Chairing several programs for our Club:  eyeglasses for the poor, food drives for local food banks, holiday meals for the needy, road cleanup, and reading action (books for children).

L-R:  Mayor David Meyer, ISCC President Pete Conklin, Honoree Marilyn Tanner, and IPP Marty Lockard

Please join us in commending Lion Marilyn Tanner for her dedicated service to the community.

If you have an interest in community service contact the Fairfax Lions Club at   fairfaxlions@cox.net

The Fairfax Lions Club offered a special program at their dinner meeting on July 17th.  The speaker was Dr Matthew Levy, who Chairs the STB Coalition, is on the staff at Johns Hopkins and is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine.  We learned that 35% of pre-hospitalization deaths occur due to bleeding-out, and the need for bystanders to ACT QUICKLY to stop bleeding.  We learned about putting pressure on the wound, applying tourniquets, and “packing a wound” with gauze treated with a hemostatic agent.   Matthew urged all to:  Get Kits (first aid kits with materials to stop bleeding), Get Trained, and Get Involved. We saw a short training video.  Read more about STB Coalition https://stopthebleedingcoalition.org/

Lions Club President Karen Presents Speakers Gift to Dr Matthew Levy

The Fairfax Lions Club recognized Elden Wright for his many contributions over 35 years as a Lion.  Lions Club President Marty Lockard presented a check for $1500 to the Virginia Lions Eye Institute (VLEI) for a scholarship grant in special recognition of Elden Wright’s lengthy and dedicated service to VLEI.

Elden Wright (Ctr) accepts check to go to Woody Woodward (Rt) the President of VLEI

VLEI President Woody Woodward presented Elden Wright, who is the Past President of VLEI, a Progressive Humanitarian Recognition Certificate.

Progressive Humanitarian Recognition Certificate

Fairfax Lions also presented Elden a special citation of his many accomplishments as a Lion.  He planned and led many local service projects.  Among them are community blood drives resulting in over 3300 units of life-saving blood for the Red Cross, and eyeglass dispensing for needy persons for which he managed charity funds, qualified individuals needing vision correction, and coordinated the provision of 50 or more pair of eyeglasses each year.  As President and Chief Executive of the VLEI, which is co-sponsored by Lions Clubs and the Inova Health System, Elden coordinated free eye care for needy patients with the Inova Cares Lions Eye Clinic. He managed funding for continuing medical education for nurses and para-professionals, equipment purchases for local not-for-profit hospitals, scholarship awards to sight handicapped individuals, clinical research, and rehabilitation of visually impaired individuals through low vision evaluations and use of low vision aids.  Elden led significant charity fund raising activities over the years, enabling the Lions Club to complete its mission of service to needy people in the community.  He led the annual Citrus Fruit Sales, and his personal commitment assured successful sales raising nearly three-quarters of all Fairfax Lions charity resources.  Elden also managed multi-grill cooking operations for two Lions Club food sales each year (July 4, Fall Festival).  He transported the grills, provided specialty equipment, assured compliance with food safety standards, and personally cooked for one-half of all grill operations.  Elden was Fairfax Lions Club President and in 2016 was named “Lion-of-the-Year.”  A genuinely dedicated servant of his fellow man, Elden Wright’s actions exemplify the Lions’ motto of “We Serve.”

Elden Wright

Fairfax Lions performed free vision screening at the “Older Americans Month” Open House in Fairfax City’s Senior Center on May 2nd 2018.

The screening featured a discussion of the “SPOT” camera system we use, and the usefulness of the screen results. We screened 10 individuals, and referred one for a complete eye examination.

Lions President Discusses Screening Process

Reviewing Screening Results