On Friday, May 18th, the Red Cross is coming once again to Providence Presbyterian to collect blood. Please pass the word to your friends, and schedule an appointment for yourself to donate.  Go to this web link,

https://www.redcrossblood.org

Enter sponsor code:  Fairfax Host Lions, click on  Providence Presbyterian Church  to get schedule

We remember the many years Lion Elden Wright scheduled Red Cross blood drives at his church (Providence Presbyterian, 2720 Prosperity Ave, Fairfax VA 22031).   Those blood drives collected  well-over 3000 “good units” of life-giving blood for our community.  Thank you Elden for your service!

Delegate David Bulova spoke at the Fairfax Lions Club dinner meeting on April 3rd.  David represents Virginia’s 37th District in the House of Delegates. The 37th district includes the City of Fairfax, runs north to I-66, east to Pickett Road,  south to the Norfolk Southern Railroad, and west along I-66 to include parts of Centreville. See http://www.davidbulova.com/37th-district

Voters in the 37th district should be proud:  Delegate Bulova gave a wonderful talk, and appears genuinely concerned for both the interests of our district, and those of our state and nation. He gave a bit of Virginia government history (original representative government will celebrate its 400th anniversary next year), a quiz on the current government (he awarded prizes for first correct answers), actions in the most recent legislative session, and tips on effective advocacy at the state level.

David Bulova Speaks to Fairfax Lions Club

Delegate David Bulova closed saying, “your legislators want to hear from you,” and emphasized the best ways to do that are a face-to-face meeting or a personal letter/email.

The Fairfax Lions Club welcomes any person interested in helping those in need, and serving our community.  We meet monthly, first and third Tuesday’s from 6:30-8:30pm, in the upper level of the American Legion Post at 3939 Oak Street, Fairfax, VA, 22030.  For more info, send an email to:   fairfaxlions@cox.net

On March 12 and 13, Fairfax Lions used the portable SPOT vision screening system to check the vision of children in Fairfax United Methodist Church’s Pre-School.

Spot Vision Screening Camera

The Pre-school had arranged parental permissions ahead of time, so the actual screening process was fast – just about a minute with each child (and adult – we also screened adult school staff).  Screening youngsters goes very quickly anyway, as children’s eyes adjust rapidly to light conditions and the SPOT camera takes its measurements very fast.

Lion Mike Greeley Operates SPOT Camera Measuring this Pre-Schooler’s Vision

If Measurements were “Within Range,” we showed the child this report from the SPOT system

If was fun interacting with the children. And it was rewarding to be able to identify children whose screening results recommended a complete eye examination.

Sample Recommendation Provided to Pre-School Staff for Discussion with Parents

Results:  Over the 2 days, we screened 7 adults (no referrals) and 65 students age 3-6. Six of the 65 students screened (9%) were referred for follow-up care.

Fairfax Lions – WE SERVE!

Since 1948, Lions Clubs across VA have held music competitions and awarded cash scholarships to youth at regional and state levels.  They are called “Bland Music Contests,” named for the African-American composer James A. Bland (1854–1911), who was one of the greatest writers of American folk songs and composed over 700 songs.

On March 10th, Northern VA Lions Clubs hosted eight persons in a competition.  Shown in the photo (L to R): Yanglan Xu (Oakton HS), Yasmin Gerardi (Potomac Falls HS), Rebecca Lipshultz, (Potomac Falls HS), Angela Zhang (Cooper MS), Noah Zimmerman ((James Madison HS), Raelyn Hoang (Mercer MS), and Kayleigh Hoang (John Champe HS).  Not shown: Claire Wang (Cooper MS).

Congratulations to the both the top two vocalists and instrumentalists who received cash awards and now advance to the next level of competition:  Raelyn Hoang, Rebecca Lipshultz, Angela Zhang, and Yasmin Gerardi.  Presenting the awards of Fairfax Lion Jeff Root.

Several Fairfax Lions serve twice each month at the EGRC.  Their work includes collecting and taking to the center donated eyeglasses (can be several hundred pair of eyeglasses each trip) and “processing” eyeglasses for a few hours. Processing means running a pair of cleaned/serviceable eyeglasses through a machine that defines the corrective prescription, labeling a bag with the prescription, and bagging the glasses. Donated hearing aides are also taken to the center.  A summary of this service so far in this Lions year, by the team from Fairfax Lions Club:

• Delivered 4759 pair of donated eyeglasses
• Delivered 7 donated hearing aids
• Worked 127 hours processing eyeglasses

The results generated by ALL Lions Clubs in our District 24-A are very impressive, in terms of the numbers of donated eyeglasses recycled and delivered to persons in need:

• USABLE EYEGLASSES collected across all Northen VA (Lions DISTRICT 24-A):   82,299 pairs collected

• Requests for EYEGLASSES filled (delivered to persons in need)

10-4-17                Guatemala                         1800

10-4-17                Guatemala                         1200

10-10-17              Uganda                               1600

10-11-17              Haiti                                     600

10-12-17              Panama                              1200

10-13-17              Guatemala                         1000

10-15-17              Panama                              1200

10-20-17              Dominican Republic         1200

11-9-17                Haiti                                     300

11-9-17                Nigeria                                1500

11-9-17                Nigeria                                2450

11–13-17            India                                    1400

11-13-17              Ghana                                 1400

11-13-17              Guatemala                         1000

11-27-17              Ghana                                 6600

11-29-17              Haiti                                     600

11-30-17              India                                    1450

11-30-17              Guatemala                         1050

12-5-17                Ghana                                 1800

12-8-17                Ghana                                 6600

12-15-17              Ghana                                 1800

12-15-17              Guatemala                         1600

TOTAL : 39,350 pairs processed and delivered

WE SERVE!

At our February 20th dinner meeting, we discussed ethics in our service organization.  While new members pledge to exhibit good moral character, we agreed ethics must have a sustained focus.  It is important in order to preclude unacceptable behavior such as:

• Sexual harassment
• Misuse of funds
• False claims
• Misuse of Lions logo and name
• Inaccurate records
• Conflicts of interest

Ethics is a core value of being a member of Lions Clubs International, and all members must:

• Serve with no intention of personal financial reward,
• Always try to do the RIGHT and ethical thing,
• Hold honesty and integrity fundamental to every Lions action,
• Treat all persons fairly, with respect, and non-discrimination,
• Maintain an environment encouraging positive results, teamwork, open communication
• Carefully safeguard organizational assets and – especially – all publicly raised funds
• Comply with all applicable policy and law and honor commitments.

ITS GREAT TO BE A LION – WE SERVE!