Lions Club needs help
by Jim Crawford

ANTHEM – Giving back to the community is the objective of Lions Club members.

Steve Cushner, membership chairman of the Daisy Mountain Lions Club in Anthem, said his club is on a push for new members to keep the club active, visible and a viable aid in the care and welfare of those in need.

DMLC is holding a “Friendship Night” beginning at 6:30 p.m., Feb. 28, at the Hampton Inn, Interstate 17 and Anthem Way in Anthem.

“Our membership is down right now and we have been canvassing the town for new members,” Cushner said. “Friendship Night” is to let people know a little bit about Lions. It’s a social occasion where people can meet and get to know the current members. There will be a representative there from Lions Club International who will talk about current projects and how to get involved. We came to the realization we can’t exist anymore unless we recruit new people.”

The Daisy Mountain Lions Club is part of an international network of 1.3 million men and women in 200 countries who work together to answer the needs that challenge communities around the world.

“We are dedicated to any kind of thing that will make the life of a physically handicapped individual’s life better,” Cushner said. “We provide eye care and eyeglasses to children. Some schools have as many as 80 percent of their students who can’t see. We’ll provide the glasses if necessary.”

The Lions organization is dedicated to preventing blindness around the world. They have an ongoing used eyeglass drive to provide glasses to children in undeveloped countries worldwide.

Why not take that old pair of glasses stashed in the dresser drawer and donate them to the Lions Club eyeglass project?

“We’ve got drop boxes in the CVS pharmacies in Anthem and at Arizona Eye Care Center,” Cushner said. “I just picked up about 200 pairs to deliver to our recycling center. We can use all of the glasses we can get.”

DMLC is currently recycling newspapers at the Anthem Fire House as a fundraiser.

“We give the money to people in the community with problems,” he said. “We recently gave about $1,400 worth of clothing and supplies to the (Thomas J. ) Pappas School for homeless children in Phoenix.”

Cushner cited an example of a blind man who moved to Anthem recently from Michigan and couldn’t get needed services for the handicapped.

“He was very unhappy and disgruntled,” Cushner said. “We got him in touch with the Blind Center in Anthem and they scheduled him for appointments three times a week. Then we contacted the New River Senior Citizens Association and arranged for transportation for him. Now he’s a happy camper and able to function much better than when we first met him.

“That’s the kind of thing we do at Lions. It’s about giving back to the community. That’s the reason we belong.”