Lions Club to Host Chicken BBQ Dinner

The Springfield Lions Club will host its Chicken BBQ fundraiser to raise money to continue their efforts to support the sight and hearing impaired.

The take-out chicken dinner will take place Saturday, June 4 from noon to 5:30 p.m. next to Springfield Library on Powell Road.

Lions Club member Walt Young said the barbecue is only one of the community events the Lions host throughout the year.

“We sponsor Springfield’s Fourth of July celebration,” he said. “We’re also going to sponsor an entertainment event at the Summer Festival at Rose Tree Park. We’ll be around then, collecting donations.”

The Lions Club, an international organization that began in 1948, supports and assists the hearing and sight impaired.

“It’s a well-respected organization,” Young said. “We supply leader dogs for the blind. We also run a couple of camps for children and adults each year. There’s one camp for the blind and one camp for the deaf.”

Those summer camps are Lions Camp Kirby, for the hearing impaired, and Lions Beacon Lodge, for the visually impaired. Both camps are located in Pennsylvania.

Young said the club also collects donations to help support other organizations, such as the Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Chester.

The help is available to anyone who needs it, said Young.

“One of the things the Lions help to do is to provide more direct support for people with eye and hearing problems. Eye examinations, eye glasses…anybody can come in and get these services,” said Young.

Young, who has been a member of the Lions Club since 1980, said the group is always looking for new members who want to donate their time or their services. One donation that is especially encouraged is prescription eyeglasses.

“We’re always collecting used eyeglasses,” said Young. “They’re collected and catalogued, then what usually happens is they’ll be sent overseas to help people in need.”

For community members in Springfield who want to donate their used eyeglasses, the Lions provide a drop-off box on Saxer Avenue. Donors can look for a yellow and blue mailbox with the Lions logo, and leave the eyeglasses there.

The Lions also lend their support to those in need of help after natural disasters. The Lions International Club Foundation is a branch of the club that provides relief efforts for disaster areas.

“Right now, they’re offering a lot of support to areas that were affected by the recent tornados,” Young said.

The Chicken BBQ fundraiser will help support all of these efforts. The dinner includes half of a barbecued chicken, a baked potato, a roll, a dessert, and a drink. The cost is $9 for each meal.  

“It will be good for families who want to pick it up, and have an easy dinner,” said Young.