PROJECTS

We support the activities of the Butler County Association for the Blind.

    a.  The annual Blind Association Chili Cook Off Event held at the Worthington Fire Hall in 2009. We provide manpower along with other Lion Clubs to help staff the entire event. This year 2010, we have been asked to participate in the contest part and enter our own chile to be judged as well as helping with the whole event.  Chaired by Lion Jennifer.  This event is being moved to Alameda Park, Butler PA instead of Worthington Fire Hall and will be held in conjunction and at the same day and location as our Butler 5K Run.

    b.  The annual Butler Blind Association Spring Auction held at Boscov's Dept. Store, Clearview Mall.  We provide manpower along with other area Lions Clubs to staff the event. Chaired by Lion Jennifer. This project is put on hold for 2010 due other Blind Association events in the same time slot.  Discontinued 2011.

    c.  The annual Butler 5K run/walk held at Moraine State Park, North Shore Area.  We provide manpower to help staff the event. Chaired by Lion Larry Jack and Lion Jennifer.  This project is being moved from Moraine State Park to Alameda Park, Butler and will be entirely sponsored by our Butler Lions Club instead of the Blind Association.  Lion Larry Jack is chairing the event in 2010 for our club. Instead of just a project is will also be a Fund Raiser for our club. This event will be held in conjunction and the same day as the Blind Association Chili Festival.

    d,  We judge Blind Association Sight Poster Contest and invite the winners along with their family to a meeting/picnic at Alameda Park in which the winners are awarded ribbons and prizes. Chaired by Lion Jennifer.

    e.  Fruit Basket Project - Sixty fruit baskets were distributed to individuals with visual impairments for Christmas 2009.  Chaired by Lion George Bonnett.

    f. A Grocery Gift Certificate was give to three needy families for holiday meals.  Chaired by the entire Lions Club.

   g.  Kids Day America, May 15, 2010 11am to 3pm - This event will be held at the Butler Farm Show Grounds and entire profit for this year 2010 is being donated to the Blind Association.  Lion Jennifer is asking for help from our club in cleaning up after the event.  Clean up time 2:45 pm, Lion Jennifer in charge, the more members that help the quicker we will be done, Thanks and see you there!

   h.  "Blind Ambition" A bowling competition where participants will be blindfolded and bowl in competition sponsored by the Butler Blind Association.  Our Butler Lions club helped pay for T-Shirts for the event.  Sunday, May 23, 2010 at Family Bowl-A-Way 1pm to 4pm.

   i.  Harvest Moon Ball - Sponsored by the Butler Blind Association held each fall.  Our club usually has two or more tables with members and spouses/friends in attendance.  It's a fun night for all with dinner, dancing, and many door prizes to be given out.

We sponsor campers and provide financial support to the Pennsylvania Lions Beacon Lodge Camp. Each spring a group of members volunteer a week-end there working to prepare the camp for the upcoming season. This is a facility for vision and physically challenged individuals. For information on Beacon Lodge go to www.beaconlodge.com or contact the Club.   This year 2010 Lion Dan Marshall representated our club at the work weekend and reported back to the club on what was accomplished.

We have a continuing involvement in many diabetes awareness programs. We have partnered with the Butler Hospital on several projects and participate in area health fairs, presentations, screenings, and literature distribution, in conjunction with this activity. Chaired by Lion Don Gibala.

We created and have made substantial contributions to the Butler Lion's Club Diabetes Fund of the Butler Health System Foundation to support the hospital's Diabetes and Nutrition Management Center . This is a past project but not ongoing at this time. Project was chaired by Lion Don Gibala.

We are involved in a Low Income Eye Glass Program.  Our club pays for the entire exam, glasses and frames of individules meeting the criteria of the program.  Lion Mike Winkler along with Lion Jennifer Bindernagel chair this project.

Suitcases for Kids - We collect Suitcases, Overnite Bags and Back Packs and donated them to the Butler County Children and Youth Agency.  The agency has notificed Lion Don that they have enough hard suitecases but need soft carry on type bags or luggage and back packs. The agency then gives them to children who become wards of the county or go into the Foster Children Program.   Many times they have their clothes in just brown paper bags, when in an emergency situation have been taken away in a hurry and just don't have them or the money to buy them. Don McCandless is chairperson of this project.

We conduct an annual Drug and Alcohol Awareness Prevention youth poster contest. Lion George Bonnett runs this project.  Lion George is also District 14N chairperson of the event and chairs it at district level.

Eye Glasses, Cell Phones and Hearing Aids Recycled.  We collected and recycled over 900 pairs of eye glasses, 66 cell phones, and 8 hearing-aids in the past year. Lions Mike Winkler and George Bonnett run this project.

We have been involved with the Adopt- A- Highway program since 1991. Four times a year we collect litter along a two mile section of Route 8 north. Lion Don Gibala runs this project.

We conduct an annual Law Appreciation Dinner and Program to recognize outstanding police officers in the Butler area and surrounding communities. Lion John Hertzog runs this project. This project was tabled for the year 2010.

We coordinate and man a  Red Cross Blood Drive   This includes our members donating blood, and staffing the entire project. Lion Mike Winkler chairs this event. This event is being tabled for the year 2010.

We clean four community bus stops in the Butler Area.  This includes sweeping out and washing down the entire structure.  Lion Larry Jack runs this project along with much help from Lion Joe Smith.

Meals On Wheels - A community project that many of our Lion Club Members along with their spouses volunteer their time to help with all aspects of the program. This is done on an individual basic and not run through the Lions Club, just our members doing the thing they do best. "WE SERVE".

Community Health Clinic - Initially Butler, Cranberry and Zelienople Lions Clubs committed over seven thousand dollars that provided the seed money needed to apply for a grant from the Lions Clubs International Foundation.  The application was approved and provided an additional 75,000 dollars to assist in the establishment of a diabetes program and treatment room at the Community Health Clinic. Lion Don Gibala chaired the entire project including applying for the grant.   Lion Bill Hetrick has been a volunteer/greeter assisting the clinic since it opened.

We sponsor and fund a Fishing Event for the clients of the Butler Blind Association.  This is held at Lion Don McCandless's farm pond with food for all and prizes for the clients who participate.  Lion Don McCandless runs this event.  This event is tabled for the year 2010.

We support our District 14N Governor's Projects with 100 percent club participation. ($20.00 from each club member is donated to the District Governor's Projects)

We march in the Butler City Spirit of Christmas Parade every year.  We either use the District 14N float or make a float of our own to march with in the spirit of Christmas and Lionism.  This year we also passed out 500 coloring books for children along the parade route. Chaired by Lion Dan Marshall and the construction of the float was co-chaired by Lion Jennifer and Lion Neil.  Next year 2010 Christmas we are signed up to get the District 14N float.

Butler High School Senior Prom - Our club will provide and maintain the Luminaries for prom night 2010 at the Butler Senior High School.  We have done this in past years but the project was dropped the last couple years.  Lion Dan Marshall reports that we have been invited to continue with the project this year.  Lion Dan will chair this project.  In past years we also paid the postage for the letters the After Prom Committee sent out to the community asking for donations.

Butler Commmunity Sign Project - The service clubs of Butler are in the process of erecting welcome signs on the main roads leading into the City of Butler, Pennsylvania.  There will be one large frame holding all signs.  Butler Lions Club will furnish signs for our club and the project is being co-ordinated with other service clubs by Lions Doug Hays and John Hertzog.  

Boy Scouts Of America -  We support the Boy Scouts Of America with donations of equipment or money.  Last year we gave a donation of Brooms from our Fund Raising Project to be used at Camp Bucco, a Boy Scout Camp.

Magazine Drive - We collect magazines and distribuite them to the different waiting rooms of Butler Hospial, their satellite outpaitent clinics and VA Hospital.  This is an ongoing project chaired by Lion Don McCandless.  Bring your magazines to any membeship meeting and give them to Lion Don.

VIP Sports - VIP Sports is a project of our District Governor and the brainchild of Lion Wendy Fagan of Slippery Rock University and who is a Lion in the Harrisville Club. The children attending the camp ranging in age from five to late teens, are blind or visually-impaired and come from Pennsylvania or surrounding states.  Activities the campers participate in:  Beep baseball, goalball, track and field, swimming, taekwondo, archery, rock climbing, horseback riding, tandem cycling, canoeing, kayaking, football, soccer and fishing.  Our club in the past have either donated money directly to VIP Sports or have sponsored and paid for clients from the Butler Blind Association to attend the camp.