Saratoga Springs, Albany/Troy Lions clubs to celebrate 100 years with Roaring 20s party
Event
Throw yourself back 100 years, to 1925, the roaring 20s, a time of flapper dresses, cool cars and jazz. Join the Saratoga Springs and the Albany & Troy Lions clubs as they celebrate 100 years of service to their communities on Saturday, Oct. 11, at the storied Gideon Putnam Hotel in Saratoga Springs.
The celebration commemorates the year that the Saratoga Springs, Albany and Troy clubs were officially chartered. 1925 also marks the year that Helen Keller, the famed activist for people with hearing and sight loss, challenged the Lions Club International to become “knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness.” The Lions have been champions of the blind since.
The night features a happy hour and jazz band, dinner and a short program with Past International Lions Club Director Gary Brown, and Keller Johnson-Thompson, the great-grand niece of Hellen Keller. Johnson-Thompson is the Executive Vice President at Helen Keller Foundation for Research and Education.
It’s not just the years that will be celebrated, it’s the hours.
“The night will celebrate the hundreds of thousands of volunteer hours spent in service in our respective communities to change people's lives for the better,” says John McDonald, a member of the Saratoga Lions and past district governor of Lions International. He has been leading the 100th Anniversary Committee.
“It will be a great night to celebrate service and community,” says Jerry Gordon, the secretary of the Albany & Troy Lions Club. He and his wife Maryanne Gordon, a board member of the Albany & Troy club, have been working on the 100th anniversary festivities.
For both clubs, service starts with eyes: collection of used glasses, donation of new glasses for the needy, vision screenings for kids in schools and more.
“For Lions, the focus of the volunteer efforts begins with sight and hearing issues, but it goes far beyond that,” Maryanne says.
Her husband Jerry agrees: “We have worked with local schools and nurses to get vision screenings for kids, but we have also taken care of more serious eye problems. Look at the Lions Eye Institute in Albany and all the good work they have done.”
5,000 lions from 160 clubs, led by the Lions Clubs in this area, banded together to form the Lions Eye Institute and Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to research and education in ophthalmology, supporting cutting-edge eyecare and training doctors in the latest research.
“This organization is a gem for eye care in the community, and it is supported by the donations of time and money made by Lions,” McDonald says.
The service does not end with eye care. The Lions support the needs of all children. For the Albany & Troy Lions Club, that means working with other organizations in food drives and soup kitchens. Through their Warm Woolen Wishes campaign, they get children the winter clothing they need.
Their focus includes literacy programs. They have constructed and installed Little Free Libraries in the Capital District.
Last year, the Albany & Troy club ran the Scripps National Spelling Bee for the first time.
“That was quite a commitment but worth it,” says Maryanne Gordon. “We are a smaller club, so handling just the 35 schools that participated stretched us, but this year we are ready and plan to see many more schools involved.”
For the Saratoga club, the support includes its annual summertime “Camp Abilities” a weeklong camp that helps children with vision and hearing problems take part in activities that might normally be off-limits, such as biking, playing tennis, and swimming. The club has worked with Ronald McDonald Charities. They have supported vision care screenings, food drives and more in the Saratoga Springs area.
If you cannot make the dinner, people are encouraged to join their local club or donate.
“The membership dues pay for club administration so that all donations get put toward helping those who need it most. 100 percent of the donations go toward our activities and charity,” McDonald said.
More information:
Albany & Troy Lions Club: https://albanytroylions.org/
Saratoga Springs Lions Club: https://www.saratogaspringslions.com/
Full disclosure: Co-editor Steve Thurston is a member of the Saratoga Springs Lions Club.