The Lions Club boasts 45,000 clubs and 1.3 million members, making it the world’s largest service club organization.

The Lions Club was the first civic club in Boone.

Our primary service is to the blind and the hard of hearing, At the local level, we provide glasses, eye exams and hearing aids for people and we offer a scholarship through Caldwell Community College for a child whose parents are blind, deaf or have had an organ transplant. We collect eye wills and work with the N.C. Eye and Human Tissues Bank in Winston-Salem,

 Service Projects: 

• assists with a blood drive and vision screening
• collects eye glasses and hearing aids for recycling
• assists the visually impaired with glasses, eye exams, canes, etc
• assists hearing impaired persons to get hearing aids  
• sends visually impaired persons to Camp Dogwood and the VIP fishing tournament
• sponsors a local Cub Scout pack
• supports a Little League teaam
• supports Higher Educational Scholarships for Impaired or Children of Imapiured
• supports Clincal eye Research

 The Lions of North Carolina contribute to the following projects:

•  Camp Dogwood - a Lions camp for the visually impaired and other special populations, Sherrills Ford, NC
•  Lions Eye Research Clinic at Bowman Gray Hospital
•  Duke Pediatric Eye Research Clinic at Duke Hospital
•  Eye Research Clinic, Chapel Hill
•  Lions Clubs International Foundation for disaster relief

 Fund Raising: 

The club’s three main fundraisers are an early spring Country Breakfast, American Flag Placement in the Boone Business District on National Holidays, and the Valle Crucis Fair, where the club holds a raffle and sells two kinds of brooms made by the blind.

2010 flag placement dates are May 17 Armed Forces Day, May 31 - Memorial Day, June 14 - Flag Day, July 4th - Independence Day, Sept. 6 - Labor Day, Oct.11 - Columbus Day and Nov. 11 - Veterans Day

At the statewide level, the Boone Area Lions Club supports the N.C. Lions Association for the blind.

“We encourage anyone who would like to join us to join us,” Cole said.

Join the Club!
Boone Area Lions Club is comprised of fewer than 20 members, whose ages range from the 20s to 80s, and the club meets at Sagebrush Steakhouse in Boone from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. on the first and third Tuesday of every month. Membership applications are available at meetings. Dues are $20 each quarter, or $80 a year, and do not include meals.

For more information, call Membership Chairman Sarah Mast at  828-963-4420 .