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Club Projects

The Fargo Lions participate in many fundraising and community service projects throughout the community, as well as our club meetings and social events.

Fargo Lions - "We Serve."

Fundraising Activities:

Monday Night Football Raffle – For our major fundraiser, members are asked to sell raffle books that cover all 16 Monday Night Football games of the regular NFL season.  Each $20.00 donation to the club grants the donor a book that has a 1 in 100 chance of winning a $50.00 prize for each of the Monday Night Football games in the season.  For those of us familiar with a Super Bowl board you get the idea.  It is a fun and easy fundraiser for the club and participants.

Traffic Control at the Bluestem Amphitheater - The Fargo Lions partners with Jade Presents to assist with the parking and exit traffic for the summer concert series. It's a fun way to raise money for the club and to see a concert in a beautiful outdoor amphitheater.

Community Service Projects:

Sight-4-Kids Vision Screening – At the heart of our Lions club mission, members partner with local schools at the start of each school year to provide basic vision screening for students. When finances prevent families from purchasing eye exxams of eyeglasses, Fargo Lions will help out. See our Contact page for information on this process.

Lions Conservancy Park – Following the flood in 1997, the Fargo Lions partnered with the Fargo Park District, Riverkeepers, NDSU and other groups to sponsor this natural park set in the green space along the Red River of the North. Check out this article posted in the Lions Magazine:   http://mydigimag.rrd.com/publication/?m=6639&i=657123&view=articleBrowser&article_id=3651219

Today, the park is managed by our local Audubon Society in partnership with the Fargo Park District, and with ongoing input from the Fargo Lions Club!

Litter Patrol – Club members gather each Fall and Spring to collect litter along a stretch of adopted roadway on South University Drive near our park.

Salvation Army Red Kettle Drive – Lions volunteers ring the bells for the local Salvation Army fundraising campaign every Christmas season.

Feed My Starving Children -  Fargo Lions Club members participate alongside hundreds of other community volunteers to paackage food for folks in hunger stricken regions throughout the world.  

Peace Poster Contest – Local students have an opportunity to win cash through this Lions program designed to foster world peace and understanding. Winners can move on to state, district and international competitions.  For more information on the Peace Poster Contest, click here.

Lions Relations – Throughout the year, groups of Lions attend meetings of other area Lions clubs to share experience and fellowship and a spirit of Lionism.  Lions from throughout North Dakota will be hosted at the ND State Convention by Co-Chairs Lion Paula Swanson (Fargo Lions Club) and Lion Keith Zeutschel (Horace Lions) in 2024.

Community Grants Team – The result of all of our fundraising is our ability to provide local groups and individuals with financial assistance. Previous recipients include the Haiti Eye Mission, Ronald McDonald House, Anne Carlson Center, RRV Hospice, HERO, Michigan Leader Dog Program, Great Plains Service Dogs, individual sight assistance requests and much more.

Spirit of the Sandbagger 100 Year Anniversary Project - 

The Fargo Lions Club ommemorated its 100-year anniversary in 2021 by creating a public art project funded by the community and donated to the City of Fargo to honor the spirit, determination and cooperation of all who volunteered to protect the community from historic flooding in 1997 and 2009 by filling and laying sandbags.

 

 

The artwork is called “Spirit of the Sandbagger”.

A website has been set up where you can find further details about this project. Visit spiritofthesandbagger.com

Prairie Public Broadcasting has produced a video documenting the creation of the artwork. You can view the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvpntVDJGis 

An important aspect of the artwork is that we wanted it to be accessible to all, especially anyone with a visual impairment. In summer of 2023, we received the photo shown here of a Fargo student, Ethan Thiseth, "viewing" the artwork embossed on one of the bronze placques. He was thrilled that not only could he read about the art piece, he could feel the sculpture. Also pictured reading the braille on the plaque is Edward Freer of Langdon.

 

Fun Fact: Ethan provided the countdown to lighting up the artwork when the dynamic lighting was installed on May 31 of 2022. At that time, the plaques were not yet installed so this may be Ethan's first "look" at the artwork, despite playing a key role in our celebration of the lighting.

 

           

THANKS TO OUR SUPPORTERS AND DONORS!

We raised $200,000 to commission, erect, and light The Spirit of the Sandbagger artwork.  

Since this project is all about individuals and businesses serving the community, we invited community members and organizations to participate through donations toward the expenses of this project. The following individuals and organizations made this artwork possible. All donations, large or small, were most welcome and appreciated!

A bronze plaque describing the project for visually impaired visitors is installed at the site. Another plaque lists the major donors and supporters. The City of Fargo has been entrusted as caretaker of this wonderful commemorative artwork. You can visit it at 2nd Street and 1st Avenue North in Fargo along the river front.

Floodwall Level ($10,000 and over)

Mike & Peggy Bullinger Family
Heyer Engineering
Industrial Builders, Inc.
Alex Stern Family Foundation

Sandbag Level ($5,000-$9,999)

James R. Dawson Fund
Mayor Bruce & Lorraine Furness
Gary & Ruth Hanson
Mayor Dr. Tim & Kathleen Mahoney
Dick & JoEllen Solberg
AdShark
Dakota Monument Company
Fargo Gateway Lions Club
Fargo Lions Club
Fargo Moorhead Area Foundation
Fargo Moorhead Convention & Visitors Bureau
Foss Architecture & Interiors, Inc.
Gate City Bank
Horace Lions Club
Houston Engineering
KPH Inc.
Moore Engineering
Northern Improvement
Sanford Health

Shovel Level ($1,000-$4,999)

Robert and Bonnie Ames
Theodore and Marian Appel
Mary Ann Armbrust
Mike & Jan Benson
Dr. Lance & Ruth Bergstrom Family Fund
John and Anita Dobbs
David & Bonnie Johnson
Dr. Max R. Johnson
Neil and Nancy Jordheim
Neil & Nancy Jordheim Fund**
Robert & Kathy Littlefield
Kelly & Todd McComb++
Nikki & Blake Nelson++
Tim & Jane Pettinger
Tim & Jane Pettinger **
Paul & Mary Jo Richard
Toni & Joe Sandin++
Richard Schaefer
Blake & Kathie Strehlow
Ann & Pat Zavoral
AE2S
Apex Engineering Group, Inc.
General Equipment & Supplies
Heartland Trust Company
Horace Lions Club**
Luther Family Buick GMC
Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC
Master Construction
Scheels All Sports
Surgical Associates**
 
      ** In Honor of Dennis Walaker
      ++ Bullinger Family Contribution

Floodfighter Level ($1-$999)

Susan & Troy Anderson
Kelly Binfet**
Patrick Brown
Joe & Dana Dobbs
John Fischer
Mark & Kay Forkner
Brian Grave
Carol & Tom Gustad
John Hoeven
Sandy Huseby
Blake Itterman
Bonnie O. Johnson
Kim & Deborah Kaul
Connie Koehmstedt
Mark Kolstad
Ian Patrick Komorowski
Barb & Ron Martin
Constance Mital-Herold
Karna Nelson
Mel Olson
Milton Ota
David & Vickie Piepkorn
Thomas & Joyce Pettinger
Mona and Keith Rindy
David and Beth Rogness
Scott Seiler
Julie Snortland
John & Sherry Stern
Leland Swanson, Jr.
Diane Syverson
Dick & Pat Tedford
Katherine Tweed
Ene & Nicholas Vogel
Alerus
First Western Bank & Trust
Key Contracting, Inc.
SRF Consulting Group
The Title Company
VISION Bank
Ward Muscatell Automotive Group
 
        ** In Honor of Dennis Walaker

Grants

Alex Stern Family Foundation
North Dakota Lions Foundation
North Dakota Vibrancy Grant
     * Produced in partnership with the North Dakota Department of Commerce.
Sanford Health

In-Kind Gifts

AdShark Marketing
D & S Beverages
Dakota Monument Company
FM Area Foundation
Foss Architecture + Interiors
Heyer Engineering
Industrial Builders, Inc.

 

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