VA Bingo 1st Thursday of the Month   Location McGuire Hospital	We depart by carpool at the Calabash Restaurant at 5::30 PM.   If you would like to join us, contact the Lion President Jerry Pochily at G.Pochily@comcast.net or Lion Jay Baumgardner at RockwellUSMC@aol.com. Lions from other clubs are welcome and can claim time and donations within their own clubs.   Our club was recognized for outstanding service to the vets for "caring" as demonstrated by the amount of homemade food brought in and the one to one communication with several vets.
	Free Public Screenings   Date TBA   Time 8 AM-4 PM 3 hour shifts	We partner with the Richmond Host Lions Club to lease the van from 24-D and offer free hearing and sight screenings to the homeless.   This is a ONE DAY event. We need: four sight acuity screeners two glaucoma screeners two hearing screeners two - four registration desk volunteers two assistants to help with stairs Equipment training is available on site to all who apply to help with this project.
	White Cane Days   Tentative Dates   April 2012   Location TBA	When you donate funds to the Mechanicsville White Cane Fund, the funds are only used for assisting those in need in the Mechanicsville area to obtain free eye exams and glasses.    Donations can be mailed to:   Mechanicsville Lions Club Post Office Box 629 Mechanicsville, Virginia 23111-0629   WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR OLD EYE GLASSES? The Mechanicsville Lions Club has a large "yellow box" located at Blair's Drugstore where you can drop off your used eye glasses (and hearing aids, too).  Also, you may contact any Lion listed on this website to pick them up.    Eye glasses are taken to our Roanoke, VA recycling center for distribution to those in need.

Lions International Projects:

Planting a Million Trees – Do You Believe it Can Be Done?

An important part of our extension of service this year is caring for our environment.  Our goal this year is to plant a million trees around the world. That’s less than one tree for each member. If we can accomplish this goal, it proves once again that we can accomplish anything – just like we did when we exceeded our goal for Campaign SightFirst II. Just like we did when we prevented over 1 million cases of river blindness. And just like we are going to do by helping eradicate measles.

Why trees? It’s no secret that trees help the environment, but you may be surprised by all the benefits that planting a tree can provide.  Trees are like the lungs of the planet. They breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen. They also reduce erosion to save soil, help preserve local water sources, and provide habitat for wildlife living under more and more stress. Simply put, planting trees in your neighborhood really is one of the best things you can do for the local environment.

Any of us can plant a tree. It’s a very visible and hands-on way for each and every Lion to make a difference. It’s also a great project to invite your community at-large to join your local Lions club in a collaborative effort. If we can plant a million trees, it will reinforce the limitless potential we all know we have to make a difference as Lions.

So make tree-planting part of your club or district activities this year, and invite your neighbors, friends and members of the community to join you. What better way to be reminded of our gift of service than to watch the trees you have planted grow year-by-year?  Every month throughout the year, we will report the number of trees being planted on this Web site. 

This year, special awards to recognize the outstanding achievements of clubs and districts involved in tree planting projects will be distributed. Also, several resources are available to help us reach our goal of planting one million trees.  I believe that this year we will mobilize Lions around the world to reach this goal and truly make an impact on our environment.

Wing-Kun Tam
2011-2012 International President

IP Tam is pleased to challenge the Lions of the World to plant 1,000,000 trees this coming year.  Each District needs to plant 1300 trees.  Normally, this would be a hard task; but with seeking the support and assistance of folks in our community and other service organizations, this goal can easily be achieved.  JUST THINK OF HOW BEAUTIFUL OUR COMMUNITY WILL BE!!

Please help the Mechanicsville Lions Club achieve their goal and  "reforest" our neighborhoods affected by numerous tornados and storms over the past years, We need your help to make this project a big success!

TOGETHER WE SERVE!