Meetings

 

2012 VPLC Mardi Gras Event - A Big Success
 
The Holiday Inn Ballroom was filled to capacity on March 10 as the crowd danced, dined and played carnival games until midnight.  An annual event, this year's dinner and dance called "An Evening in New Orleans" hosted 180 guests and is the fundraising backbone for the club's youth programs. Noisy tables of local people and those from as far away as San Francisco and Reno laughed and socialized with their friends in between dances and photo opportunities and games of chance.
 
Many gifts, including a 10" Android Notebook and sapphire earrings were auctioned off during the evening and a wheel of luck spun for hours with prizes that ranged from little duckies and beads to wine, Baja Fresh coupons and a dinner-date package.
 
Purple, green and gold balloons canopied the dancefloor and the club's signature 17 foot lit tree stood regally in the middle of the dining tables covered in MardiGras masks and beads and dripped with southern moss. 
 
There was also a pre-dance "meet and greet" in the hotel bar which was attended by club members and those who came from out of town or were staying at the hotel. Breakfast buffet on Sunday morning was attended by approximately 40.

VPLC student scholarships now available. See the Student Scholaraship page on this website.

The Pride Lions are collecting canned food donations for the community this year. We will have a container available at the dance and will appreciate any canned food you bring to help us with these donations. Recommended items include canned meat, vegetables, oatmeal, peanut butter, tuna, etc.  We also collect old glasses for recycling around the world.  Thank you for participating.

 

Foster Teen Gift Drive Tops Last Year's Donation
 
Club members reached a little deeper for the holiday gift drive in November this year. Along with cash donations, the members held a spirited bidding war for a Harvey Milk coffee cup and a Lions beer glass at a recent club meeting which added to the contributions. All the proceeds went to purchase gift cards that were requested by the teens in the Tulare Foster program. There are over 1800 kids in the program and many of the older children wanted gift cards that they could use to purchase anything from music to make-up and sports equipment.  The club collected almost $400 this year in cash and gifts and when combined with what the organizations Gay Visalia and Gay Porterville raised, made for a very plump toy bag from the LGBT community. Thank you to everyone who made it so successful. 

 

 

 

 

The Visalia Pride Lions Club has the great distinction of being the second LGBTQ Lions Club in California,  and they are very proud of that!  The Castro Lions Club in San Francisco has the honor of being the original club and is celebrating their 25 year anniversary this year. The club members started Visalia Pride Lions to assist their LGBT community and the larger Tulare/King County communities through projects, scholarships and volunteerism. The new club is currently 44 members strong and meets on the first and third Monday of the month, at Mimi’s Cafe in Visalia, CA. This is the 6th Lions International club in Visalia.

The Visalia Pride Lions originated with 24 members who were determined to create an influential LGBT club.  Their official Charter dinner party was held last April at the Visalia Convention Center. Among the 150 people who attended the gala event were the Mayor and Vice-Mayor of Visalia, several officers of the Lions Clubs International district staff and many members of other community clubs.  The Lions International organization has been very welcoming and supportive of the new club and hopes that there will be more LGBT Lions clubs starting in the Central Valley and across the state.  There is already interest in Bakersfield and Sacramento to form new clubs.

In their first year of charter, the Visalia Pride Lions hosted a “Meet and Greet” for The Trevor Project, an organization which supports LBGTQ youth through its crisis intervention and suicide prevention programs. Club members staffed booths at the Tulare County Suicide Prevention event and the Family Festival in Visalia, supported the Youth Prom in Fresno, collected 50 gifts for the Tulare Co. Foster Care program and volunteered services to the Visalia Lions Band Review. The last 2010 club project was funding LGBTQ libraries for 4 local high school GSA (gay-straight alliance) clubs and the COS Pride Club.

The Visalia Pride Lions Club is proud to be Number Two and looks forward to continuing their service with the Trevor Project, local LGBTQ youth clubs, and the many projects we plan for the community in the coming years.  The club is always welcoming new members and invites anyone interested to contact the club at visaliapridelions-club@yahoo.com 

 

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