Club Projects

Scroll down or click on the committee/project name to learn more. Contact information is found on the Contact Us page.

Vision Programs
Community Programs/Giving
Fundraising
San Carlos Lions Club Committees

Vision Programs (Return to Top)

In 1925 Helen Keller challenged the Lions Clubs of America to band together to SERVE the blind and needy with impaired vision. This wonderful woman with multiple handicaps called her inability to see the greatest of her limitations.

One of the first great steps was the White Cane, which makes the blind person more mobile and was proposed in 1927 by Lion George Bonham. The White Cane became not only a symbol stating that the user was blind but also a tool of sight-by-feel for the blind and near blind.

As concern for those with failing or lost sight grew over time, the cost of the new deeds of sight serving were outstripping many Lions Clubs financial reserves.

In 1951 in Monterey Park, California, the Lions invited their neighbors to share in the Club’s Sight-serving and to contribute to the Lion Sight Conservation Fund. This they did, on a day called WHITE CANE DAYS. (See below.)

Eyeglass Collection (Return to Top)

In addition to White Cane Days, the San Carlos Lions Club collects eyeglasses, throughout the year. These go on to help millions of people worldwide.

Donation locations include:

All of Eyes on You, 366 El Camino Real
Church of Epiphany, 1800 Arroyo Street
CopyCopier, 1500 Industrial Road
Family Eye Center. 1601 El Camino Real #302
Leslie Weil Optometrist, 1008 Laurel Street
Michael Tiernan Optometrist, 1225 San Carlos Avenue
Optometry@Redwood Shores, 303 Twin Dolphin #122,Redwood City
Prima Printing, 1349 Laurel Street
San Carlos Adult Community Center, 601 Chestnut Street
San Carlos Caring Cupboard, 601 Chestnut Street
San Carlos Hometown Days, Burton Park
San Carlos Library, 600 Elm Street
San Carlos Elms, 707 Elm Street
Spectrum Eye Care, 750 El Camino Real
Tierra Linda Middle School Office, 750 Dartmouth Street

Vision Screening (Return to Top)

The San Carlos Lions Club provides the equipment and support staff for eye screening for students at San Carlos schools. For more information click here.

White Cane Days (Return to Top)

WHITE CANE DAYS continued to grow until thousands of Lions clubs were holding WHITE CANE DAYS fundraisers.

Donations raised during WHITE CANE DAYS are used to support the Lions Eye Foundation, which provides eyeglasses for those who cannot afford them, eye surgery for those who cannot afford it and eye sight testing for children.

To support this, please donate your eyeglasses or donate to the San Carlos Lions Club.

Community Programs/Giving (Return to Top)

The Lions Club supports a wide variety of community programs, groups, projects and events.

To participate, become a San Carlos Lion, donate to the San Carlos Lions Club, or participate in any or all of the events below.

Blood Drive (Return to Top)

The San Carlos Lions Club works with the Red Cross to sponsor a yearly blood drive.

To participate, check our calendar and donate.

Canine Companions (Return to Top)

The San Carlos Lions Club Canine Companions programs.

Caring Cupboard (Return to Top)

In 1989 realizing a local need, the San Carlos Lions, Kiwanis, and Rotary Clubs collaborated with the San Carlos Parks and Recreation Senior Center to create The Caring Cupboard food distribution program targeted at low-income seniors. The Caring Cupboard distributes $30,000 worth of food each year. Local volunteers, contribute hundreds of hours each month to make the program a success.

How does it work? Twice a month, the group delivers a free bag of groceries to qualified recipients.

How do you sign up? Register at the San Carlos Adult Community Center. Your registration is free and strictly confidential.

Community Support (Return to Top)

The San Carlos Lions Club supports a variety of other community activities, programs, and projects on an as-needed basis.

Derby Day (Return to Top)

To celebrate hands-on learning, students design, build, and show derby cars then race them down the hill between San Carlos Charter Elementary and Tierra Linda Middle School. Students are actively involved in organizing the event.

Lunch is provided by San Carlos Education Foundation with grilling, wrapping, and distribution support from the San Carlos Lions Club.

Easter Egg Hunt (Return to Top)

The Lions Club hosts a city-wide Easter Egg Hunt for the children of San Carlos.

Family Campout (Return to Top)

San Carlos Lions Club members cook hot dogs and hamburgers to support the San Carlos Family Campout event.

To support this effort, attend the event, or donate to the program.

Holiday Cards for Seniors (Return to Top)

Lions create and send persosnalized holiday greeting cards to local seniors living in assisted living facilities. This occurs throughout the year.

Hometown Days (Return to Top)

Every year the San Carlos Lions Club teams with the San Carlos JM Soical and Service Club to raise funds through a Hot Dog/Hamburger stand at Hometown Days.

The Lions team with the San Carlos Leos to sell sweets through the Sweet Shack stand at Hometown Days. Funds support the Leos' projects.

For more information about San Carlos Hometown Days, click here.

JM Social and Service Club (Return to Top)

The San Carlos Lions Club supports the San Carlos JM Social and service Club (formally Junior Matrons) by teaming up to host a Hot Dog/Hamburger stand at Hometown Days. Also the club supports, publicizes, and participates in various Junior Matron projects.

Leos (Return to Top)

The San Carlos Lions Club sponsors middle and high school students to participate in the Leos program. They are junior lions. The group hosts a number of fundraising projects to support various charity programs. Lions assist with projects, help organize fundraising, and chaperone events.

To support this group, donate to their projects.

Lions Club International Foundation (Return to Top)

Our mission is to support the efforts of Lions clubs and partners in serving communities locally and globally, giving hope and impacting lives through humanitarian service projects and grants. Focus areas include Vision, Youth, Disaster Relief, Humanitarian, Diabetes, Hunger, Environment, Childhood Cancer.

For more information, click here.

Mahany Hall (Return to Top)

Members of the Lions Club participate in projects to support Mahany Hall. A member of the club sits on the Oversight Committee for publicly funded Mahany Hall Fundraisers/Grants. The hall serves as the Red Cross Emergency Response Center for San Carlos.

Police and Fire Awards (Return to Top)

The San Carlos Lions Club supports the Police and Fire Awards. Every Spring the awards program recognizes outstanding police and fire department officers in San Mateo County. Check the calendar for date, time, and location.

Rise Against Hunger (Return to Top)

The San Carlos Lions Club participates in the San Carlos Week of the Family by organizing a Rise for Hunger Event. As part of Service Day, local families create meals for people with food insecurity.

San Carlos History Museum (Return to Top)

Members of the San Carlos Lions Club volunteer their time working with the San Carlos Histroy Museum.

The museum building was built by members of the San Carlos Lions Club.

San Carlos Week Of The Family (Return to Top)

The San Carlos Lions Club supports and leads various San Carlos Week of the Family events. To participate, check the club calendar, or the Week of the Family calendar, for dates, times, and locations.

Santa and Mrs. Claus (Return to Top)

Each year, the San Carlos Lions hosts Santa and Mrs. Clause at the city Farmer's Market.

Student Scholarships (Return to Top)

The San Carlos Lions Club supports education by offering financial scholarships to graduating high school seniors. This scholarship is available for any students planning to attend a junior college, four year college or trade school.

Student Speaker Contest (Return to Top)

The San Carlos Lions Club supports a yearly Student Speaker Contest. Winners go on to compete at the district, region, state and international levels for cash prizes.

Veterans Causes (Return to Top)

The San Carlos Lions Club supports various veterans causes including:

Wreaths Across America – to honor our veterans, Wreaths Across America and its national network of volunteers lay over 700,000 memorial wreaths at 1,000 locations in the United States and beyond, including ceremonies at the Pearl Harbor Memorial, as well as Bunker Hill, Valley Forge and the sites if the September 11 tragedies. This was accomplished with help from 2,047 sponsorship groups, corporate contributions, and donations of trucking, shipping, and thousands of helping hands. The wreath-laying is held annually on the second or third Saturday of December.
VA Homeless Programs – the San Carlos Lions Club supports VA Stand Downs. These are typically 1-3 day events during which VA staff and volunteers provide food, clothing and health screenings to homeless and at-risk Veterans. In addition, Veterans also receive referrals for health care, housing solutions, employment, substance use treatment, mental health counseling and other essential services.
Blue Star Moms Care Packages for At-Risk Veterans – the San Mateo County Blue Star Moms assemble care packages for at-risk or homeless Veterans. Care packages typically contain healthy snacks, socks, toiletries, hand sanitizer, blankets, and personal grooming supplies.

Fundraising (Return to Top)

To supports our projects, the San Carlos Lions Club has a number of fundraisers. 100 percent of all funds raised by these events go to our charitable programs. None of the funding supports the club, club members or club operational costs.

Hometown Days Food Booth (Return to Top)

As a fundraiser, the San Carlos Lions hosts a food Booth at Hometown Days. The hot dog and hamburger booth is co-sponsored with the San Carlos JM Social Club (formally Junior Matrons). Proceeds are split between the groups.

To support this effort, stop by at Hometown Days. Check the club calendar for dates, times, and location.

Tri-Tip Dinner (Return to Top)

Each year, the San Carlos Lions offers a tri-tip dinner for over 150 San Carlans. All proceeds support San Carlos Lions Club charitable donations. This event is typically held in the Fall. Check our Calendar for date, time, and location.

Whiskey Tasting (Return to Top)

Each year the San Carlos Lions holds a whiskey tasting to support the Rise Against Hunger event. 100% of all proceeds go to fund food donations to areas with food insecurity.

To support this event, check our calendar for date, time, and location.

Winter Fundraiser (Return to Top)

Each year the San Carlos Lions puts on a crab dinner or similar activity for over 150 San Carlans. All proceeds to to support charitible donations made by the club.

To support this event, check our calendar for date, time, and location.

Here's a slide show of the 2018 event.
Click here >: https://animoto.com/play/eA3rZkqJ00lgAE9AxRvP9Q

San Carlos Lions Club Committees (Return to Top)

Asset Management (Return to Top)

The committee manages club assest.

District 4C4 Convention (Return to Top)

Annually, the San Carlos Lions Club attends the disctrict 4C4 Convention. A club member coordinates logistics and activities.

Facebook (Return to Top)

Go to our facebook page to see club pictures of events and programs.

Google Workspace (Return to Top)

Lions Club members maintain the club's email, calendar, and shared files in Google Workspace.

House Committee (Return to Top)

This team supports the setup and catering of our general meetings.

Installation (Return to Top)

This team coordinates the election and installation of new club officers. The Officer Installation event is held each summer. Check out our club calendar for date, time, and location.

Inter-club Activities (Return to Top)

The San Carlos Lions Club commonly joins with other clubs in the area to sponsor and support a wide variety of projects.

To support this effort, join the Lions Club and/or donate.

Peninsula Council of Lions (Return to Top)

The Peninsula Council of Lions (PCL) is a District committee that comprises of Lions clubs in San Mateo County and Palo Alto. Its purpose is to communicate and exchange ideas between clubs to further Lionism. It coordinates with the San Francisco Coordinating Council of Lions (SFCCL) of meetings and social events. The PCL meets ten times a year which includes two joint meetings with the SFFCCL. The PCL’s main event is the Police and Fire Awards. The PCL reaches out to all departments for nominations for Valor, Service and Heroism. The PCL has been sponsoring this event since 1965.

Social Events (Return to Top)

San Carlos Lions Club members schedule fun events for club members, prospective members. It is a San Carlos Lions Club tradition to hold social events on the 5th Thursday of any month with a 5th Thursday.

To support this effort, attend one of our social events. Check out the calendar for times, dates, and locations.