By Roger Allen
At its two regular meetings in February the Montezuma Lions Club allocated donations to several entities the club annually supports, totaling $3,600. Local projects receiving funds included $300 to After Prom, and $200 to the school-affiliated Shooting Sports program.
The two largest donations were: $1,600 to the Iowa Lions Foundation (ILF) and $1,000 to the Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF). ILF, the state foundation, in turn supports several Lions-sponsored causes, including: Iowa KidSight vision screening program; the Iowa Lions Eye Bank; the Iowa Cochlear Implant Center; the Iowa Lions Hearing Aid Bank; the Iowa School for the Deaf; diabetes prevention and other causes.
LCIF is commonly thought of as the “Red Cross” of Lionism at the international level, providing immediate and ongoing support at the time of tragedies such as earthquakes, tornadoes and floods, and for refugees such as those from Ukraine. Blindness prevention programs are ongoing.
Other donations by the Montezuma Lions in February included $200 to Leader Dogs for the Blind, $200 to Camp Hertko Hollow (a camp for diabetic youth), and $100 to Camp Courageous, for the Lions-sponsored week of camp for people with disabilities.