-------------------- AURORA LIONS CLUB --------------------

You have probably seen the Lions emblems on signposts as you entered Aurora. Or you’ve seen our gumball machines or the shelter houses at Lesko or Waterways Parks. Who are these people called Lions?

Lions are individuals who want to serve their community and their country!

We are part of the largest service club in the world. The International Association of Lions Clubs has nearly a 1.35 million members in 199 countries around the world.

Since the beginning of the Aurora Lions Club in February, 1948, we have taken to heart the Lions motto of “We Serve.” The first project of the club was a Spring Revue in April 1948, which raised money for bleachers at Aurora High School. In the fall of that year, the first set of gumball machines were placed around the city. Major projects have been the Genealogy Room at the Aurora Public Library and an educational Smokehouse for the Aurora Fire Department. We also provided $5,000 in matching funds for the recently acquired police dog in Aurora.

Many Lions projects have gone on to become regular programs that no longer require Lions support. Projects like the Athletic Banquet started in 1949 and the Aurora Little League we began in 1954 are now free standing programs.

In 1959, the Aurora Lions Club assumed sponsorship of the Aurora Farmers Fair, one of Indiana’s oldest street festivals. Next year’s dates are October 1-4. Other on-going projects are a Pancake Breakfast in March, a Hog Roast and Corn Hole Tourney in May, a Halloween Parade & Costume Contest, November Sausage & Gravy Breakfast, a fruit sale in Decemberfor scholarships at South Dearborn H.S., and

Santa’s Workshop. We also provide eye exams and glasses for needy school children, support for the Warm the Children program and food for the Dearborn County Clearinghouse. Outside Aurora we provide support for District, State and International Lions programs such as Camp Woodsmoke, leader dogs, eye glass recycling, cancer control, diabetes awareness, vision van, speech & hearing programs and drug awareness. We gave $2,500 to the Lions in Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi for hurricane relief. We provided $5,000 to Lions Club International Foundation for the tsunami disaster relief program as well.

And all along the way, we enjoy great fun and fellowship. For more information about the Aurora Lions Club, visit our website: auroralions.org.

During the past six years (July 2002 – December 2007) the Aurora Lions Club has donated $258,317 to local projects that benefit Aurora and South Dearborn Community School Corporation residents. We feel confident that no other organization in the community can match this level of giving. These funds have been distributed to more than 40 different groups or projects. Some, such as South Dearborn High School scholarships and sponsorships, Relay for Life, eye glasses and We Care are made annually. Some of these are large, such as the fire department’s Smoke House ($22,565) or the Aurora Public Library’s Genealogy Room ($25,000 made in 1997). Most have been small gifts of $25 -$1000 to help a class make a field trip, support the remembrance of 9-11, bail out a youth baseball group, encouraging reading for young children or aiding the Sheriff’s Department’s Safety programs for kids.

Many of our projects include more than just a gift of money. Programs such as Habitat for Humanity, Miracle on Main, America in Bloom, and the city parks receive hundreds of man hours as well. Since our founding in 1948, the Lions motto of “WE SERVE” has been an integral part of our being. We aren’t in the newspaper every week but we are out working to help make our community a better place to live.