Town of Wheatfield Lions Club recognizes WNY service clubs

Submitted

The Town of Wheatfield Lions Club honored and highlighted Western New York service clubs by providing a steak dinner and a public forum on Aug. 21 to showcase their accomplishments and upcoming service projects. Groups included Youngstown Lions, St. David's (Ontario) Lions, District 20N Lions and district governor, Niagara Falls Community Lions, Pendelton Lions, WNY Riding Lions, Rotary, Town of Niagara Lions, Grand Island Lions, Brandel-Murphy Lions grants program, Lions Clubs International Foundation, Barker Lions and Williamsville Lions.

The pavilion and clubhouse were full, and there was much in shared voiced passions to serve the community.

In the 1925 Lions Clubs International Foundation Convention, Helen Keller charged clubs with this petition: "Will you not help me hasten the day when there shall be no preventable blindness, no little deaf blind child untaught, no blind man or woman unaided? I appeal to you, Lions – you who have your sight, your hearing, you who are strong and brave and kind – will you not constitute yourselves Knights of the Blind in my crusade against darkness?”

With this in mind, the Town of Wheatfield Lions invited Dr. Michael Farkas to the dinner, and receive a $500 donation in recognition of his research and successes in cellular remediation to restore vision. Farkas then presented and described some elements of his research and its promises and aspirations for helping people regain vision.

He is an associate professor of ophthalmology, biochemistry, and neuroscience at the University at Buffalo.

The Town of Wheatfield Lions Club also presented a check to the large and growing WNY Ryding Lions Club to support its upcoming event fundraising for Mercy Flight.

The motto of Lions Clubs is "We Serve.” Our service areas include helping the blind, those with diabetes, hunger, environment, pediatric cancer, humanitarian needs, disaster relief, and youth. The Town of Wheatfield Club site also includes a medical equipment loan closet.