Why We Do What We Do
The primary purpose of the Toccoa Lions Club is to help the people of Toccoa and Stephens County with vision, hearing and diabetes health care. We do this by public awareness campaigns and by assisting people who cannot afford health care in these areas.
We have several programs to accomplish these goals. Our most important program is Sight/Hearing
Conservation. This program includes free sight and hearing screening and financial aid for eye examinations & eye glasses to those people who cannot afford these health items. We also refer people with more complex eye & hearing health issues to the Georgia Lighthouse for the Blind.
Our next most critical program is financial support for the Open Arms Clinic. This is a free clinic for residents that cannot afford health care. Members of the Toccoa Lions Club were instrumental in forming the Open Arms Clinic. All medical services done by the Open Arms Clinic are performed by medical professionals on a volunteer basis.
The final major program is support of the Georgia Lighthouse for the Blind. This organization provides vision & hearing services for residents of Georgia. The Georgia Lighthouse for the Blind provides more complex eye & hearing care and is another source for help. They also allow the Toccoa Lions Club to purchase glasses at a deep discount, which allow the Toccoa Lions Club to help more residents. If you would like more information on the Georgia Lighthouse, please visit them at http://www.lionslighthouse.org/
The Chilly Open Golf Tournament is one of several events that the Toccoa Lions Club uses to raise money for its community service activities. All money raised from the public go towards our community service activities. Administrative and overhead expenses must come from money paid by members for such items as member dues.
Welcome To The Toccoa Lions Club
We are currently celebrating 79 years of service to Toccoa! We enthusiastically invite you to join us as we extend our service to the community in the hopes of improving the lives of our fellow man.
You Can Now Donate To The Toccoa Lions Online
Thanks to you, the Toccoa Lions Club has provided for the needs of members of our community for many years. Each year the challenges become greater. We are ready to stand in the gap and with your generosity together we will better the lives of the people we encounter. Please consider donating to the Toccoa Lions Club.
Apply For Toccoa Lions Vision Services Online!
The Toccoa Lions Club is making it easier for you to apply for community services. If you are in need of eyeglasses, an eye exam, or a diabetes screening, and cannot afford these items, help is now at your fingertips. Simply click the link below and you will be redirected to a secure area of our website. Once there, you may fill out an application form for Toccoa Lions Club Vision Services. Your application will be reviewed and you will be advised of your status.
Announcing The Toccoa Lions Club Online Store!
The Toccoa Lions Club is excited to announce our new store. Our members, supporters and friends are now able to purchase tickets to events and fund raising items that help us better the lives of people in Toccoa from the convenience or their homes. You can visit the store by clicking the link on the main navigation bar above. More items will be added as the area is developed.
The Lions are proud of their legacy here in Toccoa. Since 1933 we have provided the gift of sight to many in our home town, and thanks to your help our legacy will continue!
How The Lions Club Started
In 1917, Melvin Jones, a Chicago business leader, told members of his local business club they should reach beyond business issues and address the betterment of their communities and the world. Jones' group, the Business Circle ofChicago, agreed. After contacting similar groups around the United States, an organizational meeting was held on June 7, 1917, in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The new group took the name of one of the invited groups, the "Association of Lions Clubs," and a national convention was held in Dallas, Texas, USA in October of that year. A constitution, by-laws, objects and a code of ethics were approved. Within three years, Lions became an international organization. Since then, we've earned high marks for both integrity and transparency. We're a well-run organization with a steady vision, a clear mission, and a long – and proud – history.
Lions Code Of Ethics
To Show my faith in the worthiness of my vocation by industrious application to the end that I may merit a reputation for quality of service. To Seek success and to demand all fair remuneration or profit as my just due, but to accept no profit or success at the price of my own self-respect lost because of unfair advantage taken or because of questionable acts on my part. To Remember that in building up my business it is not necessary to tear down another's; to be loyal to my clients or customers and true to myself. Whenever a doubt arises as to the right or ethics of my position or action towards others, to resolve such doubt against myself. To Hold friendship as an end and not a means. To hold that true friendship exists not on account of the service performed by one another, but that true friendship demands nothing but accepts service in the spirit in which it is given. Always to bear in mind my obligations as a citizen to my nation, my state, and my community, as to give them my unswerving loyalty in word, act, and deed. To give them freely of my time, labor and means. To Aid others by giving my sympathy to those in distress, my aid to the weak, and my substance to the needy. To Be Careful with my criticism and liberal with my praise; to build up and not destroy.
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