Lions Club provides free Christmas toy programs or food and help at the holidays.
Local Lions Club chapters provide many services to the less fortunate, including help at Christmas as well as other holidays. The clubs are local, volunteer-run service organizations that mobilize extra resources every December to deliver help such as food baskets with all the fixings, free Christmas Day meals (with delivery for homebound neighbors), and toy distribution or adopt-a-family gift programs, many run in partnership with schools and community groups. Find details on Christmas assistance programs from the Lions Club in your area.
Because each club is independent, the exact mix varies by town, but the pattern is consistent nationwide. However, at the end of the day, members of each club collect surplus items from the community including Christmas trees, toys for kids, clothing, food, and more and those goods are provided to people in need.
How the Lions Club helps struggling families during the Christmas season
Almost everything provided to a Lions Club chapter will be donated by the community and are then passed to the less fortunate. Many clubs run “Christmas Basket” or “Food Box” distribution projects that combine hams or turkeys, pantry staples, produce, dairy, and wrapped gifts including toys for kids. There may also be gift cards, decorations for Christmas, toys, and other items. The goal is to ensure kids, teens and even struggling young, professional workers with families get the help they need during the holidays.
All sorts of donations may be given by a Lions Club. Each and every local chapter is different, but in addition to providing free stuff at Christmas, there may be free hearing aids, cell phones, eye glasses, laptop computers, strollers for low income mothers, and more. The charity operates year round, and volunteers assist the less fortunate throughout the year as well as holidays.
Examples of free holiday and Christmas items from the Lions Club
Christmas Tree sales are held. Generally, the trees are sold to the public, but the price will be lower than say a major retail outlet or big box store. However, that being said, if there is a household in need and that has no other options available to them, then a free Christmas Tree may be given to them. In some instances, a Lions Club will give a tree to a low income senior citizen, families with children, and others in need in the community.
Of course, there may also be small presents given out on Christmas for free. Most of the gifts will be for kids. There may be a Lions Club center that will deliver a meal to a senior citizen who can’t drive or someone who is in the hospital (see below). Or they will drop by a nursing home and spread Thanksgiving or Christmas cheer to the residents of it. This may be singing a song, helping to serve a meal, or bring small treats/gifts.
- That being said, when a Lions Club organization does offer help at Christmas, it will most likely be in the form of passing out presents to kids. There will be free Xmas gifts for kids, infants, teenagers, and children of all ages, races, backgrounds, and incomes. Any child in need should be able to get help, and the Lions Club members will try to make that happen.
- Lions Club work with businesses in the community to collect new, unwrapped Christmas toys. Once they are collected, volunteers will sort them based on age and gender. There will then be distribution points set up in your local community, and the Lions Club will also advertise their toys for kids’ programs. The process will include how to apply as well as pick up Christmas gifts.
Many Christmas or holiday “basket” programs also include free clothes or personal stuff, including for the homeless or people with no money at all. There may be hats and gloves or small winter necessities alongside toys for the kids. Many of these Lions Club programs are coordinated with 4-H groups, schools, or county social service
Food, meal and Christmas holiday parties coordinated by the Lions Club
Another major holiday program is their holiday parties and meals. These may be held by the Lions Club. When these take place, anyone in need can stop in for food. Volunteers will serve meals, both at Thanksgiving and Christmas. There is always staff needed to cook the food, shop for groceries, set up tables, and clean up. Please do donate at a local Lions Club in your area to help those in need.
- Hot meals, including deliveries, are part of many of the local Lions’ holiday tradition, too. Some clubs, in partnership with local restaurants or charities, sponsor a free community dinner on December 24 or 25 with both pickup and delivery options, especially for seniors or residents with transportation or mobility challenges.
Not only that, but often a Lions Club volunteer(s) will visit the sick, elderly, and lonely in the hospital or nursing home. Or they will hold a celebration in a retirement home or community. These Christmas (and even Thanksgiving) programs may involve volunteers serving meals, telling stories, sharing food, and just in general spreading holiday cheer! The goal is to spread holiday joy to those who may have limited family or if the family does not live close by. During this event there may also be small Christmas gifts provided to participants for free as well.
Examples of local Lions Club holiday programs
As noted, these programs are all local in nature so they vary. But almost all chapters, if not all of them, help people during the Christmas season. For example, the Darien Illinois Lions Club distributes holiday food baskets to hundreds of local households December, including presents for the children.
The Lake Orion Lions in Michigan publicly recruit volunteers to sort donated food and pack boxes with children’s gifts as well as small toys, then coordinate drivers to deliver to families in need. The Lions Club is based at 2325 Joslyn Rd, Orion Township, MI 48360 and dial (248) 975-6378
The White Bear Lake Lions Club in Minnesota (address is 2228 4th St, White Bear Lake, MN 55110 and call (651) 426-5199)) operate a Toy Shelf that’s been serving school-district families for two decades, sourcing donations from veterans’ groups and civic partners so parents can pick out new toys discreetly.
A Texas club asks members and supporters to bring unwrapped toys to benefit the Marine Corps Toys for Tots program during its holiday events. This is a common local Lions Club arrangement that helps clubs match gift supply with local requests.
In Rhinelander, WI, Lions arranged free Christmas meals with a set pickup window and home delivery for those who needed it
More information on Lions Club holiday programs
Applying is straightforward, but timing matters. Clubs generally open registration in late October or early November and close once capacity is reached. There are hundreds of chapters across the US. While not all of them offer help at Christmas or Thanksgiving, most do. Even if they don’t, the charity can still provide other forms of support, such as clothes, eye glasses, hygiene’s supplies and more.
Because eligibility and sign-up details are local, the first step is to identify your nearest club and follow its posted instructions. Use Lions Clubs International’s official club locator and contact directory to find the right club by city or ZIP; To find a local Lions club in your area, search here. https://directory.lionsclubs.org/?language=EN. That page is the organization’s recommended route for people seeking service from a club
Related Content From Needhelppayingbills.com
|
