Lions Schedule White Cane Days

The Manheim Township Lions Club has announced that its annual White Cane Days will be observed on Friday, Oct. 14, and Saturday, Oct. 15. White Cane Safety Day is a national observance in the United States, celebrated on Oct. 15 of each year since 1964. The date is set aside to celebrate the achievements of people who are blind or visually impaired and the white cane as a symbol of blindness and a tool of independence.

As in the past, Lions Club members will be stationed at Savemart in Roseville Square on Fruitville Pike; Knight & Day Diner, 3140 Lititz Pike, Lititz; and Brewers' Outlet, 111 Butler Ave., Lancaster, on both days to accept contributions to benefit programs for people who are blind and visually impaired. Youth members of the affiliated Manheim Township Leos Club will assist at Savemart and the Knight & Day Diner.

During White Cane Days, club members will accept donations to benefit programs such as Pennsylvania Lions Beacon Lodge near Mount Union, which provides a summer camp experience for children and adults with special needs such as blindness; Leader Dogs for the Blind, which enables people who are blind, visually impaired, or deaf and blind to travel independently; VisionCorps of Lancaster, which provides life enhancement skills by combining clinical services, education, and employment programs for people who are blind or visually impaired; and other Pennsylvania Lions District 14-D activities.

According to Lion Jeremy Mattern, the club also collects used eyeglasses at local optometric offices, and transports them to the New Jersey Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center. "We make two or three trips to (the New Jersey center) a year," said Mattern, who added that the club has donated more than 89,000 pairs of glasses to be repurposed internationally in its 70-year history. More information about the recycling program may be found at http://www.lionsclubs.org.

Club member Steve Focht pointed out that through Lions Clubs International, the club also responds to disasters in places like Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic as well as in the U.S. "We shipped stuff to Kentucky last winter," said Focht, recalling that two trailer loads were sent to help tornado victims. "We will be collecting things to go to Kentucky again," he said.

The Manheim Township Lions Club holds dinner meetings on the second and fourth Mondays of each month from September through June at Brethren Village in Neffsville. To learn more, visit http://manheimtwplions.blogspot.com. "We are always looking for new members," noted Mattern, who added that readers with questions about the club may email mtlionssec@gmail.com or call 717-994-3956.