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The Champaign Lions Club is our local chapter of the national charity organization which focuses on providing aid to people with hearing and sight impairments. The Lions Club collects and recycles used eyeglasses, screens for glaucoma, transplants corneas to hospitals, provides guide dogs for the blind and provides hearing aids for those who cannot afford them. Rich King, the president of the Champaign Lions Club, answered questions about his charity in an e-mail interview:

buzz: What does your organization do?

Rich King: Champaign Lions Club is a part of Lions Club International, the world’s largest service club. We help the visual and hearing impaired.

buzz: What kind of impact does your organization have in Champaign?

RK: CLC provides over 50 free eye exams and glasses to people in our community that cannot afford them. We have also given items to Carle Low Vision Center, computers to Parkland College’s low vision program, low vision readers to the Champaign Public Library. Outside of these things, we give socks to the Champaign Public Schools every winter, we contribute to the Red Ribbon Campaign for kids’ substance abuse prevention, we give to the Salvation Army and the Center for Women in Transition. We also collect used eyeglasses to be used in poor countries.

buzz: How long has the Champaign Lions Club been serving the community?

RK: The Champaign Lions Club has been serving the Champaign area for 82 years.

buzz: What is your favorite aspect of the club?

RK: The getting to know people from the community that want to help others part.

buzz: Your organization sponsors youth summer camps for vision and hearing impaired children, as well as organizes picnics, bowling nights and other get-togethers. How important would you say the family dynamic is to the CLC?

RK: The family dynamic is very important to us, and we try a large variety of activities to include the whole family.

buzz: How can someone get involved with the CLC?

RK: We meet weekly at noon at the Windsor of Savoy. If anyone is interested in learning more about the Champaign Lions Club, they are welcome to contact me or any other member.

King can be reached at 359-6667 and online at http://champaignlions.org.