AMESBURY – Responding to an email from Dr. Jung-Yul Choi, Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF) Chairperson, sent to Lions Club members around the world, an anonymous Amesbury Lion member challenged the Amesbury Lions Club (ALC) with a $1000 donation to LCIF’s Refugees and Displaced Persons Fund to help ensure that European Lions were present to assist in finding the safety and security needed by the millions of Ukrainian evacuees. That donation came with the caveat that the Amesbury Lions donate $1000 from the Club’s treasury and that other ALC members collectively donate at least $1000 from their own pockets.
The Club enthusiastically responded with a unanimous vote to donate $1000 from its treasury matching the anonymous donor’s gift of $1000, and members stepped up, not with an additional $1000, but with an additional $3000 in donations of their own money, making for a grand total $5000 donation to LCIF. In doing so, the Amesbury Lions joined Lions from around the world, who are uniting through kindness to help the desperate Ukrainian refugees find some immediate relief in their struggles to meet their most basic needs. Commenting on the Club’s generous response, Marie Veilleux, ALC officer, director, and secretary, exuberantly proclaimed, “Where there is a need, there is a Lion; Amesbury Lion members are awesome!”
LCIF’s mission is to empower Lions clubs to improve health and well-being, strengthen communities, and support those in need through humanitarian services and grants that impact lives globally, and encourage peace and international understanding. The LCIF’s Refugees and Displaced Persons Fund is helping Lions in Poland and other European countries in their efforts to support Ukrainian refugees who have crossed their borders. Lions within Ukraine are also receiving LCIF funds to address the critical needs of people who remain in the country. Such funding enables Lions to purchase and distribute immediate relief items, such as food, clothing, hygiene supplies, sleeping bags and medicine, as well as relocation services.
