Local group marks 65 years as Knights for Sight

“I appeal to you, Lions — you who have your sight, your hearing, you who are strong and brave and kind — will you not constitute yourselves Knights of the Blind in my crusade against darkness?”

– Helen Keller, address to Lions Clubs International Foundation Convention, 1925 This plea in Helen Keller’s eloquent address led Lions Clubs around the world to adopt vision loss as their primary focus for community service. When the Berryville Lions Club was established in 1958, the local club likewise adopted that mission and has been providing glasses, eye care and cataract surgery for area residents for the past 65 years.

On Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 4, some 100 flags flew in front of businesses and were hung around the Square as part of the Berryville Lions’ “Flags for Sight” program. The Lions will be out hanging flags again next week on Patriot Day, Sept. 11. This program is the club’s main fundraiser, providing money for sight services to the community and funding an annual scholarship.

For a yearly Flags for Sight subscription of $30, businesses will receive a flag displayed at their location on 10 holidays throughout the year, while individual subscribers will have a flag displayed on the Square at the same time in honor or memory of a friend or relative. Since the Lions’ fiscal year begins on Labor Day, this is the perfect time to renew or begin a Flags for Sight subscription.

Throughout the years local Lions have road-tested various fundraisers and supported several community undertakings; but their vision has always been helping others keep their vision. Along with Flags for Sight the Lions continue to collect and redistribute used reading and prescription glasses year-round and will hold their annual shredding event after income Tax Day as usual.

But this year they’re casting a new line for funds — and hoping for a lot of bites — by collecting, cleaning and refurbishing old fishing lures and reselling them at public events. So, save some of that Christmas money for the fishermen in your life. This is meant to be an ongoing fundraiser, and old or disused lures are welcome all year. They can be dropped off at Ozark Hunting and Fishing Company at Kimes Auto, 216 N. Main.

Labor intensive events like Flags for Sight are a lot of work for a small organization but charter member Lyman Squires likes to quote the statistic that the actual footwork of any service organization is normally done by only 10 percent of its members. “So,” Lyman quips, “if our organization had 60 members, that would mean six of us were doing all the work. And since we only have six members, that means that in our organization one hundred percent of the members are doing all the work!”

For more information about joining the Berryville Lions Club, to subscribe to Flags for Sight, or to schedule a pickup for a large quantity of lures contact Tyler Squires at 870-480-9344 or David Baker at 501-3393459. Glasses can be dropped off 24/7 in the collection box at Allen Squires Law Office, 105 S. Springfield, or during business hours at Ozark Hunting and Fishing.

The Berryville Lions Club meets at 12:30 p.m. every fourth Wednesday upstairs in the Equity Bank Building. Come sit in on a meeting and consider being part of a great service organization.