LINGLE – A long-time community tradition keeps getting bigger every year.
The Lingle-Fort Laramie Lions Club hosted its annual Ham Dinner and Auction again this year in the basement at Community Presbyterian Church in Lingle on Monday. This year’s event raised more than $6,000 from the auction portion of the evening, with proceeds going to benefit a state-wide project
Money raised during the auction benefits the Allen H. Stewart Lions Camp for the Blind and Visually Impaired on Casper Mountain. Opened in 1922, the camp offers a one-week camp for young people with visual impairment on the mountain near Casper.
Previously operated for several years by the local Lions Club in Casper, the state Lions of Wyoming Foundation took over running the camp about four years ago, L-FL Lion Bill Carr said. The camp provides a fun and educational respite for the youth it serves.
And, for almost 30 years, the local Lions Club has hosted its dinner and auction to support that program. The event has grown by leaps and bounds since it started, he said.
The first year, the club raised about $200, Carr said. Last year, the auction brought in $5,390. This year’s auction netted the club $6,665.
“The club wanted to do something outside its local community,” Carr said.
Vision health has always been a focus for Lions International, the parent organization of Lions Clubs around the world. Lions International is the largest service organization in the world, Carr said, with clubs in more countries than any other group.
One thing Lions Clubs do to promote their mission of vision health is to collect old eyeglasses, which are refurbished and distributed around the world to people who otherwise couldn’t afford eyewear, Carr said. The group also offers financial assistance to people who can’t otherwise afford regular eye examinations and glasses, he said.
In recent years, Lions Clubs have added helping individuals with hearing problems get hearing aids, as well as diabetes education and awareness efforts. Carr said he’s proud to be a part of the programs Lions provides.
“You might have some little girl in a poor country who needs glasses,” Carr said. “She could get some lady in Hollywood’s glasses, because the prescriptions match.”
In addition to volunteer chefs who prepared the annual ham dinner, appetizers and beverages, Torrington auctioneer Terry McIntosh lent his particular skill set to the evening, assisted by his daughter, Afton, 13. Students from the Lingle-Fort Laramie High School Future Business Leaders of America club attended and helped serve the meal.
