Fort Collins Lions Club Celebrates 100 Year Anniversary…2 Years Later
Fort Collins Lions Club (FCLC) is one of the largest service organizations in the world and they will be celebrating their 100 year anniversary with a pancake breakfast July 30 at the Murphy Center for Hope in Fort Collins, Colorado.
This celebration comes two years later due to COVID-19, and FCLC President, Nancy Walther, told "Tuned In to NoCo" it's one of their largest endeavors yet.
"We had all kinds of plans...and we never got to do anything. So, this is our biggest undertaking in many years to do this pancake breakfast. We are preparing 200 care kits, which are toiletries to give out to the clients that attend the breakfast and we are still in the process of collecting donations."
Along with this celebration, FCLC is involved with the non-profit Ensight. The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ensight, Doug Hutchinson, says this low-vision care provider is all about helping those deprived of essential eye care in Colorado.
"There is a real challenge. In the state of Colorado, there's about 355,000 people over 18 that have low-vision problems and need help and only 5-10 percent of them every really get any services. So, Ensight is there to help empower independence and help you live with your low-vision problem."
Ensight was formed 22 years ago and Hutchinson says they are taking eye-care to the next level.
"Ensight was formed so that when somebody with a low-vision problem has seen a doctor and the doctor says this is all we can do for you now you have to live with what we couldn't cure — that's when Ensight steps in...Ensight helps with specialists. It helps with hardware and software to help people live with their low-vision problems."
According to the FCLC website, along with Ensight, they have been busy supporting various non-profits along with Marshall Fire victims, refugee Ukrainian children and diabetes awareness programs. Walther says one of the main ways they fundraise for these is their Bingo sessions at Bingo Planet in Loveland, Colorado.
"All of our money is earned through Bingo...and 100 percent of our profits have to be spent in a year. Bingo is every Tuesday, game starts at 7pm but doors open at 5pm. Then Fridays, doors open at 10am and the game starts at 11:30am. So, those are our two sessions days that we have every single week."
To learn more about the Fort Collins Lions Club, how to donate or attend Bingo click here.
For more information about Ensight click here.
To listen to the full interview check out the link below.