We support many community programs and run numerous fundraisers each year, and we have fun working on every one of them. These include:
Community Programs
Eye glasses for children and adults: The Galway Lions Club works with local schools, doctors and eye glass providers to help cover the costs of eye glasses for local residents in need of sight correction.
School Graduation Awards: Each year we provide special scholarships to local students upon their graduation.
School Spelling Bee: Each year we sponsor and provide prizes to the participants of the local spelling bee.
Lions Eye Institute in Albany: We have provided more than $10,000 in funding to theLions Eye Institute in Albany in recent years. One way we do this is by donating money collected from the sale of chocolate bunnies at Easter time.
Lions Eye Bank: We provide support and funding for the Lions Eye Bank in Albany.
Family Eye Care: Beyond helping with eye glasses, the Galway Lions Club helps with eye care for families in need. This includes arranging and providing transportation for eye doctor appointments for those unable to find transportation on their own.
Collection of Used Eye Glasses: We collect used eye glasses so that they can be repaired, cleaned and provided to those in foreign countries who need them.
Empire State Special Needs Experience: Along with other Lions Clubs in New York State, we sponsor Camp Badger, a vacation camp for those with special needs. Camp Badger was formerly known as the Empire State Speech and Hearing Clinic.
New York State & Bermuda Lions Foundation: Some of the money we raise goes to support this foundation which supports sight and other worthy causes within NY State and in Bermuda.
Galway Public Library: The gift of sight is precious and reading is a great way to appreciate it. Thus we support the Galway Public Library and its efforts in the community.
Saratoga Hospital Emergency Room Eye Care Equipment: We help in funding eye care equipment for the emergency room at Saratoga Hospital.
Local and national disaster relief: We use our funds to help those affected by disaster, including local residents that are victims of tragedies like home fires.
Annual Diabetes Walkathon: Each year we walk to raise money to help fund a cure for diabetes.
Blood Drives: We sponsor 4 blood drives each year.
Fund Raisers
White Cane Fund Drive: Our annual fundraiser. Drive through Galway and drop some cash in one of our containers. Please drive carefully.
Memorial Day Parade and Chowder Sale: We cook our famous chowder in the Galway village park and sell it at the annual Memorial Day parade. Never a drop left. Reserve yours early.
Christmas Tree Fundraiser: Each year we volunteer to help wrap and load Christmas trees for families purchasing trees from Bob’s Trees.
Holiday and Spring baskets for the needy: Every year we team with the local Food Pantry and other organizations to provide gift baskets for families in need.
October Fest: We hold a beer/wine tasting each year in October at the Cock ‘N Bull restaurant. Each year a sell out crowd joins us to taste the finest in food and drink donated by local, regional and national vendors.
Chocolate Easter Bunny Sales: Each year, our members sell Milk Chocolate and Dark Chocolate, to the public.