Big Title
WHERE THERE'S A NEED,
THERE'S A LION
All text links on this site are this color with no underlines.
WHO WE ARE
We're your friends and neighbors.
You've probably seen this Lions International logo before. Or spotted Pioneer Lions Club members around town wearing their Lions tee shirts, ball caps or bright yellow jackets.
Lions are everywhere. From our beginning in Chicago over 100 years ago, we have grown to become the largest service club organization in the world. More }than 1.4 million members strong are serving in over 48,000 clubs in 200 countries and geographic areas around the globe. Here are some of the things Lions are doing together, all around the world.
The 170+ Longview Pioneer Lions are men and women; young, old, and in-between; of all backgrounds, education, and professions, with a common desire to work together to help improve our neighbors' quality of life, and make our community a better, happier place to live.
We are best known for fighting blindness, but we also volunteer for many different kinds of community projects-- including caring for the environment, feeding the hungry, aiding seniors and the disabled, and providing youth scholarships. Take a look at some of our activities in the slideshow and YouTube video on this page.
LIONS
MAKE GOOD THINGS HAPPEN!
Ready to walk and knock doors to collect donations for the community food bank on a sunny December Saturday morning.
WHAT WE DO
We Serve!
For a very long time, Longview Pioneer Lions have been serving our community and surrounding area in the Lower Columbia region (we will celebrate our 100th birthday next year!!). We provide eyeglasses and hearing aids for those who can't afford them; award student scholarships; conduct elementary school vision screenings; support Camp Leo for Children with Diabetes; sponsor numerous community events and organizations; assist local families in need. Here are some of our service projects in recent years. Those interrupted by Covid have now been resumed, or or on their way back. Pioneer Lions look forward to getting fully back to business as usual!
Walk 'n Knock Food Drive
In 1981 the Pioneer Lions conceived and implemented the first Walk n Knock, now the largest food drive in Southwest Washington. Today Walk 'n Knock is supported by a number of service clubs and other community organizations. Food is collected during a one-day inter-organization drive, and stored for distribution to the community’s citizens who are in need. The Pioneer Lions continue to carry their share of the load; dozens of club members (and their kids!) bring in ten thousand pounds of food or more year after year, and have a great time doing it!
The Street of Screams
Every year Pioneers construct and operate on Halloween a 4-hour event for kids in our community; a spooky indoor trick-or-treat walk-through adventure filled with thrills and chills
for about 3,000 little goblins (and their moms and dads). Lots of Pioneers show off their own costumes, too. And did we mention candy? Lots of candy! Other kids' events with Pioneers participation include a yearly Fish Frolic derby and the Kids' Races events at the annual Longview Go Fourth Independence Day festival. Pioneer Lions also support the Scouts BSA organization for boys and girls.
Roaring for Reading
Pioneers support the upcoming generation of readers. An outgrowth of its Reading is Fundamental (RIF) support, volunteers visit Columbia Heights Elementary School to read children's books to groups of students and give each one a free book of their own. Reading confidently takes time and patience. Having support from someone else can help keep a child's interest strong while he or she is learning to read. Pioneers encourage the kids as they learn, helping them grow to love books while they practice listening quietly.
Lions Island
In the 1960s Pioneer Lions adopted an undeveloped island in Lake Sacajawea removed brush and debris, and planted new shrubbery. They built footpaths, laid underground wiring, built a bridge to the island and erected a totem pole. In 1969, the city named it Lions Island. Pioneers still maintain the island today, and work with the City of Longview Parks Department every year to string many thousands of club-owned LED bulbs and animated displays to light the island splendidly during the holiday season. The club also donates comfortable, sturdy benches in memory of active Pioneer Lions past for installation in one of the city's many lovely parks.
Sight & Hearing Assistance
Since 1925, Lions Clubs have worked
to aid the blind and visually impaired. Pioneer Lions join with most of the Lions Clubs in our zone in using vision spot cameras to screen the eyesight of elementary school children and refer them to optometrists to get the glasses or vision services they need. Hearing loss is the number one disability in the world. Insurance coverage of most adults and families doesn't cover the average $3,000 cost of hearing aids, far out of reach for the typical household. Our partner Sight & Hearing Foundation of Cowlitz County provides needed eyeglasses and hearing aids to children and adults who can't afford them.
Longview Pioneers work to protect and improve our environment. In addition to carefully cleaning up of our work space following fundraising and service events, the club has adopted a stretch of Coal Creek Road in Longview through the Adopt A Road project. Periodically Lions don hard hats and safety vests and head out onto the verge and into the ditches, to clean up roadside trash and often collect other "colorful," sometimes startling, cast-offs. It's hard and dirty work, but a fun day. Big thanks for doing a thankless job! Many bags of trash are collected-- you could say Pioneer Lions are the best of the litter!
Scholarship Awards
Encouraging student scholars is a big part of our service. Each year, in memory of past Lions dedicated to serving our community, who believed in higher education opportunities, Pioneer Lions Club awards academic or vocational scholarships. In partnership with Longview Public Schools, four graduating seniors planning to attend a college or technical school of their choice receive scholarships. Partnering with Lower Columbia College Foundation, one academic and one vocational/technical scholarship is awarded to students continuing their studies at Lower Columbia College. In 2019, two additional scholarships were awarded to a private high school and an alternative public high school in Longview.
Wheelchair Access Ramps
Handy men (and the occasional woman) in our club have been coming together to build and install many wheelchair-accessible entry ramps for elderly or disabled residents for more than 30 years. Disabled people can become house-bound simply because they can't get out of their homes. Pioneer Lions help them to have more mobility; those who must use a chair, a cane, or a walker can more easily get in and out of their house. Sometimes the club provides only the labor if the resident can afford materials, or if they cannot, the club may supply the materials too and build the ramp at no cost to them. Because building codes are followed, sometimes the process can require more workers or a longer time to complete more complex ramps.
White Cane Days
Today white cane laws are on the books of every state in the US and in a few other countries, providing blind persons a legal status in traffic. A white cane universally acknowledges that the bearer is blind. Pioneer Lions are in our community on White Cane Awareness Day, reminding motorists of the need to exercise extra caution and provide sight impaired persons the right of way, and recognizing the independence, confidence and skills of the blind and visually impaired. Pioneers work to increase community awareness of Lions sight programs through the Northwest Lions Foundation and the Sight & Hearing Foundation of Cowlitz County.
HOW WE DO IT
Mostly by creating fun!
We raise money in our community to give back to our community. 100% of every dollar earned or donated by the public is returned to the public through community projects and services to help others.
Here's a little YouTube video of Pioneers busy making jalapeno kettle corn to sell at a community event. Yep, we said jalapeno corn. A hot seller!
Double-click the photos below to see slides of members at work in some of our fundraising projects.
WHAT'S HAPPENING NEXT
New ways to serve!
Lions all over the world got creative while social distancing.
The challenging pandemic days dIdn't stop Lions from serving their communities. Lions across the world and right here in Longview stepped up to find new ways to help people in need during the pause in our normal activities. They continue to run adaptive projects and make responsive plans to conditions on the ground as Covid lessens. As we come out of the pandemic, Lions everywhere are working to meet the challenge of how to be safe but go on living positive, forward-looking lives. One thing is sure: we will continue to serve our neighbors at home and throughout the world!
Take a look at some of the activities of Lions Clubs worldwide.
Hope to see you at our upcoming events!
Pioneer Lions Club is working hard to create new ways to help our neighbors during these "stay-at-home more and stay healthy" days. In spite of the difficulties we continue to overcome, we always have something fun and exciting going on. Check this space often to see what we have in the works and will be doing once again soon to engage with our community.
You won't want to miss our tasty treats.
Indulge your inner kid!
Wherever you see the yellow Pioneer Chuckwagon around our community,
come and enjoy a tasty Pioneer burger right off the grill-- be sure to order it
with the Pioneer Lions secret sauce. Yum! Or embellish one of our super hot dogs
or polish dogs with your favorite fixin's! Don't forget a big bag of
crunchy kettle corn or caramel corn. Enjoy a big scoop of cold delicious ice cream.
Great food, great fun, always part of a great weekend.
100% of funds earned from the community are returned to the community
through scholarships, assistance programs, and donations to other
community-serving programs and organizations.
New Chuckwagon Rolls into Service
The iconic Pioneer Lions Chuckwagon made its debut in 1975,
and since then was literally our vehicle to raise funds
at many local events to serve our community.
This year our old faithful wagon was being retired and replaced.
In late summer 2022, Pioneer Lions Chuckwagon 2.0 was rolled out at the Cowlitz County Rodeo, ready to bring customers all their favorite festival foods, cooked and served up in a brand-new space but with the same friendly smiles as always.
Look for it around the community later this year and in the years to come.
Yes, it is traditional Pioneer Lions yellow! You can't miss it!
OUR PARTNERS
They help make our work successful.
Links to some of the organizations that we support, and those that help us in our projects.
See what some of our neighboring Lions Club Partners are doing to serve their communities:
Kelso Lions
Peninsula Lions
Battle Ground Lions
Wahkiakum Lions
Fort Vancouver Lions
La Center Lions
Vancouver Lions
Come Join Us!
CONTACT THE PIONEERS
Better yet, visit us. Our meetings are always open, and you are welcome and invited anytime. If you’re interested in learning more about us, please send us a message! You can reach us via the message form or email link at the bottom of this page.
Questions?
Want to know more? Need to request assistance? Please let us know. To make an inquiry or obtain more information, just fill out and submit the form below, or email through the link above the photo.
Contact Us
Longview Pioneer Lions
PO Box 1102
Longview WA 98632
Email to:
Longview Pioneer Lions 2023-24 President Cheryl Coast
To report issues or problems with the functions of this website, please contact the web manager through the contact form above or email to info@lvpioneerlions.org. Thanks!
Want to know more about who Lions are and what we do?
You can read and hear more about the great things other Lions Clubs are doing throughout the Pacific Northwest and beyond at Lions Multiple District 19 and Lions Clubs International. Both sites have contact links if you would like to speak with a friendly, knowledgeable representative of our organization.