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Lions Club Honors YHS Seniors

Students reflect Lions motto of “We Serve”
The Notes – May 24, 2016

At the May 2^nd meeting of the Lions Club, the Lions Club honored two High School seniors, Katie Glenn and Ethan Peters, for their outstanding contributions to community service during their four years at Yarmouth High School.

Katie Glenn, Colin O’Neill, and Ethan Peters

Colin O’Neill, a Lions Club member, gave the club some background on our tradition of providing high school seniors with community service awards, and then he then introduced this year’s honorees.

Katie Glenn spoke to the club about her early interest in helping others. She told us that her 1^st volunteer job was handing out programs at a concert at Royal River Park when she was just 11 years old. A contingent of Bay Square residents were in attendance at the concert, which then led to volunteer stints at Bay Square. She has also participated in the “Buddy” program which pairs up high school students with middle school students. She plans to attend University of Maine at Farmington to become a teacher.

Ethan Peters has had two main community service interests – his membership in the Boy Scouts and as a member of the Yarmouth Fire Rescue. Scouting has provided him with many opportunities. He has helped with projects at the Yarmouth Food Pantry, and he has assisted on various Eagle Scout projects. Ethan’s Eagle Scout project was to build a fire pit on Cousins Island at Camp Sosi. He has also been a part of the Junior Firefighter program and participates in weekly training sessions. Bill Goddard, Deputy Fire Chief and a Lions Club member, stood to thank Ethan for his service to the Fire Department. Ethan will be attending Worcester Polytechnic Institute majoring in Civil Engineering.

The Lions Club is always honored to recognize students who have devoted many hours above what is required in support of their interests and who have embraced serving others in our community. It reinforces our motto, “We Serve.”

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Yarmouth Community Center Initiative

Plans are in place to establish a space for the Yarmouth Community Center
The Notes – May 10, 2016

The April 18th meeting of the Yarmouth Lions Club was held at the Muddy Rudder. Our speakers for the evening were Horace Horton, chair of the Yarmouth Community Center (YCC) initiative, and Beth Costello, Vice-President of Yarmouth Care About Neighbors (YCAN), its sponsoring organization.

Horace Horton and Beth Costello

Horace provided a brief review of how the YCC initiative came to be. Last spring, at a community wide meeting at the Merrill Memorial Library, there was a consensus that Yarmouth needed a community center. The recently completed Yarmouth Aging In Place survey also confirmed this as a priority. Finally, Horace’s wife, Barbara, who works at the Yarmouth Community Food Pantry, kept telling him that they needed more space. The Hortons came to YCAN earlier this year with a proposal, which was subsequently approved by their Board of Directors. Committees were formed, and an effort is now underway to consult with all nonprofit groups about what is needed in such a center. Horace emphasized that they are not asking for funding at this time, just collecting information.

He then turned the microphone over to Beth Costello who talked about what ideas have been put forth so far. She envisions the center as one place to go to meet many needs, much like the Freeport Community Center. Some of the ideas are the relocation of the food pantry, a thrift store, Yarmouth Community Services office, a Senior Center, a kitchen for community meals, a general assistance office (now currently in Freeport), a gathering place for coffee and conversation, a medical equipment loan closet, and an office for Southern Maine Agency on Aging programs, like tax assistance and healthy living. The YCC would not be just for seniors, but also include programs and services for all ages. An important component would be one phone number with a central referral service.

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Vision Services for New Mainers

Providing Vision Services for Immigrants in Maine
The Notes – April 19, 2016

The April 4th meeting of the Yarmouth Lions Club was held at the Muddy Rudder. Our guest speaker for the evening was Valerie DeVuyst, ESOL Program Coordinator and Student Advisor at Portland Adult Education (PAE).

Valerie has been involved in the effort to provide services for the growing “New Mainer” population in the greater Portland area for some time and oversees appropriate classes at PAE like English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). In 2015 there were 1,993 students from 81 countries enrolled in PAE classes. The growing need for all types of services is outstripping supply. They are reaching out to other organizations that might be able to help in outlying communities like Yarmouth. Since one of the highest priority needs is to secure vision services for these students, they are approaching the Lions with a proposition to consider: “Would the club provide leadership and advice for obtaining these services through area optometrists and eyeglass providers?” These new Mainers knew the Lions Clubs supported vision projects and think it might be a good fit.

Valerie made a strong case for the Lions Clubs leading an effort to provide these services to the Portland new Mainer population. There are 3 components to the group: Refugees – those forced out of their country by famine or war; Asylum Seekers – those who have a visa, but can’t return to their country; and Immigrants – those who want to be here to pursue a better life. One of main barriers these groups face is vision issues. About 30%, or 500 students, need or have lost glasses. How do we get them glasses? They have no $’s to see a doctor or to buy glasses.

Valerie DeVuyst, ESOL Program Coordinator and Student Advisor at Portland Adult Education (PAE)

Asylum seekers have nothing, except general assistance for about 5 months, and are dependent on charity for most needs. Valerie stressed she was not looking for $’s, but rather leadership and advice. Find optometrists willing to do the exams and write prescriptions; provide transportation to appointments; assist with eyeglass purchases; and help with the inevitable language problems.

A spirited discussion followed her presentation with several useful suggestions made. It’s possible the Maine District 41 staff or the Lions Sight and Hearing Foundation may want to get involved to coordinate activities. There will be additional discussions with representatives from other Lions clubs as to what the Lions as an organization might do. Another meeting with Valerie will be scheduled at an appropriate time.

Learn more about the Yarmouth Lions Club Vision Program here.

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Chamber News and a 100 Year Old Lion

New Chamber of Commerce Director Weighs In
The Notes – February 23, 2016

On the snowy evening of February 8^th, the “hearty” Yarmouth Lions Club met at the Muddy Rudder for their February meeting. Our guest speaker for the evening was Andrew Smaha, Executive Director of the Yarmouth Chamber of Commerce, who replaced Carolyn Schuster on August 24, 2015. She had worked at the Chamber for the past 17 years. Andrew acknowledged that he had some very big shoes to fill.

Mr. Smaha talked about the non-profit groups within the Chamber and how the Chamber can support and nurture them. The Chamber hosts a networking event each month with good representation of local businesses, and that can be a way for the non-profits’ services and needs to be known to other members of the Chamber. The Chamber is working on a community calendar, which would be an extension of the “Hometown Holidays” webpage, that was introduced last fall on the Town of Yarmouth’s website. The Chamber also hopes to host a “Not The Clamfest” event in September which would be held at Yankee Marina. This event would be an opportunity for the town to come together, celebrate what is special about Yarmouth, and to build community. He hopes to increase awareness of what Chamber members do to support various charitable causes in hopes we will think of these businesses when we need their help.

Three adjectives come to mind when thinking of Andrew’s presentation – personable, articulate, and energetic. The Chamber is in good hands, and we look forward to working with him in the future.

Andrew Smaha, Executive Director of the Yarmouth Chamber of Commerce

On January 19th, our oldest Yarmouth Lion officially turned 100 years old! Espen Christensen, who has been a Lion for 47 years, was a member of the 82nd Airborne during World War II and was awarded the French Legion Of Honor Medal for his role in the liberation of France on D-Day. He was in a glider unit that landed behind enemy lines in Normandy before the D-Day assault took place. He also served in the Battle Of The Bulge. Even though Espen now lives in Portland, he drives himself to Yarmouth’s Muddy Rudder to attend just about every meeting. Happy 100^th to an amazing person!

Yarmouth Lion Espen Christensen turns 100 years old

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2016 Yarmouth Lions Eyeglasses Program is a Success

Yarmouth Lions say thanks for the many eyeglasses donated
The Notes – February 2, 2016

The Yarmouth Lions Club wishes to thank the many people who have donated their used eyeglasses, lenses, and eyeglass cases to the National Lions Eyeglasses Recycling Project. Gardner Hall, a Lion since 2001, has been faithfully shepherding our Yarmouth project since July, 2003, and recently he turned over the project to Doug Carney. Under Gardiner’s watch, he has collected an amazing 10,315 eyeglasses, which were then processed by the regional Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center and distributed to needy people in developing countries where they have had the greatest impact. Thank you, Gardiner, for 13 years of selfless service to this important Lions project!

Gardiner Hall

A special thank you also to the four Yarmouth businesses below that currently host the eyeglass collection boxes:

Hannaford Supermarket, 756 US Route 1, Yarmouth – pharmacy waiting area
Bayview Dental Associates, 247 Portland Street, Yarmouth – front entrance
Maine Optometry PA, 781 US Route 1, Yarmouth – reception area
Yarmouth Transfer & Recycling Center, 659 E. Main Street, Yarmouth – book shed

The Lions would greatly appreciate your continued participation and support in this very worthy cause. For more information, visit our Vision Program page or contact Doug Carney at 846-0863.

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