Charity Information

We will be supporting two charities this year. The first charity is Second Harvest Heartland. Second Harvest Heartland is the Upper Midwest's largest hunger-relief organization with a mission of ending hunger through community partnerships. Second Harvest Heartland forms the cornerstone of organizations working together to alleviate hunger in our 59 county service area. This year, Second Harvest Heartland will deliver more than 41 million pounds of food to their 1,000+ non-profit member agencies and programs including food shelves, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, senior community centers and children's after school programs. For each $1 donated, Second Harvest Heartland will distribute more than $9 worth of grocery products to those in need in our communities. Second Harvest is large enough that it covers the entire Midwest so it will touch many lives in our Midwest region.

The second charity is the Lions Recycling for Sight program. Do you have old eyeglasses that you've been keeping just in case they might become fashionable again? Well, now is the time to do some spring cleaning and donate those spectacles to a worthy cause. "Time to Refocus", the theme for the upcoming October 18-21 MASFAA conference in Minneapolis, lends itself nicely to our support of the Lions Recycling for Sight program. Donate reading glasses, sunglasses, prescription and non-prescription glasses for children or adults. Your lenses will help another person to see. Yes, even those old 'cheaters' can be put to good use by the Recycling for Sight program. We challenge each and every MASFAA member to support this volunteer activity. One idea is to conduct an office or institution-wide challenge and send us a photo of the eyeglasses donated by your office or organization. Bring your old eyewear to the conference to place in the Lion's drop box that will be available. Or drop it off now at a location in your own community.

To learn more about the Recycle for Sight program, or to find local drop off sites, visit http://www.lionsclubs.org/EN/member-center/planning-sight-projects/eyeglass-recycling/index.php.