Markham Lions are a dedicated group of men and women who, over
the years, have voluntarily raised over 1.5 million dollars to
support a variety of community projects for the benefit of all.
The Lions motto "We Serve" is exemplified by the many projects
relating to sight and hearing; such as our support for "Seeing-Eye" dogs
and "Hearing-Ear" dogs along with Vision & Hearing Screening of kindergarten students in Markham schools.
The Charter night was on November 30, 1943, at St. Andrews United
Church with 39 Lions present and 162 guests. The first president,
John Cattanach and the first slate of officers were installed.
Membership grew in the 1970's and 1980's to over 80 members and
today in 2012, membership stands at 50 members.
Originally named the Markham-Unionville Lions Club until 1977
when Markham sponsored the Unionville Lions Club as a separate
club.
Our first service project was sponsoring the High School Air
Cadet Corps and this continues today with our sponsorship of
the public speaking contestants from the Air Cadet Corps of Markham.
Over the year, major projects have included purchasing equipment
for the Markham Stouffville Hospital, the Markham Centennial
Pool, Thomson Court Senior Apartments, Markhaven Seniors Home,
Morgan Park Pool, Markham Museum, Participation House, York Regional
Police Station Community Room, and the Lions Foundation of Canada Sir James Dunn Dog Guide Training Centre in Oakville. A strong sense of Community spirit and comradeship is prevalent
among the Lions with everyone working to make each project a
success. |