Orange Lions Club Announces Community Grants Awards

The Orange Lions club has released the list of community mini-grants it is making to Orange-based organizations for 2011.  The community grant program is part of the Orange Lions club’s long-standing tradition of providing monies to local organizations. 

Orange Lions Club President Marianne Miller said,  “We are happy to be able to continue our community grants program again this year.  Our ability to do so is a direct result of fund-raising activity by our members and enthusiastic community support for our efforts. We are simply returning some of our fund-raising proceeds to the community for worthy causes or projects.” 

Miller cited such fund-raisers as “A Taste of Amity”, a Winter Wine Tasting, “golf shootouts” at Orange Hills Country Club and refreshment sales at the gazebo summer community concerts as examples of successful fund-raisers.

Community mini-grant awards will be made to the following organizations at the Lions Club’s annual Community Grants Night at Chip’s Restaurant on Monday, June 13:

American Legion Auxiliary (to send a delegate to Girls State in 2011): $100

Case Memorial Library (to purchase large print books, book CDs and PlayAways): $1,000

Community Soup Kitchen of  New Haven (to provide hot meals to needy persons throughout the area): $750

Orange Community Services Department (add cabinetry for food storage at the Food Pantry at High Plains Community Center): $400

Orange Elementary School Olympics (to help purchase award medals and jackets): $250

Orange Historical Society (to purchase archiving materials to preserve Orange’s historical documents & photos): $350

Orange Police D.A.R.E. program (to purchase T-shirts and workbooks as program aids for this drug-abuse prevention program): $400

Orange Youth Services (to help defray expenses for the picnic for incoming seventh graders in August): $250

Turkey Hill Fathers Club (to purchase library books and software for Turkey Hill School Library): $250

Community Grants Committee Chair Mark DeFeo thanked the members of the grants committee for their hard work in deciding upon the recipients of the grants.  Committee members included Orange Lions Ronald Capozziello, Kevin Hadlock, and Frederick Turner.  

DeFeo mentioned that the Orange Lions Club has allocated many tens of thousands of dollars over the years toward the purchase of large print books, book audio tapes and CDs, and PlayAways at the town’s library.  This is in keeping with the Lions Club’s goal of aiding sight preservation and providing help to the sight-impaired. 

He also cited the Club’s long tradition of providing funds to community organizations, plus thousands of dollars in scholarship money to Amity High School graduates. 

Currently, the Club provides two $1,000 scholarships annually.  The Lions Club also aids the sight-impaired by collecting used eyeglasses at boxes located in the Case Memorial Library, at RaceBrook Market and the lobby of the High Plains Community Center.  The Orange Lions also support other sight preservation programs through eye research, and aid to the blind, such as Fidelco Guide Dogs and Camp Hemlocks.

The Orange Lions Club Community Grants Program is open to any Orange-based non-profit organization, Orange resident, or Orange government entity.  “With continued community support of our fund-raising activities, we expect to be able to continue, and hopefully expand, the Community Grants program for many years to come,” Miller said.