communityconnections
we are all part of the global community and our local community. there are
so many ways to reach out and support the people in our community. this
feature will highlight organizations and individuals in our area. get involved!
volunteering in Haiti:
lions club leads the way
L
ions Club International is a secular service organization with over 44,500
Lions Clubs for short and long term dis-
clubs and more than 1.3 million members in 203 countries worldwide. It was
tribution of supplies. Two hundred tents
started in 1917 by Melvin Jones, a successful business man from Chicago.
have been sent directly to Haiti from
Mr. Jones initiated business luncheons in order to create a sense of community.
Sweden Lions Clubs to establish three
His motto was, “You can’t get very far until you start doing something for some-
tent cities in Delmas, Blanchard and
body else.”
Carrefour Feuille. Each tent city can
On June 30, 1925, at the International Lions Convention, Helen Keller was
accommodate 300 families or 1,200
the guest speaker. At that event, she asked the Lions Club members to be the
people. Lions International is continu-
“Knights of the Blind.” They gladly obliged and that is why the Lions Club mission
ing to support those in Haiti.
and projects focus on supporting those who are visually impaired. The mission
“I think Mr. Jones would be proud
recently has been expanded to include those suffering with hearing issues and
of all of our efforts,” says McQuillan.
diabetes.
“You may have seen our blue boxes around your town (with Lions heads) ask-
ing for old eye glasses,” says Maryann McQuillan, Goshen Lions Club president.
To donate visit LCIF.org/donate. One
“They are in place to recycle over 400,000 eyeglasses each year as part of a Lions
hundred percent of your donation will
project at the Westville State Correctional Center in Indiana where inmates clean
go to Haiti relief.
and sort glasses for redistribution.” To date more than three million pairs of eye-
glasses recycled at this facility have been distributed by Lions around the world.
To become involved in your local
On a local level, several of Goshen Lions Club members have learned how to
chapter, go to LionsClubs.org/EN/find-
use a special camera that can test pre-schoolers for blinding conditions and lazy
a-club.php. Some local chapters in
eye. “Early detection can often prevent these and other eye conditions from fully
Rockland and Orange Counties include
manifesting,” says McQuillan.
Blauvelt, Cornwall, Goshen, Middle-
Recently, Lions International has set up a Lions Hope for Haiti fund. To date,
town, Monroe, Nanuet, New City, New
this fund has mobilized nearly $2 million in emergency food, fuel and water and
Windsor, Newburgh, Otisville, Pearl
has sent two containers of relief supplies to neighboring Dominican Republic
River and Pine Bush.
Key Steps to Becoming a Sacred Activist
1. Write down one thing that has made . Strengthened by prayer, practice and make a commitment with you to begin
you feel grateful to be alive today. You inspiration, turn now to your life and supplying it. In acting like this, you will
will discover that this reminds you of the people in it. Everyone, especially be helping to animate the heart of your
how blessed you are just by being alive in a time like ours, has friends who are community.
in a world full of ordinary wonders. grieving or ill or looking for a job or
. Make a commitment today, even if
. Write down—just off the top of your
in financial difficulty. Commit now to
you are experiencing financial difficul-
heart—10 things that are sacred to you.
ringing one of them up and asking him
ties, to tithe between five and 10 per-
In the act of writing, you will start to be
or her what you could do to make the
cent of what you earn to a cause of your
inspired by your deepest values, beliefs
burden easier.
choice. Over time, tithing will give you a
and sources of emboldening joy. . Make a commitment to skip one great and healing sense of being useful.
. Make a real commitment to a spiritual
meal in the coming 24 hours and send
The cause you are helping will become
practice. If you do not yet have a prac-
a check for the money you would have
increasingly precious and personal to
tice, start now with a simple meditation.
spent on it to a reputable organization
you until you will wish, naturally and
Over time, this meditation will awaken
dealing with world hunger.
simply, to do more.
you to your own deepest sacred desire . There are people around you who
to see all beings consciously living in are suffering. Make a commitment to
Source: Excerpted from The Hope: A
harmony, and to your sacred courage to find out who they are and what they
Guide to Sacred Activism by Andrew
express this desire in action. need, and invite six of your friends to
Harvey.
natural awakenings March 2010

Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44