Four Chestertown Lions Honored for Their Work in Fighting Blindness

L-R: PCC Lawrence and Lion Bill Bickley. (Photo courtesy of Lion Glenn Owens)

At the Lions Club Dinner Meeting on April 13, 2022, President Henry Hart surprised four long-time Lion members by awarding the prestigious “Knights of the Blind Pyramid Award.” After its founding in 1917, Lions Club International (LCI) began focusing on preserving vision and aiding those with vision loss. In 1925, Helen Keller, herself blind and deaf and a well-known advocate of the blind, addressed the Lions Club National Convention at Cedar Point, Ohio. At the convention, she challenged Lions members who had their sight and vision to take up her crusade against darkness and become her “Knights of the Blind.” Established in 1999, the “Knights of the Blind Award” honors those outstanding Lions who perform consummate service to their clubs and communities. Honorees of this award must possess the highest examples of good character, principles, and service.

For years, the Chestertown Lions Club has been providing:

• Eyeglass recycling program,
• Funding for the Leader Dog Program for the Blind,
• Eyesight screening for elementary school students,
• Eyeglass assistance for the needy,
• Funding for the Low Vision Research Foundation at Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and
• Free rides to and from eye doctors’ appointments.

Lions Vision Research Foundation (LVRF) Trustee John Lawrence presented the “Knights of the Blind Award” to four Lions this year: Photo 1 – Lion Paul McDonald for conducting annual screening eye exams for elementary school students, Photo 2 – Lions Mark Mumford and Gerry McDonald for collecting used eyeglasses for recycling, and Photo 3 – Lion Bill Bickley for hisexceptional and on-going support of vision programs on the Lions Website.

For more information about other Lions Club projects, please reach out to Henry Hart, Club President, at [email protected].