The Lions Club of Essex Junction, Vermont wishes to express its gratitude to Vermont Crafters, Inc., for the 
opportunity to once again be the designated charitable organization at their Fall 2005 Craft & Fine Arts show, 
held at the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Jct. Through the generosity of Sally Washburn, Kathy Rose, and
their associates, the semiannual shows have become one of the Essex Lions Club's top fund raising events. Each 
show, hundreds of crafters donate an item to the Club to be used as a prize for a lottery-style charity raffle. 
Visitors and exhibitors alike purchase thousands of dollars of raffle tickets, and in turn, receive the opportunity
to win one or more of the many unique products created by talented crafters. The proceeds from these raffles go
directly into the charitable donations fund of the Essex Jct Lions Club. The Club donates 100% of the money raised 
from the public to many local, state, and international charitable organizations or individuals in need of assistance.

More than 76% of this money goes to local and state organizations; the remaining 24% is forwarded to the Lions Clubs
International Foundation (LCIF), which uses the funds for international projects, such as care facilities for those 
with sight impairments, and for disaster relief, such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and the Asian tsunami.

Locally, the Essex Lions support a variety of worthy causes. We support several programs for youths. We donate to 
Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts; we provide funding for a "Winter Warmth" project which gives winter clothing to kids 
in need. We coordinate a "Peace Poster" contest, which awards savings bonds for the best interpretations of the 
Lions theme. Each year, two scholarships are awarded to local teens for higher education. We also make donations 
to the Essex Jct and Essex Town Seniors, and we help with their annual seniors picnic at Button Bay. We support the 
Essex Jct Meals on Wheels program. We conduct free diabetes screenings, and make a donation to the Junior Diabetes 
Research Foundation. The Muscular Dystrophy Foundation also receives a donation. In 2006, our club will sponsor a 
complete division of the EBPA Memorial Day parade.

At the state level, Lions Clubs throughout Vermont provide support for a variety of sight and hearing related 
programs. In cooperation with the Austine School for the Deaf in Brattleboro, Vermont Lions run a 4 week summer 
camp program for deaf children. Both New Hampshire and Vermont Lions clubs sponsor an annual soccer tournament to 
raise funds for the camp. Like the Maple Sugar Bowl, high school students, boys and girls compete in the inter-state 
rivalry. Our club supports the VT Diabetes Association, the VT Association of the Blind, and Guiding Eyes for the Blind. 
We also sponsor free eyeglasses to qualifying individuals, in cooperation with Lenscrafters. Through Vermont Lions 
Charities, local moneys are available for disaster relief, a prominent example being the flooding in northern Vermont 
several years ago. 

The principle objects of all Lions Clubs are to provide funding for sight and hearing organizations, and to promote health 
awareness programs. In the Lions year 2004-2005, over 5.2 million pairs of eyeglasses were collected and recycled 
worldwide. LCIF supported more than 2.5 million cataract surgeries, and financed the construction or upgrading of 68 eye 
hospitals.

The International Association of Lions Clubs now has over 40000 clubs in more than 183 countries all across the world. 
Membership is more than 1.4 million strong. Women have become a valuable addition to Lions since the early years, and 
teens from age 13 to 18 are encouraged to experience the organization by joining a Leo club.
 
In Vermont there are approximately 50 Lions clubs, and 5 Leo clubs, in all areas of the state. Nearly 1500 dedicated men, 
women, and teens raise funds, and donate their efforts to contribute to their communities.

The Essex Junction Lions Club meets on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month, September through June, at 6:30 PM, 
at the Lincoln Inn. Visitors are always welcome.