Fayetteville Lions Club

Community Projects

Eye-care Assistance
Sight & Hearing Screenings
Sight Preservation/Awareness
Eyeglasses Recycling
Scholarships
Football Jamboree
Basketball Tournament
Leo Clubs
Drug Essay Contest
Peace Poster Contest

Boy's & Girl's State
Sports Complex Upgrades
Baseball& Softball Sponsorship
Fairest of the Fair
Adopt-A-Highway
Additional Projects

State & International Projects

Middle Tennessee Lions White Cane
SightFirst II
Lions Clubs International Foundation

Eye exams and eyeglasses. This is our 'flagship' project both in terms of its importance to our mission and in terms of budget. We provide financial assistance paying the full costs of standard eye exams and basic eyeglasses for Lincoln County residents who meet our low-income criteria. An Application for Eye-care Assistance may be picked up at the Lincoln County Health Department, 1000 Washington Street, Suite A. The application may also be downloaded here in Adobe pdf format. Completed applications should be mailed to Fayetteville Lions Club, P.O. Box 217, Fayetteville, TN 37334.

Note. The Lions Club requires qualifying applicants to apply for assistance through the Medicare or Medicaid program prior to receiving assistance from the Lions Club.

Sight & Hearing Screenings. The Lions conduct sight and hearing screening in our local schools (over 2,000 students annually in grades K, 2, 4, 8 & Special Education) and health fairs. Screenings can also be conducted in local industries upon request.

In addition, we conduct 'Photoscreenings' of preschool children for eye disease, in a program coordinated with the Tennessee Lions Eye Center at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital.

Sight Preservation/Awareness. The club provides publicity and awareness concerning eye health, including Diabetes and Glaucoma Awareness Campaigns.

Eyeglasses Recycling. Lions collect used eye glasses and hearing aids. to make them available to people in developing countries. The used eyeglasses are cleaned and classified by prescription. The eyeglasses are then distributed to those in need by Lion volunteers and other organizations hosting optical missions in developing countries. We have bright yellow collection 'mailboxes at Carter's Drug, Wal-Mart and the Fayetteville/Lincoln County Recycle Center.

Scholarships. The Fayetteville Lions awards 2 to 3 annual scholarships in amounts of $1,000 to $1,500. Scholarship disbursements are paid directly to the recipient’s selected educational institution. The scholarships are targeted to graduating high school seniors. Applications may be obtained from and returned to the Lincoln County High School Guidance Office. They are accepted regardless of sex, race, color, religion, or national origin. We have two scholarship programs.

Our Era P. Jones Scholarships are awarded to high school seniors planning to enter an accredited university, college or technical school. Award is based on, character, need, activities and other awards received. Applicant must have a four-year GPA of 2.50 or better. Preference is given to any son, daughter, grandson, or granddaughter of a Fayetteville Lions Club member in good standing; then to any member of the LEO Club sponsored by the Fayetteville Lions Club. Applications are due to the LCHS Guidance Office on April 10th. A committee of the Lions Club makes the selection.

Our Academic Scholarship applicants must meet these these qualifications: have at least a 2.5 GPA, completed either the ACT or SAT, and applied for admission to and been accepted to an accredited college or university. The Academic Scholarship application must include two recommendations from persons not related to the applicant and is due to the LCHS Guidance Office on March 31st. A committee of the Lions Club makes the final selection.

Our Point of Contact is Ricky Kimbrough, Scholarships Chair, (931) 433-8284.

Football Jamboree. Every August our club hosts a Football Jamboree for local 7th to 9th grade schools. The Jamboree serves as a pre-season competition before the schools regular conference schedules. The games are played at the Lincoln County High School Falcon Stadium with the first game starting at 5PM. We generally have 6 teams entered in the 7th & 8th grade level and 4 teams in the 9th grade level.

Tickets are sold at each school or may be purchased at the gate. Participating players and coaches are waived from the gate fee. Concessions are available.

Basketball Tournament. Over a 9-day period later each fall, our club hosts a Basketball Tournament for local 7th and 8th grade schools, with competition in both Boys and Girls categories. The games are played at the Ninth Grade Academy, 900 South Main. The dates and times are announced each year, with the schedule depending on that year’s participating teams. We generally have approximately 10 boys and 12 girls teams compete.

Tickets are sold at the gate. Participating players and coaches are waived from the gate fee. Concessions are available.

LEO Club Sponsorship. We sponsor and support up to 7 Leo Clubs in our local High School and Junior High/Middle Schools. Community service remains the cornerstone of the program. Like their Lion counterparts, Leo club members enjoy serving their neighbors and watching positive results unfold.

Drug Abuse Awareness/Essay Contest. Our club sponsors an Annual Drug Essay Contest in all 11 of our County and City schools. This is part of a Lions District Contest; they provide the required theme each year. The Fayetteville Lions provide specific rules and deadlines to each school’s Administrator/Counselor/Rep in January. Essays are due in March and are judged by the Club’s Drug Essay Committee. We select a winner from each school; that student receives a cash award, recognition at a Lions Club Meeting and has their name added to a plaque maintained in each school.

One winning essay from Fayetteville is also forwarded to the Lion District where it competes with entries from all 43 other District Lions Clubs. Three are selected for additional larger Savings Bond awards. Our local entrants have been very successful in recent years in winning one of the places at the District level.

Peace Poster Contest. Our club sponsors an Annual Peace Poster Contest available to students of ages 11, 12 and 13 in our local schools, including home schooling. This is part of a Lions International Contest; they provide the required theme each year. The Fayetteville Lions provide poster kits, specific rules and deadlines to each school’s Administrator/Counselor/Rep in October. Posters are due in early November and are judged by the Club’s Peace Poster Committee. We select one winner among all entries consolidated (not by school); that student receives a cash award and recognition at a Lions Club Meeting.

The winning poster from Fayetteville is forwarded to the Lion District by November 15th where it competes with entries from all 43 other District Lions Clubs. The top three are selected for a District Award Savings Bond and forwarded on to the Lions Multiple District and International competition. You can read more about the Peace Poster Program and view a video.

Boy's and Girl's State. The Fayetteville Lions sponsor one entrant each to Tennessee Boy’s State and Girl’s State, sponsored by the American Legion and American Legion Auxiliary. Boys and Girls State are among the most respected and selective educational programs of government instruction for high school students. It is a participatory program where each participant becomes a part of the operation of his local, county and state government.

Sports Complex Upgrades. The club has an ongoing arrangement with the City of Fayetteville for maintenance and upgrade of the Sports Complex off Wilson Parkway. The Lions paid half of the original construction costs via an annual payout plan. Having completed the original obligation, our current payments are for four new scoreboards that were installed in 2002.

Baseball and Softball Team Sponsorship. Annually the Fayetteville Lions sponsor 2-4 teams in the City/County Recreational baseball and softball leagues. We sponsor both boys and girls teams.

Fairest of Fair. The club sponsors one contestant in each of three Beauty Contests during the annual Lincoln County Fair. The contests are Little Miss (age 4-6), Teen Miss (age 14-16) and Fairest of the Fair (age 17-20). Sponsorship includes paying the entry fee and a stipend for clothing or grooming.

Adopt-A-Highway. The Fayetteville Lions have adopted the first two miles of US 64 East (Winchester Highway) starting past the intersection of Thornton Taylor Parkway. [photo] We hold a cleanup event Quarterly. For more info on the state Adopt-A-Highway Program, click here. To view a mandatory participant safety and training video, click here.

Additional Projects. Each year, the Lions consider the needs of the community and vote to support one or more special one-time projects within our current budget constraints. In recent years these have included: purchase of end-wall padding for the 9th Grade Academy Gymnasium, purchase of a low vision reading magnifier for the Fayetteville-Lincoln County Public Library, and purchase of video recording equipment for the Child Advocacy Center, Junior's House.

Middle Tennessee Lions White Cane. This umbrella project supports a wide number of invaluable Lions Projects related to Sight Preservation and support for the sightless. The club donates over $2,000 to this Project annually.

SightFirst II. Campaign SightFirst II is a coordinated, global fund-raising effort involving all 1.35 million Lions in more than 45,000 clubs to raise US$150 million for the SightFirst program. Childhood blindness is only one part of the global vision crisis. If nothing is done, experts say that the world’s blind population could double from 37 million to 74 million by 2020. But Lions will not allow “nothing to be done.” Click on the SightFirst graphic above to learn more.

Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF). Lions Clubs International Foundation is Lions helping Lions serve the world. Donations provide funding in the form of grants to financially assist Lions districts with large-scale humanitarian projects that are too extensive for Lions to finance on their own. The Foundation aids Lions in making a greater impact in their local communities, as well as around the world. Grants provide both immediate assistance following natural disasters and long-term disaster relief for reconstruction efforts. Grants help preserve sight, combat disability, promote health or serve youth.

Every dollar donated to LCIF goes toward a grant. Since LCIF began in 1968, it has awarded nearly 8,300 grants totaling US$588 million. Click on the LCIF graphic above to learn more.