As we speed towards Memorial Day and the beginning of summer, the Santa Monica Pacific Palisades Lions have faced a very full calendar, with a great mix of service projects, social events, interesting meetings, and a selection of our first grant recipients since the pandemic.
Starting off with our service activities, we celebrated National Arbor Day on April 26th, planting a tree at Hotchkiss Park. This project was in partnership with the Santa Monica City Forestry Dept. thanks to Matt Wells, City Public Landscape Manager and his team. Along the SMPP Lions, four other service clubs participated, the SM Rotary Club, SM Kiwanis Club, SM Breakfast Club and the SM Elks Club.
Three days later, on April 29th, the Lions were joining in the fun at the Santa Monica Art & Literacy Festival at Virginia Avenue Park. With a theme of "Under Construction," the Lion’s booth provided parents an opportunity to take pictures of their children dressed in a construction vest and hard hat, framed by a collage of building tools. However, for the children the big draws were the spin for prize wheel and playing with Whiskers, our stuffed Lion mascot.
Just over a week later, at the beginning of May, we had an amazing Zoom call with our adopted sister Lions Club in Hamm, Germany. We used the opportunity to learn more about each other through our fundraising activities and service projects. Youth service is the primary focus of the Hamm Lions, with fundraising activities that include an auction and a week-long Christmas Fair with homemade goodies for sale.
That same weekend, a high-spirited group of SMPP Lions headed south to take part in the Venice Marina LAX Lions Annual Bingo Night. With cash prizes for each of the eight games of bingo, along with a long list of raffle prizes that included dinners to local restaurants, a TV, and hotel packages, plus a a great silent auction, there was something for everyone. Not to mention a great BBQ buffet.
Finally this year the SMPP Lions were able to offer grants to 11 local nonprofit organizations that are the heart of our community in education, health, social services and the environment. I will detail more about these organizations and their projects next month when I will also share our new club officers for the coming year.
If you are interested in possibly becoming a Lion or being our guest at a dinner meeting the second Wednesday of each month at the Elks Lodge, please contact Yoriko Fisher, at smpplionsclub@gmail.com or Kingsley Fife at 310-454-2960. They can email you a package of information and share our list of upcoming speakers.
