Community service, military service, church service, table service, service dogs, political service, debt service are only a few of the terms that came quickly to mind when I think of service.
The current temperature is 14 degrees outside and I’m trying to convince myself that’s not so bad. Yesterday was horrid with the wind whipping about and objects flying like missiles. I’ve read the phrase “blinding wind”. I always thought it referred to the way the wind can be so cold it makes one’s eyes tear but yesterday I became convinced that phrase was coined to describe what happens when a vicious wind is blowing your hair in front of your face.
I’m not just talking about the weather. I’m giving myself a pep talk. In a couple of hours, I’m going to be walking down Cardinal Drive, a trash bag clutched in my mitten-covered hand with the Dale City Lions as we participate in a quarterly “Adopt a Highway” VDOT program by performing a service for our community.
The Dale City Lions perform a lot of services for our community. We are dedicated to preserving sight and work with other local Lions Clubs administering Spot Vision Screening. I added a very short video to explain what that screening is, but I don’t think the film begins to explain how good you feel identifying a vision problem and knowing your service makes a difference in someone’s life.
You can visit the Lions International website to learn more about Lions all over the world. We also have an organization page, generously provided for us by an amazing young man, Michael Haws, of the Ft. Belvoir Lions. We now have a Twitter feed and would love to have some followers. I try not to inundate anyone with information by limiting posts to one a day so we don’t get lost in the sea of information that passes our eyes in a continuous flow.
Every Lions Club is different and every club adapts the programs and services to fit their membership. Our Dale City Lions are not likely to be hosting a rock climbing wall marathon fund raiser, but we do hold a citrus fruit sale every year in November. We’ve been successfully fundraising for the Dale City Lions with this project for such a long time we’ve decide to add a spring fruit sale, too!
We will again be selling fresh citrus fruit from a trailer parked at the First Baptist Church of Woodbridge.
You can pre-order your choice of fresh citrus fruit that will arrive here from California on March 9 and pick it up at the church lot: 13600 Minnieville Rd Woodbridge, VA 22193. The flyer has all the information you need to make a selection. (Of course, you can also stop by for some spontaneous purchases, too!)
This is a great opportunity to do a “Double Good Deed”. I don’t know if you use that term, but here’s the way it works for me: I buy a case of citrus fruit. I’ve done a good deed by supporting the Dale City Lions. I don’t think I need a case of citrus fruit, so I could probably just buy a bag. Ah, but just think about this: If I buy a case and donate the rest to Acts Food Pantry…I’ve done a “Double Good Deed”!
Enjoy your day and I hope any activity you choose today brings you joy, lends purpose to your life, helps someone who needs it and comes back to you a thousand fold.
