In the News
May 2023
Candy Day was SWEET!
Thank You to all who braved the rain to donate and to all the Wheaton Lions who volunteered for our Annual Candy Day Fundraiser! Candy Day is one of the Lions Clubs biggest and oldest fundraising events.
Lion John Vires, President Wheaton Lions, the Candy Day Committee, and so many club member volunteers greeted donors, gave out tootsie roll pops and accepted donations to help support the Lions programs for the Sight and Hearing Impaired.
April 2023
Lions Distributes Food to Marian Park Families
On Tuesday, April 11th, 13 Wheaton Lions members volunteered to assist with the Northern Illinois Food Bank Mobile Food Pantry food distribution at Marian Park.
Volunteers unloaded the food truck, displayed and distributed the food to the residents to take home.
Marian Park, located in Wheaton, Illinois, offers apartments for income eligible families and persons ages 62 years and older.
Food was provided to over 60 family units, primarily seniors. Volunteering at the event were Lions Vickie Austin, Raul Delgado, Ron Diener, John Huff, Jim Jakubiec, Jeff Kincaid, Chris Neigel, Dave Olson, Sharon Sifnotis, John Sheahin, Conrad Stoll, Phil Seuss and Ruth Carlson.
Food Distribution Events are part of the Lions program to help end hunger in our community and support the Pillar of Service - Hunger.
January/February 2023
Vision Screening
The Wheaton Lions Club conducted free vision screenings at the Wheaton Public Library (Children's Dept.) on Monday, January 30th; Tuesday, January 31st; and Wednesday, February 1st!
The “Lions for Saving Sight” is a community service program that provides a simple non-invasive and cost-free preliminary vision screening test performed on young children. It is as simple as taking a picture. Lions Ron Birchall and Jim Jakubiec will be conducting the vision screenings.
The equipment used to take the picture checks for things such as: Farsightedness, Nearsightedness, Lazy Eye and other eye related symptoms. The screenings are free of charge. About one out of 10 children tested are referred to the family’s optometrist for a complete diagnosis.
Lions Ron Birchall (left) and Jim Jakubiec conducted the vision screenings.
December 2022
Reindeer Run
The Wheaton Lions Club held its 11th annual Reindeer Run on Saturday, December 3 with 938 in-person runners while 26 runners continue running in the virtual run.
<Visit the Reindeer Run page for more information, run results and many more photos>
November 2022
Wheaton Lions Hunger Food Drive
The Final Count! A whopping 7,437 lbs. of food and $1,259 in cash donations!
The 2022 Wheaton Lions Club Community Hunger Drive for People's Resource Center was a great success thanks to our community partners Wheaton, Carol Stream, Warrenville, and Winfield! A special shout out to all the Businesses that hosted Food Donation Drop boxes!
In Wheaton
121 Apartments
Square Apartments
CUSD School District #200
All schools in Wheaton, Warrenville, Carol Stream contributed 4,526 lbs. of food!
Jewel Foods
Pete's Market
ReNew Center Wheaton
Wheaton Lions Den
Wheaton College - Anderson Commons
Wheaton Park District (4 locations)
Community Center
Mary Lubko Center
Cosley Zoo
Arrowhead Restaurant
Wheaton Sport Center
Wheaton Public Library
In Carol Stream
Windsor Park Manor
Old Second Bank
Old Second Bank
In Lombard
Old Second Bank
This project was part of the Wheaton Lions “Focus on Hunger” which also supports one of the Lions primary “Pillars of Service” for the community.
Thank you to all who donated their time and treasure to help end hunger in our communities!
Thank you also to the Wheaton Lions 2022 Hunger Drive Committee for your hard work and dedication to our mission!
October 2022
Lions Donate Glasses, Hearing Aids and Cell Phone
Lion Rod Irey delivered 5,500 glasses, 81 hearing aids and 34 cell phones to the Lions of Illinois Foundation in Sycamore, IL.
When a notable amount of glasses and hearing aids are collected they are delivered to the Lions of Illinois Foundation. They in turn send the eyeglasses to Lions International for shipment overseas to be given to needy families.
October 2022
Wheaton Lions Hunger Food Drive
The Wheaton Lions Club Hunger Drive with community partners Carol Stream, Warrenville, and Winfield ran from September 20th through October 4th. This project is part of the Wheaton Lions “Focus on Hunger” which also supports one of the Lions primary “Pillars of Service” for the community.
Thank you to all the businesses that hosted our Donation Drop off boxes and to all have donated to help end hunger in our communities!
July 2022
July 4th Parade and Fields of Honor Celebrations
The Wheaton Lions Club celebrated Independence Day in the July 4th Parade!
Lion Sarah Starke and Pam Dalby steered the Wheaton Lions Club car in the Independence Day parade surrounded by club members Lions John Dalby, Bruno Tabis, Chris Neigel, Raul Delgago, Jim Jakubiec and volunteer, Morgan Bainbridge displaying signs for the Lions Club Six Pillars of Service in the community - Sight, Hearing, Diabetes, Hunger, Environment, and Pediatric Cancer.
The Wheaton Lions also sponsored the 2022 Wheaton Field of Honor at Seven Gables Park in Wheaton!
June 2022
Charity Grant Recipients Presentation
The Wheaton Lions Club Annual Grant Award Presentation June 14, 2022!
The Wheaton Lions Club hosts three fundraising events each year: Candy Day!, our Annual Charity Golf Outing and the Reindeer Run. Every dollar raised at these events goes to charities and in fiscal 2021, our Club set a record of awarding $100,000 in grants and donations to local nonprofit organizations.
Each spring, the Wheaton Lions Club Benevolence Committee accepts grant applications and awards non-profit organizations (preferably serving DuPage County) that provide programs and services to individuals or do research within our Six Pillars of Service in the community - Sight, Hearing, Diabetes, Hunger, Environment, and Pediatric Cancer. At the presentation, Lion John Vires, Vice President of the Wheaton Lions Club announced and introduced the grantees to club members and stated what each grant would support.
Congratulations to all the nonprofit organizations and thank you for what you for the community with our support!
Below are photos of some of the grant recipients with Lion Club President, Marty Keller.
Randi Chambers and Hester Bury, Northern Illinois Food Bank
Sue Varcak, Cosley Zoo
Brooke Voss, Hadley School for the Blind
Rob Sperl, Play for All Foundation
Jenifer Bystry, Bridge Communities
Betsy Adamowski, Wheaton Public Library
The Nonprofit Grantees Recipients:
SCARCE - Books for Pediatric Cancer patients, supplies for the visually impaired and support for the Reuse Center to keep unsafe items out of landfills
People's Resource Center - Support for the Food Pantry services in Wheaton
Northern Illinois Food Bank - Mobile Market distribution at Marian Park
Cosley Zoo - Blanding Turtle Project
Hadley School for the Blind - Equipment for those reading Braille
Child's Voice - Early Intervention Scholarship Program
Donka - Training visually impaired students
Ross K. MacNeill Foundation - Support for Pediatric Cancer Research
Bridge Communities - Support for their nutrition program
Wheaton Public Library - Books for vision impaired readers
DuPage Health Coalition - Support for providing access to pharmaceuticals for low-income residents with Diabetes
Eversight - Sight saving transplants for Illinois residents
Casa DuPage - Casa's advocacy services for children who have been abused or neglected
Play for All Foundation - Fragrance Garden and Sensory Garden Playground garden beds
Doodlebug Workshop - Support for maintaining commercial lease of their Main Street Wheaton facility
Marklund - Airvo 2 oxygen and humidification system and supplies to ease breathing for children and young adults with developmental disabilities and severe aspiratory compromise
Home Centered Health Care Institute - In-home vision care for Wheaton area residents with Diabetes related vision needs
Slam Dunk for Diabetes - Support for Slam Dunk Diabetes Camp in Wheaton
Spectrios Institute for Low Vision - Sponsorship of Golf Outing and Gala fundraisers
Humanitarian Service Project - Provide nutrition and support for low-income seniors in DuPage County
Congratulations and thank you for your mission and your work!
June 2022
College Scholarship Recipients
The Wheaton Lions Club 2022 Awards Five College Scholarships to Eligible Wheaton High School Seniors!
Each spring, the Wheaton Lions Club Scholarship Committee accepts and reviews scholarship grant requests submitted by Wheaton students. Eligible students have sight or hearing impairment or plan to pursue courses to work with sight and hearing impaired clients.
On June 14, 2022, Lion John Vires, Vice President Wheaton Lions Club introduced each scholarship awardee to Club members and announced the college or university they will be attending.
Awardees pictured with Lion Marty Keller, President Wheaton Lions Club
The 2022 Scholarship Awardees - College or University they will be attending
Rafael Rodriguez - College of DuPage
Mark Bianco - Carthage College
Sofia Terkildsen - Elmhurst University
Kyle Sana - College of DuPage
Alexander Lam - St Louis University
Congratulations to the scholarship recipients and good luck in your academic pursuits. We hope you will consider becoming a Wheaton Lions Club member in the future!
Below are photos of 3 scholarship recipients with Lion Club President, Marty Keller.
Rafael Rodriguez
Mark Bianco
Sofia Terkeldsen
May 2022
Slam Dunk for Diabetes
The 2022 Slam Dunk for Diabetes Basketball Camp was a Great Success!
The Wheaton Lions were proud to sponsor the June 27th - June 29th Slam Dunk for Diabetes Basketball Camp. The camps are free to eligible kids ages 6 through 18 with Type 1 and 2 diabetes. This year the Wheaton camp was held at Wiesbrook Elementary School in Wheaton. Forty-seven kids ages 6 -14 with Type 1 Diabetes registered for the three-day basketball camp.
Thank you to Teresa Alesia, Jody Gosain, and Gail Sommerfeld who ran the three-day Slam Dunk for Diabetes camp.
Lions Marty Keller, RC Crompton, Jim Jakubiec, Chris Niegel, John Dalby, John Monino, and Ron Birchall, Lions Club Diabetic Committee Chair were on hand for Opening Day to get the ball rolling.
Our sponsorship of this event supports our Pillar of Service in the community - Diabetes. The Wheaton Lions Club provides Six Pillars of Service in the community - Sight, Hearing, Diabetes, Hunger, Environment, and Pediatric Cancer.
Wednesday, August 16, 2023
Annual Golf Outing
Cantigny Golf
Wheaton
