The Magic of Giving

20 Thursday Dec 2018

Posted by lionspridewi in Giving Tips, Holidays, Lions Camp, Special Events

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appreciation, archery, camping, celebration, children, christmas, cookies, crafts, cycle, donors, excitement, experiences, hiking, interdependence, kayaking, lions pride, magic, memory, mission, parent, presents, resources, roles, santa, self-confidence, social skills, spirit, sports, stress, support, swimming, thank you, tree, wisconsin lions camp

Think back to your favorite Christmas memory. You were likely a small child. You can probably remember your excitement as the holiday quickly approached. The days leading up to Christmas Eve, you were on your best behavior (but had good reminders from your parents and teachers.) When December 24 finally arrived, you couldn’t wait to go to sleep that night. Your mom and dad likely helped you prepare for the evening with a fresh plate of cookies and a glass of milk. You brushed your teeth and quickly went to bed, but then spent most of the night watching the clock – just waiting for an appropriate time to wake up. Then on Christmas morning, you couldn’t believe your eyes as you found a Christmas tree full of presents replaced with an empty plate. You believed in the magic of Christmas.

Sadly, things change as we grow older. Our excitement was instead replaced with stress and a To-Do list a mile long, and the spirit fades. Fortunately, the magic does reappear as we have children of our own, but our roles change – from excited child to excited parent. We also spend Christmas Eve, making preparations and not getting much shuteye because we too are eager to watch our children thrilled be opening our gifts. Then quietly smiling when they ask, “How did Santa know this is exactly what I wanted?” As parents, we come to discover a new kind of magic – the magic of giving.

But as life continues on, the cycle continues. Our children grow up, and the spirit again slightly fades.

Luckily, as supporters of Lions Pride, we have a unique role that allows us to play Santa all year long. How, you might ask? By giving special children all around the state of Wisconsin the gift of experience. This year, over 150 children were given the opportunity to spend a week in the beautiful place known as the Wisconsin Lions Camp. During their week at camp, these kids have the chance for overnight camping, canoe and hiking trips, swimming, kayaking, paddle boating, archery, crafts, sports and more. All the while, they are also developing self-confidence, interdependence, social skills and outdoor recreational skills, at no cost to their families.

This particular gift may not be beautifully wrapped under a bright, full Christmas tree, but we know in our hearts that it’s a gift that keeps on giving all year long because a child’s week at camp allows them the resources, skills and experiences that will serve them long beyond their childhoods.

Of course, none of this would be possible without you, the help of our donors, the lifeblood of our organization. We never get tired of saying thank you for your ongoing support. Although our biological children may be grown, we look forward to playing the role of Santa for countless years to come. Thank you for helping us continue our mission to preserve, provide and protect Lions Camp and all other WLF statewide projects.

The Lions Pride Office will be closed the week of December 24, to celebrate Christmas with our families. We’d like to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas!

Our Role as Santa

21 Thursday Dec 2017

Posted by lionspridewi in Giving Tips, Holidays, Lions Camp, Special Events

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cabins, camping, celebration, child, christmas, clock, cookies, december, discover, donors, experience, gifts, giving, interdependence, joy, lions camp, lions pride, magic, milk, mission, nature, outdoor recreation, preparations, role, santa, sleep, social skills, supporters, swimming

Let’s play a game. Imagine you are six years old and it is December 21, 19XX (you fill in the blank), can you remember how you felt this time of year? Let’s see if our description matches your imagination: you knew that Christmas was only days away, so you were on your best behavior because Santa was watching. As December 25 crept closer and closer, you could hardly contain your excitement. Soon enough, Christmas Eve would arrive. You would put out some milk and cookies, brush your teeth and get to bed quickly – only to spend the night watching the clock. You just couldn’t wait for Christmas Day.

Sadly, as adults, the magic of Christmas seems to fade a little more each year. Santa no longer represents a symbol of joy and the celebration just becomes a season of more obligations. Fortunately, the magic does begin to reappear as we have children of our own, but then our roles change from excited child to excited parent. We also spend December 24 making preparations and barely sleeping because we are too anxious to watch our children eagerly open their gifts. We have come to discover a different kind of magic – the magic of giving. But again the cycle continues as our children grow, and the sense of wonder begins to disappear.

Luckily, as supporters of Lions Pride, we are in somewhat of a unique position. All supporters of Lions Pride get to play the part of Santa all year round. How? By giving children from all over the state of Wisconsin the gift of experience. In 2017, over 150 special children were given the opportunity to have the week of their lives out in the woods with kids just like them. They were able to sleep in cabins, roast marshmallows, learn archery, swim laps in Lions Lake and enjoy everything nature has to offer. Of course, they were also able to develop self-confidence, interdependence, social skills and outdoor recreational skills – all at no cost to their families.

The gift may not be beautifully wrapped under a bright, full tree, but we know in our hearts that it’s a gift that keeps on giving all year long. And none of these accomplishments would be possible without the help of you. Our donors are the lifeblood of our organization and we never tire of saying thank you for your support. Although our biological children may be grown, we look forward to playing Santa for many years to come. Thank you for helping us carry out our mission to preserve, provide and protect Lions Camp and all other WLF statewide projects.

The Lions Pride office will be closed the week of December 25, to celebrate Christmas with our families. Wishing you and yours a very merry Christmas!

St. Nicholas Day and Lions Pride

01 Thursday Dec 2016

Posted by lionspridewi in Giving Tips, Holidays, Lions Camp, Special Events

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camp, childhood, christmas, climb, compassion, donations, donors, entertainment, environmental awareness, gifts, hike, holiday, interdependence, kayak, lions camp, lions pride, mother nature, nature, outdoor living, saint nicholas, santa claus, season, self-confidence, shopping, simple, snow, social skills, st nick, stocking stuffer, supporters, swim, wisconsin

Although we don’t have any white, fluffy snow on the ground in Central Wisconsin, there is definitely no doubt in our minds that we have entered the holiday season. With the blockbuster shopping deal ads continuously showing on television and lighted trees slowly appearing in home windows, it has become clear that Christmas is not far away.

But before we arrive at Christmas, we have a few other special holidays to get to first, including St. Nicholas Day. On Tuesday night, children will hang out their stockings or leave out their shoes and wake to find what ole St. Nick has left for them. If they have behaved throughout the year, they can expect to find all sorts of goodies like candy, toys and other small gifts, and if they have misbehaved, they will likely find nothing but a lump of coal.

St. Nicholas Day is a very common holiday in Europe, but not as well known here in the United States, so it should come as no surprise that many of us use the names, Santa Claus and St. Nicholas interchangeably. But the truth is that these two characters have a lot of key differences between them.

Aside from the fact that St. Nicholas was an actual person who lived in the 4^th Century, he also gave simple gifts to those in need. According to legend, he encouraged practicing compassion everyday and actually became the model for Santa Claus himself.

Here at Lions Pride, we love the idea of St. Nicholas Day because we can relate directly to his message. With the help of our generous donors and supporters, we have the opportunity to give special children the gift of the great outdoors.

As you have likely already seen, childhood now is different than childhood at one time. With new and changing technology, children have a lot more entertainment options available such as video games, iPads and other electronic gadgets, they don’t have as much time to appreciate the beauty that lies right outside their front door.

Each summer, we’re proud to help bring children with special needs to Lions Camp to help show them the true value of Mother Nature. During their week away, they are able to camp, swim, hike, climb, kayak and enjoy outdoor living at its finest, all while building self-confidence, interdependence, social skills and environmental awareness that will help shape the rest of their childhood.

If you’re looking for a one of a kind gift this holiday season, consider making a donation in a loved ones name. (It could also make a great stocking stuffer!) You have the chance to cross a name off your shopping list and show a special child the joy of one of life’s simplest gifts – the wonders of nature at Wisconsin Lions Camp.

Happy St. Nicholas Day!

Donate Your Deer Hide to Wisconsin Lions Camp

10 Thursday Nov 2016

Posted by lionspridewi in Giving Tips, Lions Camp, News, Special Events

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boating, camp, child, crafting, deer hide collection, donation, drop off location, environmental awareness, experience, gun hunting season, hiking, hunters, interdependence, learning, lions club, lions pride, memories, outdoors, recreation, safe, self-confidence, social skills, support, swimming, volunteers, wisconsin

The countdown is on! T-9 days until the official start of Wisconsin deer gun hunting season.

If you’re like more than 600,000 hunters all over the state, you are likely anxiously awaiting the arrival of next Friday morning. You’ve been diligently studying your trail cam images, already cleared your travel path and prepared your stand for a weekend in the great outdoors. You’ve been dreaming about hanging a set of beautiful antlers and a fridge full of venison to get you through the long winter, but have you thought about what you’ll do with your hide?

Again, like many other Wisconsin hunters, we hope you’ll consider donating your hide to Wisconsin Lions to help send a child to camp. Each deer-hunting season since 1991, Lions Club volunteers have set up collection sites all over the state. What started as a relatively small operation has grown immensely over the past couple decades. Today, there are over 175 collection sites from Ashland all the way down to Beloit. In recent years, the deer hide collection has raised anywhere from $75,000 to $95,000 for the Wisconsin Lions Camp.

Donating is simple! Just bring your hide to a drop-off location near you. The hide will then be salted, preserved and eventually sold. Every hide donated will help send a child with special needs to camp.

Each year, we are proud to help send over one hundred children to camp, where they get the opportunity for learning, hiking, swimming, boating, crafting and so much more. With 440 acres of land and a 45-acre private lake, there is no shortage of fun. The goals of Lions Camp are to assist each child in the development of self-confidence, interdependence, social skills, outdoor recreational skills and environmental awareness; but most importantly, for the child to have a fun, safe, memorable experience.

Give back this hunting season by donating your hide to Wisconsin Lions Camp. From all of us at Lions Pride, thank you for continued support over the years, and good luck to all hunters!

Happy 60th Anniversary, Lions Camp!

18 Thursday Aug 2016

Posted by lionspridewi in Lions Camp, News, Special Events

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1959, 60th anniversary, alaska, blindness, boeing 707, campers, celebration, environmental awareness, events, food, grammy music awards, lions pride, nature, pontoon, ray hempel fellowship, ride, self-confidence, social skills, summer, tour, wagon, wisconsin lions camp

It’s #ThrowbackThursday here at Lions Pride and today we’re looking back to the year of 1959. It was a great year filled with lots of memorable events: Alaska become the 49^th state of America, the Grammy Music Awards began and the Boeing 707 came into service, but our favorite event was the birth of the Wisconsin Lions Camp.

Just a few years earlier, a chance discussion started it all. Lion Ray Hempel was in a hospital visiting two blind 12-year old boys. The group was discussing outdoor activities, but when Lion Ray asked if they had ever been to camp, one responded with a statement that changed everything. He said, “Blind kids can’t go to outdoor camp and stuff like that.”

After the conversation, Lion Ray’s imagination ran wild with an idea for camp that would allow children with disabilities to enjoy all the wonders of nature. Seven years later, his dream became a reality, and the Wisconsin Lions Camp was opened.

This year marks the 60^th of camp. During that time, over 70,000 campers walked and camped in these woods. Our campers have the chance to become more self-confident, gain social skills, develop a strong environmental awareness and have the week of a lifetime. (If only trees could talk, we’d love to hear about the daily adventures.)

To celebrate the 60^th anniversary, the Wisconsin Lions Camp will be hosting an open house on Sunday, August 21, from 9 am to 3 pm. We invite you to join us for a camp tour at your leisure. You also have the opportunity to enjoy a pontoon or wagon ride. Food will be available for purchase from 11 am to 1 pm.

While you are touring the camp, be sure to stop by the Lions Pride office and visit with our Executive Director Geri Schlender. We look forward to celebrating with you and can’t wait to see what the next 60 years have in store!

Visit our website to find out how you can honor someone with a Ray Hempel Fellowship.

Deadline for Thrivent Choice® Dollars Soon Approaching

03 Thursday Mar 2016

Posted by lionspridewi in Fundraising, Giving Tips, Lions Camp, News

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blindness, children, cognitively disabled, confidence, deadline, development, diabetes, dollars, experience, fun, hard of hearing, interdependence, life insurance, lions pride, march 31, nonprofit, social skills, summer, thrivent choice, thrivent financial for lutherans, wisconsin lions camp

Finances seem to be on everyone’s mind this time of year. Every day, we get a little closer to April 15. If you have not already filed your 2015 taxes, you are probably busy getting all of your documents in order, to bring to your accountant but don’t let this important date distract you from other nearing deadlines such as one happening on March 31 for Thrivent Financial members. The last day of the month marks the end of the 2015 year to for members to direct their Choice Dollars to qualifying organizations.

If you aren’t already familiar with Thrivent Financial, they are a not-for-profit organization that helps Christians be wise with their money and live generously. In addition to offering life insurance, annuities and mutual funds, they offer several opportunities for their members to make a difference in their communities.

One such program is called Thrivent Choice® where eligible members are designated Choice Dollars that can be directed to enrolled organizations. Last year, 1699 churches and organizations in the South Wisconsin region received over $3.7 million in Choice Dollars charitable grant funds.

Of course, there is a deadline for any program, and this particular one is only 28 days away on March 31, 2016. If you have unused Thrivent Choice Dollars, we would be honored if you chose to support the Lions Pride Endowment Fund. Your Choice Dollars will help preserve, provide and protect all Wisconsin Lions Foundation projects. Our largest project, the Wisconsin Lions Camp, is dedicated to a week of summer fun for children who are blind or visually impaired, deaf or hard of hearing, cognitively disabled and children with type I or type II diabetes. The goal of Lions Camp is to assist every child in the development of self-confidence, interdependence, social skills, outdoor recreational skills and environmental awareness, but most importantly to for the child to have a fun, memorable experience.

Thanks to the support of our donors, 140 children will benefit from the life altering experience one week at Lions Camp affords them. With your help, we can continue helping children with special needs have the experience of a lifetime.