For New & Potential Members

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Some notes about the LIONS CLUB, especially the Cupertino De Anza Lions Club

Dear potential Lions Club Member!

Let me first introduce the International Lions Clubs Organization to you – best if you click on the link here and have a look.

Below is a chart with the focus areas for the near future created during the Centennial year 2017, and the achievements so far:

Since then, more topics have been moved onto the radar, like Childhood Cancer, Humanitarian Help, Disaster relief, and Care for Youth.

With regards to our local club, the Cupertino De Anza Lions Club, we have our own website, sometimes a little outdated, but still with lots of good information, blogs, and announcements of coming events.

You may want to click on various tabs and pages to get an idea of our local activities and achievements (http://deanzalions.net/)

Here is a link to an introductory overview of our club: New_Member.pptx – Google Slides

Our financial year starts on July 1st, and ends on June 30th – this is what we call a “Lion Year”.

During a calendar year, we have annual recurring events, mostly fundraisers, and a few spontaneously scheduled ones. Apart from those, which often require all club members’ participation, we have several other activities which have been assigned to individuals who are taking care of them throughout the year.

Proceeds from fundraising activities will be distributed to our selected charities according to a budget which is set up at the beginning of a Lion Year. At the end, in June, the treasurer will make sure that all remaining budgeted donations will be sent out.

Here are some of our annual events and some comments about them.

  1. Normally takes place end of January, beginning of February.
  2. We try to sell up to 600 tickets for two seatings, in short succession.
  3. There are dozens of jobs to do, preparations start early in fall; table covers have to be prepared, lots of schmoozing to be done with ‘suppliers’ like Fishmarket, breweries, other sponsors.
    1. PLENTY of opportunities to help.
  1. The first round of this annual event takes place end of January/beginning of February and is a contest on the club level. In order for the club to participate, the official package with all pertaining documents must be obtained from the MD4 chairperson prior to October 1. After that date, it costs $ 25 to obtain the documents.
  2. All dates from club to area level are posted on a special webpage.
  3. Usually, two club members chair the club level contest, inviting high school students from the Fremont high school district to participate in the event.
  4. The winner of the Club level contest is awarded $ 100, and progresses to the area level. The overall winner will take home $ 20.000 in scholarship money.
  5. In 2019, our sponsored candidate, a sophomore at Lynbrook High, won 4 levels of the contest resulting in a total scholarship of $ 4,500.
  6. In 2025, our sponsored candidate, a student at Lynbrook High, went as far the last level and took home at least $ 10,000 in scholarship money.
  7. Help from club members is needed on the day of the event, which has taken place at the Odd Fellows Lodge in Cupertino in the last several years. We usually have quite a few volunteers, assisting with the set-up of tables, chatting with candidates and accompanying people, guarding doors, tallying scores etc.
  1. The club is just starting to get into this event. Our first ride was in the Fall of 2017 and we plan to hold the next one and future ones in Fall, too
  2. A small team takes care of the preparations (additional members/volunteers are needed)
  3. All fellow lions requested to be present on the day-of.
    1. PLENTY of opportunities to help
  1. Every year around Memorial weekend, we are being asked for help to maintain and repair some of the areas at this Camp for handicapped children in the Cupertino mountains. This includes, power-washing the BBQ area and the amphitheater as well as repainting the benches. Sometimes additional projects are coming up, all involve rather heavy outdoorsy work, but our 92 year old club member always participates so many of the younger ones including women are always there, too.
  1. Another long-standing event where everybody can chip in.
    1. PLENTY of opportunities to help especially on the day of the event.
  2. Usually we have a chairperson who makes sure that all angles are covered, as well as other fellow lions leading efforts in various areas; e.g. set-up (includes putting together a plan how tables, chairs and banners are arranged); donations (includes sending out letters to potential donors soliciting raffle and silent auction items); food and drink (includes soliciting donations or sponsorships for breakfast items, as well as organizing lunch/dinner with the golf club kitchen) and many more.
  3. There are checklists for each area that make it easier to get things together.
  4. On the day of the event, there is a special need for additional volunteers for set-up, registration and welcoming golfers. In the past, we have enlisted the service of teens from our LEO clubs to help carrying golf bags to the appropriate golf cart.
  5. After re-positioning tables and canopies to the lunch/dinner area there is a ‘lull’ for many volunteers, but help is needed again about 4 hours after t-off. Dining tables need to be set up, score cards posted, raffle prizes drawn etc.
  6. Help is also needed after lunch/dinner to clean tables and restore order on the deck of the club house.
  1. Volunteers/club members are requested to do 3- hour shifts at various grocery stores, together with teens from LEO service clubs, asking patrons to buy certain foods to donate as they are doing their own shopping.
  2. At an offsite facility, normally the Odd Fellows Hall in Cupertino, about 20 items are used to fill food boxes for 170+ families in the community.
  3. From the Hall, boxes are loaded into the truck(s) and carted off to the various offices waiting for the goodies. The Hall and premises are cleaned, rubbish is thrown away.
  4. This is one of the most time-consuming, time-intensive events undertaken over the year, but also the most rewarding, knowing that so many families in the community will have a decent Thanksgiving meal and another few days of great leftovers.
  1. We have one or two blanket-making event(s) blanket-making events annually, in conjunction with the LINUS organization. https://www.projectlinus.org/ You’ll find pictures on our website.
  2. One or two people are in charge of buying fleece material while our liaison person with ProjectLinus will get all accessories & instructions needed to make a fleece blanket.
  3. Club volunteers, family and friends, LEOs, and often Girl Scouts, meet communally and cut fringes on two sides of the pre-cut fleece and tie them into small knots (with the help of some girl scouts and LEOs). We make 50 – 70 blankets each evening – within 2-3 hours.

Most other activities are sporadic and you’ll learn about them over the year; and most likely, you will be asked to volunteer.

Here is a list of other ‘good deeds’ we do on a regular basis

  1. There are multiple locations in the Cupertino community, mostly at shops or stores or optometrists’ offices where the club has put up boxes for the collection of used eyeglasses. They will be taken to the Vision Center in San Jose to be cleaned, gauged and repackaged for distribution to people who cannot afford new ones.
    1. There are certainly more places the collection boxes can be located with your help; then we need volunteers to go and collect the glasses.
  1. For the last 10 years or so, we have had close collaboration with the Lions Club of Ambikanagar, Dandeli, in the north-west of India. Our club annually donates between $1000 and 1500 to our ‘sister’ club, who organize a free eye camp where between 50 – 80 surgeries are performed and many more people get help with eye exams and prescription glasses. In the beginning we thought to send a member of our club to the eye camp, but it would not be very helpful, as none of us speak the local language and/or is a nurse that could assist during the medical exams or surgeries.
    1. The donations sent by the De Anza Lions also helped with the building of a school nearby where about 300 students up to the 5th grade level attend.
  1. At infrequent intervals the club will rent the mobile screening unit and staff it during a festival or community event.
  2. Screening for diabetes and hearing is free.
  3. Volunteer opportunities are limited, but RNs are always welcome to help.
  4. Results will be given to the people who get the tests in writing.

Meeting Time & Locations

Every 4th Thursday (9:00 AM) of the month.

Our location:

IHop, 1012 Miller Avenue, San Jose, CA 95129, IHOP® Breakfast Restaurant Near You in San Jose, at Miller Ave

These are select project meetings

First Wednesday of every month (6:30PM)

Our evening meetings for families and working people. A full agenda is being discussed.

Our location:

Tony and Alba’s Pizza and Pasta Ristorante Best Italian Restaurant in West San Jose | Tony & Alba’s Pizza & Pasta | Italian Restaurant near me at 3137 Stevens Creek Blvd, San Jose, CA 95117

Third Wednesday of each month (6:30PM)

Second PM meeting

Our location:

IHop at 1012 Miller Ave, San Jose, CA, 95129

IHOP® Breakfast in San Jose, CA on 1012 Miller Ave

All interested fellow lions are welcome to attend. Club members receive an advance agenda and confirmation of the location by email a few days before the meeting.

THURSDAY morning meeting, once a month

  • This is a newly scheduled meeting on the 4th Thursday in a month and it is dedicated to discussing specific larger projects, e.g. Food Drive, or Crab Feed.
  • More notes will be added after a few of these meetings have been held.

WEDNESDAYS ( two monthly evening meetings)

  • Lions arrive before or at 6:30pm – some order pizza or other food items and drinks (optional).
  • The Lion Prez presides over the meetings, while the secretary connects to other members by Zoom and takes minutes. Often times now, Zoom provides minutes as well, which will be edited by the secretary before being sent out.
  • Wednesday meetings are now attended by all club members, including those who used to attend the weekly AM meetings. Family members, including kids, and friends of the club are always welcome.
  • A PM lion, or one of the kids will act as Lion tamer, and collect so-called ‘fines’ (happy dollars for our social events).
  • The business portion of the evening meeting lasts for about an hour and is governed by an agenda which is emailed to club members before the meeting.

Each Club member is expected to attend meetings on a regular basis – it does not matter whether AM (once a month) or PM (twice a month), but attendance at one meeting per month should be achieved.

Our Treasurer will have membership application forms on hand if needed.

There is an initiation fee of $ 35.00 and the annual contribution is $107.00 (a one-time annual fee).

Any questions, please email Lion Dagi (drzimdahl@comcast.net).