On Feb 22, Virginia Lions Eye Institute Foundation presented scholarship checks to 22 recipients of the “Joe Lipomi Scholastic Grants.” The scholarships totaled $49,000. For more information about scholarships, see: https://vleif.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/VLEIF-ScholasticGrant-Application-Updated-9-2024-1.pdf

Speakers included Dr  Mohammed Jaafar, Chair Emeritus of Children’s National Hospital’s Dept of Ophthalmology and also Professor of Ophthalmology & Pediatrics at GW University. The event’s Special Guest speaker was Angel Collaku. Angel himself is vision impaired, and is now a retired career senior attorney for the Federal Aviation Administration. He offered encouragement to vision impaired youth in the context of his own life’s experience: Work hard; be self sufficient; have determination and good judgement; be responsible and know your limits; don’t accept “No;” never stop learning; accept constructive criticism; do what you can, when you can; and be thankful. 

Fairfax Lions Club also presented a cash donation to Virginia Lions Eye Institute Foundation, to support future scholarships.

On February 21, Fairfax Lions presented 42 children’s books to the Main St. Child Development Center.  (Main Street is also our Lions partner when we provide meals to local families for the holidays.)

Main Street’s Director, Susan, gave us a tour of the facilities.  They have a very nice library for their audience of pre-school and young school-age children. Each year, Fairfax Lions help expand the library’s collection with new children’s books.

On June 30, 1925, this bold advocate for the blind challenged Lions Clubs International to be “knights of the blind”…a challenge that has motivated Lions for 100 years to provide vision service programs. Reenactment of Hellen Keller speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EurAXgbcai (Helen Keller clip starts at 4:40 mark in this 5 min video)

The American Red Cross is in urgent need of blood products. Severe winter weather and wildfires have forced thousands of blood donations to go uncollected. We need donors, like you, to sustain this lifesaving care.

Fairfax Lions Club is sponsoring a Red Cross blood drive on March 12, 2025. Join us to give your precious and needed gift of blood!  Sign up now for an appointment at the Red Cross web site provided.  

When/where: March 12, 1pm-6pm; Providence Presbyterian Church, 9019 Little River Turnpike, Fairfax, VA 22031

To Signup, on this web page, enter sponsor code: FAIRFAXLIONSVA https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/donation-time?zipSponsor=FAIRFAXLIONSVA

On Feb 16, FX lions held their Club-level youth music competition. Winners advance on April 13 to the District-level Lions competition, and then on May 2 to VA Lions state finals where 12 scholarships will be awarded totaling $18000. We encourage musically inclined youth in northern VA to consider next year’s competition; send us info@fairfaxlions.org a note of your interest so we can email you information.

We congratulate all contestants on their talent and accomplishments: (L-R in photo)

• Sela Eugenia Rongero, 16, 11^th grader at Lake Braddock Secondary School;
• Jude Lawrence Bruce, 12, 7^th grader at Trinity Christian School;
• Wroten McQuirter, 14, 9th grader at Thomas Jefferson High School;
• Alexander Moon, 12, 7^th grader at Thoreau Middle School;
• Erik Daniel Lindgren, 17, 12^th grader at Charles Colgan School;
• Connor Kim, 13, 8^th grader at Liberty Middle School;
• James Josep Abiden, 14, 9^th grader at Trinity Christian School;
• Joshua Min Gwon, 16, 10^th grader at Woodson High School;
• Elaine Zhang, 15, 9^th grader at Thomas Jefferson High School.

Today’s winners: 1st place vocalist, James J Abiden, Tenor.  Composition:  Out There by Alan Menken.

1st place instrumentalist: Connor Kim, Piano.  Composition:  Schertzo No. 3 in B Flat Minor Opus 31 by Chopin.)

2nd place instrumentalist: Alexander Moon, Violin.  Composition:  Concert in D Minor, 1^st Movement by Jean Sibeliusby.

Honorable Mention instrumentalist: Wroten McQuirter, Piano. Etude in A minor by Chopin.

Fairfax Lions successfully completed another vision and hearing screening outreach event at St. Luke Catholic School in McLean on Feb 13.  A total of 15 third graders and 15 seventh graders were screened.  Four students were referred to a professional optometrist and three students were referred to a professional audiologist.