Lions White Cane Campaign a success in Blairsville

The Union County Lions Club participated in the White Can Campaign to raise funds for the Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation. Money raised will help provide eye surgeries and other vision care services to Georgians who have no insurance or other financial means to meet their needs.

The campaign has two facets. The first was an appeal to the local businesses for support. They were so generous and responsive, providing more than half of the total money collected. The following businesses were donors: Appalachian Community Bank, Jane Baer Realty, Bank of Blairsville, R. John Boemanns, P.C., Cadence Bank, Cobb-Vantress, Calvin Collins Construction, Corrugated Replacements, Inc., Cozy Cove Realty and Marina, Enotah Land Company, First Place Trophies, The Flower Garden, The Hair Shoppe, Hemphill Vinyl Siding Wholesale, Inc., Hill Vue Farms, S. Elfe James Management, LLC., Ken's Herbs & Vitamins, L&M Mountain Builders, Inc., Louise McTaggart and Associates, Inc., Mr. T's Storage, Pat's Hallmark Shop, Southern Geosystems, Ltd., Southern Highlands Mortgage Co., Inc., State Farm Insurance, Steve's Steak House, Tanner's 24 Hour Towing, Thomas Tire, Union County Veterinary Hospital, Union Realty Co., Inc., United Community Bank, Ware Chevrolet Company, Inc., Kenneth C. West, DDS. These individuals also donated funds: Ken and Ann Castle, Marilyn Chapman and sam Weissberg, Kay Crofford, Don and Muriel Enzmann, Vic Hamburger, Gene and Louise Little, Jim and Cindy Wentworth. We appreciate their caring and endorsement of what the Lions Club stands for - service to others.

The following businesses allowed us to use their establishments as collection positions: Bi-Lo, Cobb's Mill, CVS, Ingle's, Mike's Seafood Restaurant, Saw Mill Restaurant, United Community Bank and Waffle House. Their central locations enabled us to interact with many folks who contributed to our worthy cause.

We also want to thank the citizens of Blairsville who helped fill out buckets as we stood in front of several places of business on the weekend of April 20 and 21; that was the second facet of the campaign. It was amazing to see folks be so warm and helpful, sharing stores of how the Lions Club had helped them or a family member. There were many parents who gave money to their children to put in the bucket. What a wonderful opportunity for those children to see the value of being aware of others' needs through the role modeling of their parents! Folks dropped off glasses, hearing aids and cell phones which we appreciated.

Cadence Bank became our "headquarters that weekend. We counted our money, shared stories about the experience, and had a great lunch provided by the bank. Lisa at Cadence Bank also advertised the event on their electronic sign. At Appalachian Bank, Becky had the same message on their sign. We appreciate their community mindedness and generosity to a most worthy cause.

Though we needed rain, the beautiful, sunny weather helped our cause that weekend. With your assistance, the Union County Lions Club raised over $6,500 for the Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation - an amount which translates into approximately $26,000 worth of medical services at the Georgia Lions Lighthouse.