Fellsmere Lions Club donates $19,000 to Lions Camp, more help needed

FELLSMERE — With a $19,000 check from the Fellsmere Lions Club in hand, the Florida Lions Camp can have a new water holding tank installed, replacing a tank that has been welded so many times that officials there feared it might explode.

But even with the donation, the camp faces the possibility the state shutting it down on July 1.

“We’re hoping that’s not going to happen,” said Florida Lions Camp Executive Director Barbara Cage.

The Fellsmere Lions Club got involved in helping the Lions Camp after Lion Jerry Kennerk made a pitch to the club.

“He came with a very strong-arm twisting, heart-rending, tear-jerking plea,” Fellsmere Lion Polly Coe at the club’s meeting this week when they presented the check for $19,000.

“I must’ve cried just right,” Kennerk said.

All joking aside, the donation was exactly what the Florida Lions Camp needed, according to Kennerk.

The 35-year-old camp’s infrastructure is starting to reach the age that it has begun to fall apart. State officials have told the camp to replace the water and septic systems or face being shut down until the issues are addressed.

The sewer project is expected to cost $14,000 to overhaul, Cage said. The camp currently doesn’t have the funds to pay for it.

Cage explained that the camp, located in Polk County, took a couple severe hits during the 2004 hurricane season. The camp suffered $1 million in losses due to the hurricanes, though insurance covered 75 percent, according to Cage.

That left $250,000 worth of damage the camp had to cover on its own, depleting what cash reserves it had and making it that much more difficult to fund future needs, such as the water holding tank and the septic system.

The threat of being closed down by the state has put the Florida Lions Camp’s summer programs in jeopardy, Cage said.

The camps provide opportunities for children with special needs to spend time in various activities with others who have special needs. The camps also provide time off for the children’s parents, who otherwise spend the bulk of their time tending to their children.

“It makes a world of difference” for the parents, Kennerk said.

Cage said the Florida Lions Camp would also be providing “inclusion” programs, which bring children with and without special needs together.

As for the Fellsmere Lions Club’s donation, members said the large amount would not have been possible if not for the generosity of one of their own – Dr. Keith Finger, who has since moved to Costa Rica and gave the club $50,000 to be used to benefit the Lions Club.

“I appreciate everything,” Kennerk said. “It’s just absolutely amazing.”

Anyone who wants to learn more about the Florida Lions Camp, how to get involved or how to donate, can call Barbara Cage at (863) 696-1948 ext. 11, email bjcage@hotmail.com or visit www.LionsCampFL.org.

While the Lions Camp is located out of Indian River County, Cage said there is a large number of children from the area who participate in the camps and programs there.

Also at the meeting, the Fellsmere Lions Club presented several awards for Lion of the Year and presented the Melvin Jones Fellowship Award.

In keeping with the club’s desire to do things in a big way, Lions Club member Polly Coe said they decided this year to name more than one “Lion of the Year.”

“We were going to have a whole pride,” Coe said.

Those who received the award were Elfriede Diamond, Clarence Epsilantis and Polly Coe.

The three, along with Barbara McFarland and Harry Szeman, also received the Melvin Jones Fellowship Award, which is offered to those who have made unrestricted donations of at least $1,000 to the Lions Clubs International Foundation.

The Fellsmere Lions Club, being 15 members strong, is now a 100 percent Melvin Jones Fellowship club, meaning each member has received the award – the highest recognition a member can receive.

“This club is something to be very proud of,” Kennerk said.

For more information about the Fellsmere Lions Club, call (772) 571-1621 or visit www.LionWap.org/FellsmereFl.