Local Lions clubs assist families impacted by Bentleyville fire
About a week after local Lions Club members heard of the apartment building fire on Aug. 2 that took everything they owned from four Bentleyville families, they sprang into action.
“Along with the fire came a need, and we jumped in to help those in need,” said Jack Bauer, past Lions Club district governor and Scenery Hill Lions Club member.
Ten clubs in the M-14 district, which covers Washington, Fayette, Greene and Somerset counties, donated money to the cause. District M-14 donated an additional $3,000 from its disaster fund as well as an additional $540 collected at a District M-14 meeting of officers and club members.
“Usually, the district matches from its Disaster Fund what a local club raises up to $750,” Bauer said. “In this case, however, the four affected families were each considered a separate incident, which accounts for the $3,000 donation.”
Additional contributions by the Washington County Chapter Council of the Blind of $100 and a donation of $500 from the First Lutheran Church of Washington brought the total contributions to $9,500.
On Sept. 22, the Lions Club presented each of the four families with a $2,375 check at a presentation ceremony held at a Bentleyville Lions Club meeting at the Carlton Diner.
“To my knowledge, all the affected families have now secured new housing,” Bauer said. “This is what is meant by the Lions’ motto, ‘We serve.'”