On April 26, 1963, the newly formed Fairhope Lions Club gathered in the cafeteria of Fairhope High School (located where Fairhope West Elementary School is currently) to celebrate Charter Night.

For the past 60 years, the members have raised funds, supported local organizations and international missions.

Bill Clarke, a member for over 20 years, had no idea the Fairhope Lions Club had an extensive archive until it started arriving on his front porch in boxes. The treasure trove of photo albums, meeting rosters and minutes may have overwhelmed most. Clarke, however, spent months reading every meeting's minutes, reviewing documents and photo albums to uncover the past. He was the featured speaker at the club's 60th-anniversary celebration.

The Lions Club was founded in 1917 by Chicago business leader Melvin Jones. In 1920, the club went international when one was established in Canada. Over the years, the club has grown to over 1.4 million members across the globe.

One of the Lions Club's biggest missions has a tie to Alabama. In 1925, Helen Keller, who was born in Tuscumbia in 1880, addressed the Lions Clubs International Convention in Cedar Point, Ohio, and challenged the club to become "knights of the blind." Since that time, the club has worked to aid the blind and visually impaired on a local and international level.

The Fairhope Lions Club collects between 2,000 to 4,000 used eyeglasses each year which are sent with groups on missions in South America.

"To Serve Those in Need" takes money. Using the extensive club archive, Clarke composed a long list of events and fundraising endeavors undertaken by the club over the years. He found some quite funny things like selling light bulbs door to door. On a national level, the club was known for selling brooms, which the Fairhope club did for many years. They also collected aluminum cans, sold food and drinks at the Jubilee Art Festival and Earth Day, popcorn and drinks at the pier on July 4, sold trees and memorial brick pavers. Some of the events were considered successful and others just broke even or only raised a few hundred dollars.

"The event that almost did many members in was the mammoth Annual Yard Sale," Clarke said. "At the conclusion of the yard sale in 2005, the members left standing said there had to be a better way to raise money."

Clarke said the yard sale started in 1976 and required a lot of back-breaking labor and it didn't generate enough money to justify the work. The club dropped the yard sale and replaced it with The Fairhope Lions Club Golf Tournament for Sight and Diabetes in 2006. The event generated more money for the club's projects and is still going strong to this day.

"The tournament has been very successful for the club and has enabled us to sponsor services beyond providing eye exams and glasses for those in need," Clarke said.

In 2022, the Fairhope Lions Club served 1,657 people, completed 27 service activities and performed 504 hours of volunteer work. Locally, the club supports:

• Alabama Lions Eye Research Institute (LERI) at the University of South Alabama
• Alabama Lions Sight provides free eye surgery
• Alabama Free Clinic in Baldwin County
• Camp Rap-A-Hope summer camp for children with cancer
• Camp Seale Harris summer camp for children with diabetes
• Community Services for Vision Rehabilitation
• Ecumenical Ministries Inc.
• Lancaster High School Scholarship for students in Fairhope, Daphne and Spanish Fort
• Peace Poster Contest for middle school children
• Prodisee Pantry
• Southern Guide Dogs Inc.
• Provide eyeglasses and eye exams for those in need locally
• Baldwin Family Village
• Ballers Foundation

To learn more about the Fairhope Lions Club, visit www.fairhopelionsclub.com. The club meets the first and third Thursday of each month at Café 98, 901 Fairhope Ave., Fairhope at 5:30 p.m.