Local Nonprofit Focus: Dayton Valley Lions Club
The Dayton Valley Lions Club was chartered in 2000 and has continuously served Dayton, Stagecoach, Virginia City and everywhere in between. This year marks 25 years of helping with local projects, leading fundraisers, and providing much needed services and resources to community members. Leading the club is longtime member Jack Epperson, who has dedicated two decades to the organization.
Epperson has worn many hats within the Lions Club, from our local chapter to international leadership. He became president of the Dayton Valley Lions his second year with the club. From there, he moved up to zone chair, region chair, then district governor where he was responsible for all 45 clubs in Nevada. In 2014, he was elected to the Lions Club International Board for a two-year term. Epperson was only the second person from Nevada to be an international director.
“When I came back [to Dayton], the club was a little sluggish at that point … that’s when I became president (again) and we rebuilt the club,” he remembered.
Today, one of the Lions’ main projects is sight preservation work. The Dayton club has more certified vision screeners than any other in the district, now at 50 clubs strong.
“Back in 1925, Helen Keller was at our international convention and challenged the Lions to be ‘Knights of the Blind in the Crusade against Darkness’, so the Lions accepted that challenge and we’ve been associated with sight preservation ever since,” Epperson explained.
Club members conduct vision screenings in schools and at local events, referring them to eye care specialists whenever necessary. In fact, they just started screenings with four Storey County schools earlier this month and want to continue to expand their reach. Last year, the Dayton club taught Carson City Lions how to conduct screenings, which has helped more than 1,200 students in the neighboring capital.
“If the person that we refer is uninsured or under-insured, we’ll take care of it,” Epperson noted. “Then we will provide both the exam and the eyeglasses.”
The club also collects used eyeglasses, sending them to recycling centers for redistribution to countries like India, the Philippines, and South America. Local Dayton drop boxes include Dayton Family Vision, Stor-All and Frugoli Family Dentistry.
Beyond sight preservation, the club is deeply involved in a wide range of community efforts, with partnerships playing a key role in their success. The Lions provide fans to local senior centers, host quarterly food drives in collaboration with the Healthy Communities Coalition and Grocery Outlet, and most recently partnered with the Knights of Columbus to support the Coats for Kids program. They also contributed to the development of the Dayton Valley Dog Park, support free yoga classes at the Dayton Branch Library, and donated funds for both the kitchen and playground at the Dayton Boys & Girls Clubhouse—along with installing the new flagpole onsite. In addition, the club donates gift cards to Central Lyon Fire to help families in need after a house fire. And that’s just the short list.
Fundraising is another major part of their year, and one project has become a holiday favorite – selling See’s Candy at Smith’s in Dayton. Look for their table inside the store the week before Thanksgiving until Christmas (or when they run out).
“People have joined our Lions Club just to sell See’s Candy,” Epperson chuckled. “We sell hundreds, hundreds of pounds.”
So do not feel bad about satisfying your chocolate craving – the money you spend on See’s goes right back into supporting your community through Lions Club programs.
Based on their literature, Lions Clubs International is the world’s largest service club organization, with more than 1.4 million men and women improving their communities while making a difference locally and globally. If you are interested in joining or learning more, the Dayton Valley Lions Club meets the fourth Wednesday of each month at the Dayton Community Center at 6 p.m.
Visit e-clubhouse.org/sites/daytonvalley for club details and contacts. For eye exam and glasses coverage, visit https://www.e-clubhouse.org/sites/daytonvalley/page-7.php for the application.
