The Santa Monica Lions were happy to present $2000 to Santa Monica High School for two SM Lions Club scholarships in memory of Jerry Bruver this month. The recipients of the $1000 scholarships are Stephanie Mexa-Garcia and Shley Da Hee Suh. There were so many wonderful applicants, we were sorry we could only award two scholarships. We wish the Class of 2021 the best in their chosen fields of study.
We also hope that we will be able to resume our fundraising efforts this coming year and be able to offer more support to other organizations in the community. As we have no endowment to rely upon, all of the donations we make to local nonprofits come directly from our fundraising efforts of the previous year. We have high hopes for the rest of 2021.
As our Lions members are completing their vaccinations and quarantine periods, there is hope that things will gradually be returning to normal, or at least more normal. It has been challenging with meetings moving to Zoom, service activities, such as the Lions Eyes Across California, were suspended and our fundraising event was canceled.
Happily, the Lions have spent this time of isolation continuing to work together and envisioning a new and better Santa Monica Lions Club. Community needs and priorities have changed, and while vaccinations have allowed us to start coming together, there will be a lingering hesitancy as we get back out into the community. We have been considering how to meet these challenges.
Over the next couple of months, the Lions will be discussing when we hope to resume in-person meetings at the Elks Lodge and explore some new fundraising ideas going forward. We are also waiting to hear from our international headquarters and district leaders as to when some of our service activities might resume. When we know more, I will share our plans. If you would like to be a part of our planning, you can also reach out to our membership chair, or Yoriko Fisher, at yorikofisher@gmail.com or 443-883-1101 to learn more.