DANVILLE — The annual Lions Club Chili Day returns to collect and distribute hearing aids and eyeglasses to those in need in the community.
Lions Club member Keith Strinmoen, a 26-year member, said about the event, “well, I do a lot of things, but the main thing I do is cook the chili.”
He said he learned how to make the chili from the late former Danville Mayor Bob Jones.
“Bob Jones was doing the cooking when I first started helping him, and he let me do a little more each year,” Strinmoen said. “And then finally I reached a point where Bob could no longer do this, and then I took over.”
Strinmoen said he joined the club after giving a speech there 26 years ago.
“I came to the community and came in as a manager of the Social Security office here in Danville,” Strinmoen recalled. “I wanted to join one of the service clubs, and I was invited to join the Lions and have been with them ever since.”
Strinmoen said he joined the club because of his ties to service with his religion.
“A lot of it has to do with, if you’re raised a Christian, you’re linked with a commitment to service, and that’s what the Lions do,” he said. “That’s our model. We serve. We raise money, and, of course, you distribute it to places within the community.”
And for this dinner, they are collecting used hearing aids and eyeglasses. Strinmoen said this is one of the ways they help the community, by providing free or low-cost supplies.
“We can’t afford brand-new ones,” he added. “We can give them used ones, which are reconfigured for them.”
They are asking people to bring in used eyeglasses and hearing aids.
The event will be hosted at the St. James United Methodist Church located at 504 N. Vermilion Street. Chili will be served from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. with dine-in or carry-out as options. Tickets are $8.
“We serve the chili, and, of course, crackers for that,” he said of what will be offered in the diner. “And we also serve desserts, the big one that we make bread pudding, which is the big draw. We have cakes and cookies and pie and other things as well.”
And if you are interested in joining, the club says to talk to a member on Monday. There will be information available at the event.
Strinmoen said if you are in need of eyeglasses or hearing aids, information will be available at the event. The club offers used devices reconfigured to the patient’s needs for either free, or a low-cost. If you cannot make it to the event, he said there will be information on their Facebook page.