Mount Prospect Lions Club
The Mount Prospect Lions Club was organized by a group of civic-minded citizens in October 1933. The Club's charter was issued on March 6, 1934, and signed by the 32 charter members with the first President being Lion A. L. Buck MD.
Over the years, the club has arranged and sponsored many activities to help the community. A Christmas party was sponsored for needy children, donations were made to the American Red Cross, the Boy Scouts of America, and the local schools were presented with safety book covers. The club has bought street signs for the village, built a toboggan slide, sponsored an Easter egg hunt for 200 children, and supported a village beautification project. In 1946, the Club purchased 16 acres of land to be used as a park. A year later, Lions Memorial Park was donated to the village. Over the years, the Club donated many park improvements such as lighting, a shelter house and a public address system. In conjunction with the park improvements, the club paid for the blacktopping of the Northwestern R. R. parking lot. The Mount Prospect Lions Club holds an annual Village Fair around the 4th of July. The club sponsors the annual farmers market every summer and fall. The proceeds of the market are donated to the Village's food pantry and other worthy causes in Mount Prospect. The Club also sponsors an annual Easter egg hunt for the visually impaired children.
The Mount Prospect Lions Club has contributed to the Illinois Eye Research Center in Chicago, collected used eye glasses, funded eye examinations and provided eye glasses for the less fortunate of Mount Prospect. The club has made many contributions to Lions of Illinois camps for the blind and multiple handicapped. The club created the Lion George Gattas Memorial Scholarship Fund, and scholarships are given to local high school graduating seniors that meet the criteria of the fund. After the Katrina Disaster during the late summer of 2005 the Club responded by organizing a project called Operation Roar . Operation Roar is not only the Mount Prospect Lions Club but also other Lions Clubs coming together to help Lions Clubs in a disaster area furnish the needed supplies to sustain the dignity of life.