Helen Arnold, right, community outreach coordinator for Southeastern Guide Dogs, accepts a $10,000 check from Lions Club member and past president Tom Hoover at the Sanibel Community House earlier this year.

The Sanibel-Captiva Lions Club is proud to announce that, in their financial year just ended, the generous support of the Sanibel and Captiva community has enabled the club to give more than $80,000 to various charities and charitable causes. This is a record for the club, comfortably exceeding any previous year.

The Lions have been dedicated to helping the less fortunate in their community since the club was founded on Dec. 26, 1967. The proceeds from its fundraising events help support many charities including academic scholarships for handicapped students and programs for the visually impaired. In 2010, the club sponsored more than 18 different causes, staying true to their mission to serve.

The Lion’s new President Rick Siders, following outgoing club President Tom Hoover, was delighted to make the announcement.

“We are all immensely proud that we have been able to have another successful year and that we can continue to support those who need our services the most,” said Siders. “We cannot thank our community enough for helping us achieve our goals and allowing us to continue in our service.”

Some of the charities and activities supported by the Lions are, Bailey’s Scholarship Fund, Friends Who Care, F.I.S.H. of Sanibel, sight-based projects and visually-impaired individuals, handicap scholarships at Edison State College, Sanibel Recreation Center, Special Equestrians, LARC, Brightest Horizons Child Development Center, Conklin Center for the Blind, Florida Guide Dogs for the Deaf, Southeastern Guide Dogs, Inc., Florida Lions Foundation for the Blind, Camp Thunderbird, Lions International Charity and other miscellaneous projects.

To make donations and a full list of causes and organizations supported by the Sanibel-Captiva Lions Club, visit sanibelcaptivalions.org/fund_raising/contribute.html.