A letter from Deb Edison, Osseo Lions president

The Osseo Lions Club was formed by a group of businessmen in 1944, wanting to serve the needs of their community.

In the almost 80 years since then, the club has grown and been through many changes. I’ d like to expand a little on who the Lions are today, and what we actually do within the Osseo community.

We are part of the Lions Club International organization, which has more than 1.3 million members worldwide, of 50,000 clubs from over 200 countries. You will often see the Lions logo at city parks, ball fields, and on highways – once you start looking for the signs, you’ ll find them everywhere you travel in North America and across the globe.

Lions Club International Foundation brings funds and volunteers in times of need – from disaster relief to distributing vaccines that have all but wiped-out river blindness in children. With a simple mission to serve, they provide humanitarian relief and grants to impact the health and well-being of communities everywhere. As part of this much larger organization, the Osseo Lions are able to serve our immediate community every day.

Here in Minnesota, the Lions helped to create and fund the Minnesota Lions Eye Bank – now known as the Lions Gift of Sight at the University of Minnesota. It is now a leading facility for corneal transplants and ophthalmology research, in addition to the eye bank. A little history on this. The Lions were tasked with becoming“ knights for the blind” by none other than Helen

Keller in 1925 when she spoke at the Lions International Convention. Because of this, eyesight has been a core focus of the international organization – along with hearing, diabetes, childhood cancer, disaster relief, hunger and the environment.

Now, back to the Osseo Lions Club … What do the Osseo Lions actually do? How do we serve?

We raise funds through community events and charitable gambling( have you pulled some tabs at Duffy’ s recently? If so, thank you). The funds we receive are given back to the community through donations to local organizations and service projects.

In the 2024-25 fiscal year, the Osseo Lions donated more than $ 185,000 to nonprofit organizations, including the Osseo Area School District. These funds focus on the needs of children, veterans and the disabled.

We have provided eye tests and glasses, assistive devices for hearing impaired and students with disabilities, help for families and veterans in need, support for students and families who are unhoused, as well as booster and activity clubs at local schools. We have also supported special projects like the city of Osseo’ s 150th celebration and working with the Maple Grove Rotary to plant more trees around the Osseo High School / Middle School.

The club also collects eyeglasses and hearing aids to be refurbished and used for those who need them but can’ t afford them. We collect and donate food and hygiene items to local food shelves throughout the year.

In addition to the Lions Roar each September, we host the

Palm Sunday Pancake Breakfast and Bake Sale. On Small Business Saturday this year, we had another successful bake sale in downtown Osseo in a space donated specifically for that event by an amazing volunteer member of our community.

You could find us flipping burgers at our food tent this spring during the InterMarque Car Show, and during the summer months, our Lion members are present to help set up and run the city of Osseo’ s Tuesday Night Movies and Music in the Park. Lion Ed takes the lead as the resident emcee, providing bad( terrible?) jokes free of charge, while a handful of other Lions and volunteers are selling popcorn and ice cream to attendees of the event in the heart of Boerboom.

In the fall, you’ ll find the Lions helping ghouls and superheroes cross the street as they parade up and down Central Ave, trick-or-treating at the local businesses, for our annual Halloween fun. Children of all ages then head over to the community center for more treats and goodies, with games and fun activities for the little kiddos.

In December, we bring Santa to the park during the Osseo Mini Dazzle. Santa also graciously attends the Lunch With Santa event, hosted by the Lions Club at the community center the first Saturday in December. A free lunch is provided for the kids during that event, along with a goodie bag, and an opportunity to take a picture with Santa.

You’ ll find us ringing bells at Fleet Farm in December to support The Salvation Army which was a passion project from one of dearly departed members,

Deb Edison is this year’ s Osseo Lions Club president.

Lion Mark Sundman. We have also been known to help the city hang Christmas lights down Central Avenue and set up the Christmas Village at Boerboom Veterans Park.

Whether it’ s a big event or highway cleanup, we always seem to be up to something in Osseo.

The Lions Roar is a great time to celebrate this amazing community, and we are truly grateful for the continued support we receive from the city, local businesses and active members of the community.

We are here, and able to do what we do, because of you! And

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we are always open to bringing in new members who are looking to help us in our mission to serve. The more members and ideas we have, the bigger impact that we are able to make.

If you are interested and want to have some fun with a great group of volunteers, we encourage you to contact us on our website or in person at one of our events. Additionally, if you know of a great cause or organization that we can support, please reach out.

Where there is a need, there is a Lion, and the Osseo Lions are proud to serve the needs of this community!