The tangy, delicious taste of barbecue will help the Landrum Lions Club raise funds during their fundraiser from 4 to 7 pm on Nov. 22 at Ayers Market and Deli.
Tickets cost $8 and can be purchased from any Lions Club member or at Ayers Market, 332 S. Howard Avenue in Landrum. The ticket will provide barbecue meat with two sides, a roll and drink to eat there or carryout.  A pound of barbecue also will be available for $8. The money raised will go to help important causes in the community, said Christopher Chestnut, Lions club president.
“We mainly provide vision screenings and glasses,” Chestnut said. “We also help with hearing aids, and we help support other projects, like the reading program in the schools, helping with the Landrum High School sign, Boys State, Girls State, and we’ve sponsored backpacks with some churches. We do a lot of work that goes unheralded.”
The last vision screening sponsored by the Lions on Oct. 9 and 15 reached 368 children. Janice Petty, school nurse, often spearheads the screening process with club members.
“I was shocked when we did the vision screenings at the school to find out how many children do have vision issues,” Chestnut said. “Sometimes children have astigmatism, and there’s a rare type that can cause a child to go blind if not caught in time. Also, many high school dropouts have problems with reading, and if a student can’t see to read, they haven’t got a chance. We finance those vision screenings every year.”
The Lions’ benevolence doesn’t stop with screening, though. If someone has challenges paying for professional follow-up or glasses, the Lions will pay for part or all of the expenses to applicants who have those needs. The club also has connections to a vast network of optometrists, opthamologists, and other doctors.
The club has twenty-three members and would like to have more. Anyone interested in joining can attend the meetings, which occur at 6:45 p.m. the first and third Thursdays of the month at Ayers Market.