October 21, 2009 - 10:24 a.m. EST

KINGSTON — This past Sunday afternoon the Kingston Lions Club hosted the District Fall Conference with Lions Club members including Millington, Caro and Otisville. Other groups from Tuscola, Saginaw, Genesee and Bay Counties were also in attendance.

The event began with the Parade of Checks where a total of $33,663 in donations was collected in to help various projects in the counties.

“The money collected will help all the projects we work on in the state of Michigan,” said Lions Region 1 Chair Jacob Dasho.

According to Kingston Lions Club Secretary Janet Grieve, 93 turkey dinners with all the trimmings were served by 15 of the club’s members.

The Lions Club, founded in 1917, meets the needs of local communities and the world. With more than 1.3 million members in 205 countries, the international organization has 45,000 clubs, making it the world's largest service club organization.

In addition to being best known for fighting blindness, the volunteers have even more community projects like caring for the environment, feeding the hungry and aiding seniors and the disabled.

The organization conducts vision screenings, equips hospitals and clinics, distributes medicine and raises awareness of eye disease.