A Century Serving
On a spring evening marking the first of April in 1926, the Plainfield Lions Club was chartered. The club gained momentum when local men and Mooresville Lions Club members sat before 16 business houses of Plainfield and pitched the idea of doing good within their community.
Now, 100 years after that April night, the Plainfield Lions Club continues to flourish and remain active within the Plainfield community.
A group dedicated to community service, the 17 sitting Lions members work each year to help support causes throughout Plainfield. One of their key initiatives involves providing free age-appropriate books to preschoolers to promote literacy in young children, a continuation of the work that was begun a century ago.
“One of the first service projects was advancing the Kindergarten plan, opening the first kindergarten in the Plainfield education system. In the mid-1970s, the Lions copyrighted the new school mascot when Quaker Oats threatened legal action for using their mascot. The club’s pin, The Fighting Quaker, commemorates this effort,” says Tom Iles, club president.
After that, the community recognized the potential for community engagement and support made possible through the Lions Club, with local newspapers touting that each club meeting led to more enthusiasm and goodwill. Fast forward a century and the Lions Club of Plainfield is still hitting the pavement.
True to their motto “We Serve!” the Lions Club contributes in many ways in the community. They provide free eye screenings to preschool-aged children to help identify preventable causes of blindness and further fund assistance for vision exams, eyeglasses, ocular surgeries and hearing aids. The Plainfield Lions Club is particularly active with initiatives that help end blindness in honor of a 1925 challenge by Helen Keller, in which she urged the Lions at the Lions Club International Convention to become “knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness.”
Postsecondary education scholarships are awarded to high school seniors to continue their education, and partial scholarships are also awarded to middle school and high school-aged students to help them explore potential careers in law enforcement through attendance at Indiana State Police Law and Career Summer Camps. Diabetes prevention is also a large part of their work due to its correlation with blindness. The Plainfield Lions distribute signed holiday cards to senior living facilities for Christmas, as well as handmade Valentines crafted by Plainfield elementary students.
Over the past 100 years, the Plainfield Lions are proud to have supported causes such as community sponsorships, flood relief campaigns, donations to health-based initiatives like Hope Healthcare Services, food drives, Meals on Wheels, community trash pickup and volunteering at local nursing homes, among others.
The group maintains support for other Indiana State Lions projects, including the Lions Cancer Control Fund of Indiana Inc., VisionFirst — Indiana Lions Eye Bank, Indiana Lions Speech and Hearing Inc., Indiana Lions School for the Blind and Visually Impaired and Indiana Lions for Leader Dog Inc.
The Lions are also gearing up for their fifth-annual craft fair, held in partnership with the Hendricks County Rib-Fest and BBQ. Open to the public, this event serves as their most important fundraiser and will be held Saturday, June 27, 2026.
Iles encourages anyone looking to make a difference to consider membership in the Lions Club.
“Lions are groups of service-minded men and women who are interested in improving their communities. We are young people, families and Baby Boomers alike. To become a Lion is to become an active volunteer, a member of a respected international organization, a leader in your community and a friend to people in need. We are seeking new members with innovative ideas and diverse perspectives to enhance our community,” he says.
If this sounds like you, visit the Plainfield-Guilford Township Public Library on the first Monday of each month or check out plainfieldlionsindiana.weebly.com and facebook.com/PlainfieldLions for more information.
