It’s berry season, and Fort Vancouver Lions have just what your freezer needs. Their 2025 Frozen Berry Sale is back—delicious, local, and 100% for a good cause. Every purchase helps fund their vital community programs.

Order by August 20th

Mark your calendar. This year’s deadline is August 20. Pre-orders are open now and quantities are limited. Fort Vancouver Lions are encouraging early orders to guarantee your berry fix.

What’s Available?

• Raspberries (Sugar-Free)
• Blueberries (Sugar-Free)
• Three Berry Blend (Raspberry, Blueberry, Marionberry – Sugar-Free)
• Whole Strawberries (Sugar-Free)
• Sliced Strawberries with Sugar

Pricing and Packaging

• Bags (Raspberries, Blueberries, Three Berry, Whole Strawberries): $75 per 15-pound box
  Each box includes 6 bags (2.5 pounds each)
• Sliced Strawberries with Sugar: $75 for 18 pounds
  Includes 12 containers (1.5 pounds each)

Every box is packed with fresh Pacific Northwest berries, flash-frozen at peak ripeness. Great for smoothies, baking, jams, or just snacking right out of the freezer.

100% of Profits Stay Local

All proceeds from the Fort Vancouver Lions Frozen Berry Sale support programs like eye screenings, food aid, and youth outreach. Your purchase does more than fill your freezer. It feeds hope in your neighborhood.

Ever wonder why frozen berries often taste sweeter than fresh ones? Cold temperatures break down cell walls, releasing more of the berry’s natural sugars—making your smoothie taste like summer no matter the month.

FAQs

How do I place an order?

Reach out to any Fort Vancouver Lions member or visit their official site or Facebook page.

Where do the berries come from?

They’re locally grown and processed right here in the Pacific Northwest.

Can I donate a box instead of keeping it?

Yes. You can gift a box to local food banks or families in need through the club.

How are the berries packed?

Each box is pre-sorted into bags or containers for easy freezer storage and portion control.

Don’t miss your chance to eat well and give back. The Fort Vancouver Lions Frozen Berry Sale is the sweetest fundraiser of the summer. Order now, support your community, and keep the flavor of the Northwest in your freezer all year long.

Fort Vancouver Lions: growing goodwill, one berry at a time.

Published in The Columbian on June 12, 2021

EAST MILL PLAIN — A free shredding event at the Mill Plain Methodist Church on May 22 helped the Fort Vancouver Lions Club raise more than $1,500 to support the sight and hearing needs of low-income residents in Clark County. More than 200 neighbors and friends of volunteers attended the event. Through the Lions Sight Foundation of Clark County, the Lions help visually impaired individuals by providing free eyeglasses and surgeries. Clark County Lions Hearing Foundation offers three programs that provide low-cost hearing aids. Another shred event will be held in October. 

Hello everybody. Today I am here with Past District Governor Lion Terry Robertson. And I believe we’re going to find out why Lion Terry became a Lion. So Terry, can you share your story with us?

I’d love to. It’s a story that goes back into the 1980’s. Fort Vancouver Lions,
and the Spartans Drum and Bugle Corps that I was part of, because our sons played in it, shared a fireworks stand. And believe it or not, someone asked me to join. And I said yes. And so I attended the meetings, and discovered that Lionism was deeply involved in the service of the hearing and especially the sight impaired. Which became a very strong passion of mine.

Great. I know that a lot of Lions choose to become a Lion and then they stay for different reasons. Can you tell us how long you’ve been a Lion?
And why did you remain a Lion?

Well, yes. It’s kind of a short story in one respect. I have been a Lion for 37 years this year. The main reason was my passion for the visually impaired. And I was asked to serve on, goes back a long ways, The Lions Sight Conservation of the State of Washington and Northern Idaho. I served on that board of directors and about 30 plus years later when it was called Sight Life and I work my way all the way through as chairman of the board. I turned it over to another individual. The primary function of the Sight Foundation and Sight Life is to give people the gift of sight. There’s no more wonderful feeling than being involved and let somebody see again. And through both those foundations, we have given the gift of sight to starting in just the state of Washington and Washington and Northern Idaho, when it became Sight Life, we stepped out and started going various places in the world like South Africa, and I became chairman of the board and it today the mission of that Lions Foundation is to eradicate Corneal Blindness by the year 2050.

Wow, that’s in the world. Yep in the world.

If I’m correct Clark County has some sort of a Sight Foundation here locally. Can you share a little bit about what that would be?

Yes, I’d love to. And I was deeply involved in that too. And served as chairman of the board for a period of time. The Clark County Sight Foundation is formed by the Lions Clubs of Clark County. And their primary function is to service the people of Clark County that cannot afford eyeglasses to see. And through that they provide tests through the Foundation the Clark County Foundation. They provide eye tests and Eyeglasses to people that qualify and it is income-based. Low income people have to qualify first there, and then through a series of tests, but it’s a marvelous foundation. And by the way, Clark County also has a Hearing Foundation that provides, not cheap, state-of-the-art hearing devices
for low-income people here in Clark County.

So a lot of the Lion fundraisers go to support these two foundations. Is that right?

That is correct. That’s what Lions were originally founded. If we go all the way back to about the second year of Lionism Helen Keller a visually impaired and hearing impaired individual, spoke to a Lions convention and asked all those there, this was back in the 1930’s, become Knights for the Blind. What an honor to be called that. And since then that’s what Lions have become all around the world. Knights for the Blind.

Great. So if we have person that potentially wants to be a Lion, and they’re watching this. Is there any piece of advice that you would give them?

Well, yes. I would say there are a number of Lions Clubs in Clark County and they would love to have, where ever you live, there’s a Lions Club fairly close. I would ask you to go on the Internet and look up Lions Clubs of Clark County, pick one that’s close to you, and just call them and say you’d like to see what they’re all about.

Okay. Thank you for your time Terry. You have a great day.

Thank you. You also.

Hello everybody. This is Lion Dotty, and I’m here today with Lion Al.
We’re gonna find out why Lion Al became a Lion. Al can you tell us the story behind why you became a Lion?

Well, thank you Dotty. 17 years ago when I retired I was looking for something to give back to the community. And my good friend and neighbor Marcel Tingy belonged to the Fort Vancouver Lions Club.
So on Friday, he invited me to go to the luncheon meeting. I was a little skeptical because I thought well these guys are kind of a mature group to be polite, and I’m not sure I fit in. But I went there it was a luncheon meeting. And the first thing they did was they said the Pledge of Allegiance, and sang God Bless America, and opened with a prayer. That alone had me hooked. I thought these guys are good people and as I progressed in Lions, I realized how true that was. It was interesting. I was confused as to what Lions… I knew about Helen Keller and I understood that they looked after the blind but that was about it. But as we proceeded, as I walk through the first year with them, and realize that I could participate in whatever volunteer our fundraising activity that I wanted, that I didn’t have to do it all, I could pick and choose what I enjoy. One particular spring we had a track meet for the Washington School for the Blind. I never knew that this was one that they’ve had pad for 20 years before that. But when I went there and saw those young children participating in track and field events, man, that was something really tugged at my heart. Then that first winter at the Washington Elementary School when we converted the library into a store and allowed 500 children in kindergarten through fifth grade, to come down and get toys for their siblings and one for their mom and dad and then go back up to their class and wrap them that made me feel very proud to be a Lion. We were giving back to the community. So that’s the main reason I wanted to join us to be able to feel like I can give back to the community.

That’s great Al.

It sounds like you had a really good and productive first year. Can you tell me maybe what made you stay a Lion? Was it something different? Did you have a Lion moment? Can you tell me the story behind that?

That’s a good question. I think as I started to get to know everybody, I realized that hey these are good people. They really want to serve. And so as I worked alongside them, I became more and more intrigued with what motivated them. And it was different things. When we did fundraisers, there was a certain group of our club that gravitated toward that because they were good at it. And in a volunteer organization you need to be able to raise money so that we can give money back to the community. And then on the volunteer side, working arm and arm or shoulder to shoulder, whatever you want to say. I was able to get to know these people in the community.

And they’re good people. And they were young. At the time, I was in my early 50’s at the time. I felt comfortable with people who are 70 and I learned a lot from them as well. And then I started to learn more and more about the organization of Lions and got a little more involved in the structure of the club itself. First I served as a one of the board of directors
and then eventually, after about four or five years, I became President of the club one year. And we all serve we all take our turn and it was interesting to watch how both men and women were able to do that. And it was satisfying very satisfying for me to do that.

That’s great. So if there’s a person watching this video that is considering joining a Lions Club, can you give any piece of advice to them?

Yeah, I think if you want to be able to get involved, in a way that fits your schedule, and to the degree that you want to get involved, and not feel obligated, that the Lions Club is one that you should look at. And look at what we do, look at what the club does. And if serving the blind or the deaf, or have diabetes, or children with… What is it, like underprivileged children… under privileged children. That’s a good way to say it. If that appeals to you, then working with a group of Lions is a good way to go. In Clark County itself, we have I believe, 9 Lions Clubs. We meet in the morning, we meet at noon, we need at night. So just depends whatever fits your schedule go to the Lions Club meeting, and see what they do and check out for yourself. You’re not obligated to anything. The only fee associated is an annual fee. And I think it’s now $90 a year. Now ours is a lunch of meeting. You can buy lunch, or you don’t have to buy lunch, if you want to pay for a lunch and we for an hour, It’s only an hour. But we have fun. We conduct business, we talk about what’s coming up. So if you really want to get involved, and feel like you’re contributing, give the Lions Club a shot. Thank you, Dotty.

You’re welcome, and that’s some great advice Al.

Hello everybody. This is Lion Dotty here today with Lion Jen and Lion Len, our first couple in this series. I would like to find out from you why you became a Lion.

Well, I guess I’ll take the first question. I became a Lion basically because all my life I’ve been visually challenged. I know that Lions were known as the Knights of the Blind but never really had the opportunity or took the opportunity to join a Lions Club. So when I moved out here 18 years ago to become the director of the School of Piano Technology for the blind, one of the first things I did was to seek out a Lions Club and joined it to become part of that group, and I haven’t looked back ever since. A great experience.

After about five years as a Lion, I was asked to serve as President of the club. Which I did, but a little bit of a hickup happened when the Club Secretary had to resign for personal reasons. So almost mid year, I was caught without a Secretary. So as they do in some of these instances, I turned to my best friend, Jenny. Who stepped up and became a Lion.

So, I became the Secretary of Record and so I also had to join the Lions Club. So I became very familiar with the LCI database because, although I couldn’t attend the meetings because they were during the day, and I was full time, I got all the data from one of the other Lions members and then I would put all of the data into the LCI database. By that mechanism I was able to help Len, and in doing so I really enjoyed being a Lion because of some of their service projects that we got involved with and also some of the people that became very close friends. So it was a good it decision.

So it sounds like you became a Lion by default.

Yes.

And Len you joined about 18 years ago. Is that right?

Yes. That’s about right.

Okay, so we kind of know why you joined. Can you tell us why you stayed Lions?

I can. Basically in a word, the people and the projects, two words I guess. We really enjoy the people that we are have come to know that we associate with and we enjoy the projects.

Let me tell you about one of them. My favorite project is the Washington State School for the Blind track meet. Every year for probably about the last 40 years, our Lions Club has provided the opportunity for blind and visually impaired people at the Washington State School for the Blind and other blind children throughout the state of Oregon and state of Idaho. They all come and meet at this school and participate in the track meet. We do all kinds of track and field events. Running races of various lengths, they do the shot put, the modified shot put, the high jump, the long jump.

All these great events that these children haven’t had a chance to participate in, at least not on a competitive basis, but here they’re competing against their peers. It’s kind of a fun thing and a fair thing and they love to do their best and we always give them two or three tries on every event that they seem to urge themselves to get better with each to try. They try to throw a little bit further for the next time so that they seem like they are improving. It’s been just a wonderful event to be part of. So happy and confident. There’s an award session at the end. And the Lions during the midday provide a lunch for everyone involved.

Yeah, I’ve participated in that several times and it’s a super fun event.

It is and it’s not only fun, but it just makes your heart warm. To know that these young blind children have got to experience a more normal experience. You know, when Len and I first moved out to the state of Washington. We’re both Runners. We love track. We love track events. And to be able to help with an event like this was just was just phenomenal.

I would say for myself, what keeps me a part of Lions, and the the project that I love, I actually have two additional ones. I love participating in Walk N’ Knock. And when we first started participating in Walk N’ Knock, we would just go out and collect the food and just do what we needed to do and the whole Walk N’ Knock project for the community was actually, it started out being a Lions project. It was never a community-wide event. So we love participating. And now we’re actually Captains, co-captains of our own area. So it gives us the opportunity to go out there and assign areas and really be team leaders, which we really enjoy.

And the last thing I would say is that we love the Santa store. And the Santa store, you know working with Washington Elementary School. We actually get some funding to buy gifts. So that the young children at Washington Elementary can come to Santa store and buy gifts for their family. To make them feel a part of Christmas. And again, it’s just a heartwarming opportunity.

Well, it sounds like Lions Club has given you lots of service opportunities. Lots of friends all of that. If there’s someone that’s listening to this that is considering joining a Lions Club, Is there any piece of advice that you would give to them?

Yeah. I think that what I love about Lions Club is that it’s non-political. It’s a non religious organization that works with and for the community. And as a part of being a Lion you not only get to know other community members, but, I think one of the real gifts that we’ve had is that there’s a social thing to it.

Of course we’ve made a lot of very good friends and we’ve actually made some of our best friends in our life. It’s  just been a wonderful experience from that perspective.

I would agree with the people and the projects are the reasons that you might go. And the other thing is, it’s kind of an interesting thing that you don’t do a project every week. But we do have a meeting every week. And at the meetings there’s usually an interesting speaker that comes. And so for 15 or 20 minutes you get to learn something new, share someone else’s experiences. Sometimes we’ll have the Mayor of Vancouver come and she updates us as to the state of the city. Other dignitaries come and to talk to us as well as business owners, authors, and all kinds of people that our program committee puts together. So it’s an enjoyable meeting and as well as a social meeting. We do a little bit of business. But yeah, It’s a fun time, and a social time for us during the week.

Well, thank you so much for allowing me to interview you and you guys have a fantastic day.

Thanks Dotty, you too, take care.

Well, hello everybody. I would like to introduce my daughter, Sergeant Elaina Hitt, who is now in the Army. She grew up obviously with me in Vancouver. She was very involved within our Lions Club. I just wanted to get her perspective on what it was like to grow up being involved within a Lions Club. So Elaina, can you share any thoughts on how you enjoyed being in the Lions or just anything that you want to share?

Yeah. So some of my oldest memories are actually going to Lions Club meetings and doing community service with them and it was always something that I really really enjoyed. Because it got me out of the house it got me out of the everyday, same old same old go to school, come home, go to school come home, it introduced me to new people and honestly it taught me a lot about how to be a productive member of society and how to give back to people. From a young age I always really really liked helping people. But as I got older that just grew and that’s something that I was able to do with the Lions Club.

Awesome. Were their members of our club that really made an impact for you? And can you tell me maybe why?

They all had an impact on me actually. Because it was really eye-opening at that age to see other people’s view on life and how they handle things. I remember a couple times asking a couple of them for different advice on certain things because they were older than I was and had a lot more life experience than I did. So it was always nice to have that point of view.

And it’s always good to get a different one from from your old mom’s, huh?

Absolutely.

Okay. So if we have any, you know potential parents that would like to join our club, Is there any advice that you would give to them?

Do it. I would say do it. Not only did I get the chance to serve my community and give back to people, but I also got a lot closer with my mom. And that’s you know, that’s something that I’ll never be able to replicate in another sort of organization.

That’s wonderful Elaina. So I know you’re really busy in the in the Army doing what you do. So I’m going to let you sign off for now and thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with us.

Of course.

This is Lion Dotty here with Lion Bruce Armstrong. And today we are going to find out why Bruce became a Lion. So Bruce, Why did you become a Lion?

Well, I became a Lion for a number of reasons, and I suppose that’s true with everybody, but one of them that is my father. He didn’t make me join the Lions but he was an accountant who loved his job and I have a childhood memory of lying in bed listening to him on his adding machine and he found great joy in his his work. But greater joy in his Lions Club experience. Tuesday night, he disappeared with a lot of his buddies. There was men only at that time in Lions. We’ve fixed that error, but he found great satisfaction in being a Lion and he vested his family in Lions events also.

My brother and I, remember being sent out with boxes of light bulbs, to sell light bulbs to neighbors. That was one of the big fundraisers back in the early 60’s. His Club also had Christmas tree sale, and it was fun to be a part of that as well as other events picnics and others. My dad died at the age of 63, at a Lions Club Convention. And of course, I was a great shock and loss to our family. But in the years since I have thought if Dad could have picked the place that he would leave this life or start his new life, it would certainly have been at a Lions Club activity, or Lions Club function. That’s a reason that I joined several years later, but another big reason is to live up to the life my father led, and the motto of Lions Club, WE SERVE.

That’s awesome. So a lot of times Lions join a reason that’s different than why they stayed. Can you tell me why you remain a Lion to this day? And how long have you been a Lion?

Well, I’ve been a Lion for about 30 years, in four different settings as my family have moved across the state of Washington. And I remained a Lion because it’s a wonderful opportunity to do a couple of things. Connect to people that I wouldn’t ordinarily meet, and also too serve the community and particularly those who are most vulnerable. I heard a statement some years ago that has been very helpful to me. That service to others, is the cost of the common good. And Lions Club lives up to that. To help people who are in need in a variety of ways and to help us to find and nurture the common good of all Humanity.

Great. So if we have any, potential new members watching this video, what would your advice to them be?

I would say give it a try. Lions Club is certainly not for everybody but it is for many, and that is for those sometimes who don’t think it is. If you come and give it a try, in some small way, either to a club meeting or to a club activity. You might find that it’s exactly the right fit for you to serve others, to meet friends, and to enjoy life.

So we are here today with Lion David. Can you tell me when you became a Lion and why you started.

I became a line about 40 years ago in California when I lived there and a friend of mine asked me to go with him to a meeting and I didn’t know what meeting or whatever and I went and it was a Lions club meeting and I kind of stuck around that point and have been a Lion most of the time since then and that’s over 40 years ago.

Wow. So how many clubs have you been in, do you know?

I’ve been in two one, two, three, four, five different clubs across the country as my job is taking me around the country. I’ve been Club president six times and five different clubs. So I’ve been involved in a District Governor and I’ve been a council chairman which is sort of over the district Governor’s so I’ve been around and had some fun doing it. It’s a wonderful organization.

Can you tell me since you’ve been around for 40 or so years, why did you stay?

I enjoy giving back to the community. I have been able to help things such as taking care of cemeteries, building handicap ramps. I taken the trips to Peru and Mexico on eyeglass missions, and I just love helping people that are less fortunate than we are. There’s so many out there that need help and we have the ability to do that. As a Lion Club member you have the opportunity to work together. You can do so much more as a team than you can’t as an individual, and that’s what Lions Clubs do.

So true. So if there was somebody that was kind of on the fence of whether they want to join a Lions Club or not, is there a piece of advice you would give them?

I would ask them to go with me out to a service project and see where we actually help people. Going to a meeting is going to a meeting, but going out and actually seeing where the rubber hits the road is the big deal. Whether it’s just we just recently completed a clean up out at Fort Vancouver the park out there to kind of help do things that need to be done. It’s heartwarming to go out there and see a group of people doing things for betterment of things other than themselves.

That’s awesome. Great. Thank you for your time today, David.

Thank you Dotty. Bye.