MIDDLETOWN – The Middletown Lions Club has never stopped supporting the community or performing charitable good deeds, despite COVID-19.
In 2020, the Lions created the Harvest of Hope community outreach initiative to help replenish food pantries in the area and mobilized assistance from other community groups.
Later in the year, the club members conducted another project to collect items for the homeless in conjunction with The Blessing Bag Brigade, according to a press release.
Most recently, the Lions Club awarded two student scholarships to academically gifted and exceptional college-bound students from Middletown South High School.
Victoria Libretti and Victoria Medl have already made significant impacts to the civic, social and charitable fabric of the educational community and the community at large through extracurricular activities and involvements, in addition to achieving high grade point averages, according to the press release.
Victoria Libretti will attend the University of Scranton, Pa., with a major in physiology on the pre-med track.
Her interest lies in the area of oncology and orthopedic surgery, noting she has been an athlete most of her life and also taking inspiration from her mother, who was diagnosed with stage 3 carcinoma in 2018.
“This whole experience with my mother has driven me to help people just like her in the future,” she said.
Victoria Medl will attend Rutgers University in the SAS Honors Program and will major in biology in pursuit of a career in medicine.
Her major is personal, as she was diagnosed with immunodeficiency syndrome just prior to entering high school, according to the press release.
During a treatment session, a young boy gave Victoria a plush zebra, which is the mascot of the chronically ill community, and it was at that moment that Victoria realized her calling to help and encourage others and to obtain an education that would allow her to make
discoveries about chromosomes to become others’ hope for the future, according to the press release.
Despite her own challenges, Victoria has also been helping to care for her grandmother,
who has dealt with numerous medical issues, according to the press release.
“My grandmother remains the most optimistic person I know and this simply amazes me,” Victoria said. “As a passionate physician, I can put my blood, sweat and tears into a new therapy or cure and leave a lasting impression in the hearts of my patients.”
In other Lions Club news, the Middletown Lions Club inducted two new members. They were officially brought into the “Lions pride” by Lions District 16L Governor Lion Douglas Both.
The new members are Lauren Crowley Johns from Investors Savings Bank in Middletown and Vincent LoSapio, a Middletown resident.
And, the club is preparing for an environmental cleanup project on Sept. 18 and was selected by the Middletown Clean Communities program for a $500 grant.
On Sept. 24, the club will resume the “Lion Tamer Fourth Friday” lunch meal program, in its 11th year, at the Bayshore Lunch Program at the Community Church of Keyport.
“The devastating effects of COVID-19 have put a terrible strain on charitable programs and
especially on food pantry and feeding programs.
“The Middletown Lions Club is increasing charitable outreach efforts to assist families that rely on these programs and has not stopped helping and supporting the most needy and vulnerable among us for one moment,” Lions Club President Beverly Bova Scarano said.
For more information, contact Beverly Bova Scarano at 908-896-1682.