Charity event help the visually impaired

Pony rides, slides and clowns entertained children yesterday at the annual Apple Day Festival/Family Fun Day, while the proceeds will assist those with visual impairment.
The Blauvelt Lions Club's event in Flywheel Park aids Rockland-based charities that assist the blind and visually impaired.

"I'm so happy to see a lot of children," said George Griffith of Blauvelt, president of the Lions Club.
More family-oriented activities and vendors were added this year, he said, "and hopefully that will translate into increased amounts to go towards Blauvelt Lions' charities."

Griffith said that the Lions hoped to raise up to $5,000 with this year's event.

Money came from food sales, with all items donated by ShopRite in Northvale, N.J., Griffith said.
Ride operators contributed half of the money they took in. For many, these rides were the most exciting element of the day.

"I played on the slide," said 5-year-old Adam Koljenovic of Orangeburg. "I played on the horses and they were fun."

Jim Walsh, 36, of Pearl River was enjoying the day with his wife and children.

"We've just been walking around and looking at all the rides," he said. "We're having a good time."
Lions Club International has been aiding the blind and visually impaired since Helen Keller called upon the group for aid in 1925, and Griffith pointed to other aspects of the group's charitable work that benefit the greater community as well.

This work includes the creation of the Blauvelt Lions Park, which was dedicated in June.
The group also obtained a $75,000 grant last year from Lions Club International to develop and equip a Low Vision Rehabilitation Resource Unit within Dominican College's new $12.8 million health and science center.

"We support a number of charitable enterprises," Griffith said, including aiding victims of the December 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia.