Centennial Presentation at 1st Cabinet Meeting

The following report was presented at the 1st Cabinet Meeting on August 13, 2016, in Big Lake, Alaska

Submitted by Lion Nancy Norton

49A Centennial Coordinator

Centennial Service Activities, Legacy Projects, and Reporting in MyLCI

I was asked to talk about our Centennial Service Activities and Legacy Projects today and how to input them into MyLCI. 

Clubs are doing GREAT!  TEN clubs have reported Centennial Service Activities for July and TWO clubs (Wasilla and the Juneau Mendenhall Flying Lions) have completed ALL FOUR of the challenges already in July!    

Your Club Secretary is responsible for reporting service activities into MyLCI.  But it is up to ALL members of the club to come up with project ideas that qualify for the Centennial challenges and designate them as Centennial Service Activities or Legacy Projects. 

CENTENNIAL SERVICE ACTIVITIES….

The four Centennial Service Challenges are:

1. Engaging Our Youth
2. Sharing the Vision
3. Relieving the Hunger
4. Protecting Our Environment

Even though Engaging Our Youth might be designated for the month of August or Sharing the Vision for October, clubs can do them any time of the year and get credit as a Centennial Service Activity.   Some times we report our event as Engaging Our Youth when it's actually US doing all the work AT a child's event.  Remember:  Engaging Our Youth is about ENGAGING our youth, not DOING FOR OUR YOUTH.  We want our youth to join us on projects, help with the decisions, lead, getting them involved.  They are our next leaders.  

Some times an activity might fall under two different categories.  Each Club can choose the category that best suits them.  For instance, some clubs designate eyeglass recycle as Protecting Our Environment because they're keeping eyeglasses out of the landfill; others as Sharing the Vision because they're giving the gift of sight.  Neither is wrong; both are correct.  

As your Centennial Coordinator, I have the ability to go into your club accounts and see what you’re doing.   Most are doing a great job of reporting your activities and especially your Centennial Service Activities.  A few might report, but then forget to designate that it’s a Centennial Service Activity.  And some haven’t input any service activities for years…  For those Clubs, I'm here to help.  

How are service activities different from Centennial Service Activities?  Not all service activities qualify as a Centennial Service Challenge.  For instance, the Juneau Mendenhall Flying Lions collects Boxtops logos.  Although these clipped logos are going to be turned into a school, they don't have anything to do with children or any of the four categories so it will be reported as a regular service activity.

If your service activity qualifies as a Centennial activity, you have to DESIGNATE it as one.  Click on Select Type (as shown in the picture below) to get a drop down menu of your activity options:  

The next screen shows different Activity Types to choose from as you scroll down.  Note that some options have changed recently.   

Again, a project might fall under one or two different categories; pick the one that best suits your club.  

The next step in reporting your Centennial project is to make the selection in the Centennial Challenge Box at the bottom of the picture.  By designating one of these options, you're notifying LCI of your project:  

Legacy Projects -- What qualifies and how to report them in MyLCI. 

A Legacy Project is a VISIBLE GIFT to your community that commemorates our Centennial and creates a lasting legacy of your service contributions. 

and

Also, that all Legacy Projects should be identified with a sign or plaque indicating the project was donated by your Lions Club. 

Note:  The LCI store has plaques specific for the Centennial that you can purchase. 

There’s a couple key words there -- VISIBLE GIFT and IDENTIFYING YOUR PROJECT WITH A SIGN. 

I will venture to guess that a Legacy Project will be:

• A NEW project, not something you do over and over again.
• It will be a project that your club has given great thought and consideration to before agreeing that it, indeed will have great impact on your community.
• It most likely will not be a financial donation.
• It won't benefit just one person.
• It will be something tangible, that others will see, use, and enjoy for years to come.
• It might be something so incredible that when others see it, they will be reminded just how much your Lions Club does for your community.  

Three Levels of Legacy Projects:

LEVEL 1 is very simple to accomplish and one all clubs should have no problem doing.  These projects Raise your community visibility:

• If your down does not have a "Lions" sign at your city limits, get one!  
• Provide a park bench in memory of a local Lion that has passed on.
• If nothing else, plant a tree at a local senior center.  

Level one projects are simple to do.  They're quick and cost will be minimal.  All Clubs should be able to accomplish a Level 1.  

LEVEL 2 Legacy Project Provide a community gift:

• Refurbish a city park or playground.
• Donate a vehicle to a community organization.
• Build a footbridge or construct bleachers at a ball park.  
• The Juneau Mendenhall Flying Lions brought the USS Juneau Presentation Silver back home where it resides in the City Museum.  

These projects will be more INVOLVED, may take more time to coordinate with government agencies to complete, and have a larger cost.  

LEVEL 3 Legacy Projects will make a community impact:

• Build a clinic.
• Develop a training center.
• Equip an area of a hospital

Our Newtok Water Project will be a Level 3 as will the Blond Bank if they get reported into MyLCI as such.  These projects are HUGE.  The impact is HUGE.  And the cost is HUGE.  These projects don't happen overnight or during one meeting.  

As you can see, Legacy Projects are visible gifts to your community.  

You're making an impact on your community.

You've given this great consideration.

Your Club has agreed that this would be a great legacy to your community.

You've planned and budgeted.

You've contacted all the parties that will help this project go forward.

You've created a timeline to get the project done.

You've got your volunteers.

You've notified your local newspaper that you're doing this incredible legacy project.

You've advertised on Facebook and other social media.

You've submitted a PSA to your paper.  

You have your work party.

You have your finished product.

Now what....?

You report your project in MyLCI.  

As mentioned, this is the job of your secretary, but if she is unable to report your activities, the President should designate someone else to do the reporting.  It's that important.

Remember that when you enter your Legacy Project, you can also qualify for one of the four Centennial Service Challenges.  For instance, if you PLANT A TREE, it qualifies for PROTECTING OUR ENVIRONMENT and a LEGACY LEVEL 1 project.

You can select the service activity in the Activity Type drop down menu as well as your Legacy Level.   SEE EXAMPLE  below.   But you can only select one.  I’d select the Legacy Project in this step and then go to the next example to enter Centennial Service Activity Challenge (in the box in the bottom of the screen -- Protecting Our Environment.  You’ve covered them both.

So, to reiterate. . . .  Your Secretary is responsible for entering your Centennial Service Activities and Legacy Projects into MyLCI on a monthly basis.  In order for us to achieve the Centennial Challenge of serving 100 million people, it's important that we report "people served" as well as our Centennial challenge and legacy activities.

It's that simple.  A couple reminders:

1. July 1 we started over with our Challenge for activities.  So even if you did challenges, starting July 1, starts a new year.
2. You can do as many Centennial service activities as you want!
3. You can do as many Legacy Projects as you want!  
4. If your Club is a 100% Contributing Member, you can report your contribution in MyLCI and select one of the four challenges to cover it.  If you don't think you'll get a Protecting Our Environment challenge done this year and if your club donates to the 100% Contribution Member, select Protecting Our Environment.  

For any questions, please contact me at mikennancy@gci.net.

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