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The Troy Lions Club is now selling mops, brooms and dustpans to help fund community service projects, especially one near and dear to the hearts of members: “The Lion’s Den.”

The Lions are in the process of establishing a perpetual supply closet for teachers at Troy Elementary School, with hopes to expand the project to the other public schools in Troy in the near future.

“I know our teachers are asking for more classroom supplies all year every year,” said Elizabeth Hitchcock, service chair. “We felt like it was a need and that it would be helpful for our kids.”

“According to teachers, hundreds of their own dollars are spent monthly on supplies for their students who do not have or can’t afford what they need to be successful in the classroom, such as high-quality markers, crayons, paper, pencils, pens, even some clothing and hygiene items,” said Jan Murray, club secretary and marketing chair.

The club plans to purchase quality name-brand items to fill the Lion’s Den, then keep it stocked year-round for teachers to access as needed.

“In order to do that, the club needs a multitude of funds. The broom, mop and dustpan sale is the first major fundraiser to get those monies for this worthwhile community service project,” Murray said. “Proceeds from the sale will not only help fill The Lion’s Den, but also benefit the club’s sight programs aimed at preventing blindness, restoring eyesight and improving eye health and eye care in the Troy area. We recently purchased additional vision screening machines so that even more people can be screened for vision issues at area events.

“All monies raised from any Lions fundraiser go toward our efforts to serve the community, whether vision related or not. We are less than a year old and still establishing our goals beyond vision and youth, such as the environment, diabetes, hunger, and pediatric cancer and with those global causes in mind, we will be diligent in our efforts to serve our community.”

TES principal Teresa Sims said the drive is a wonderful support for the school.

“The teachers will be very appreciative of that and the support from the community in that way,” Sims said. “We’re always in need of supplies; especially at an elementary school, there are a lot of things that are consumable. There’s a lot of paper and supplies we go through with students. We are extremely grateful and appreciate the support.”

The Troy Lions Club was charted in May 2019. It is part of the 1.4 million-strong Lions Clubs International and has 30 members. It is looking for more members wanting to serve the community.

For more information on the club, its meetings and the broom, mop, and dustpan sale, visit troylionsclub.com or email troylionsclubsecretary@gmail.com. Those wanting to purchase can also visit Ideal Graphics, 119 231 N., directly behind Premier Chrysler and Bill Jackson Ford.