In the News
Dewey Beach Lions Club, Inc.
March 17, 2009
Rehoboth FireFighters start campaign for new building
by Ryan Mavity (Cape Gazette)
The housing market may be in flux these days but that isn’t deterring the Rehoboth Beach Volunteer Fire Company from looking to build its own dream house.
The company kicked off its capital campaign with a donation of $25,000 by the Dewey Beach Lions Club toward its ultimate goal of $4.5 million for a new Station 2 on the corner of Route 1 and Airport Road.
The project has been in the planning stages since 1987, second assistant chief Chuck Snyder said at a press event Monday, March 16. The company has outgrown its facility, which began life as an airplane hangar at the old Rehoboth Airport. The company moved the hangar to its present location.
“This project,” Snyder said, “is an extreme undertaking in these tough economic times. However, fires and accidents keep occurring and increasing every year, so the need to keep up with providing service never gets a break.”
The new station has been proposed as a three-story building that will be able to house three fire engines that Snyder said will enable the company to better serve and respond to the community’s needs. The company has two other stations – one on Rehoboth Avenue and another on Route 24.
“This new structure will allow those first responders a place much closer than the downtown station,” Snyder said.
The new Station 2 will be located in what is now the parking lot of the existing station, which will remain as a maintenance, storage and training facility. Snyder said the design of the new station is similar to the one on Route 24, although that station is only two stories.
“We’ve taken the design concept from out there and added the third story,” he said.
Ron Krajewski, president of the Dewey Beach Lions Club, said of the donation, “It was very important. The Rehoboth Beach fire department does so much for the community. We’ve always supported them in the past, and when they have a major project like this we support them even more. Our board and our club are behind them 100 percent.”
Snyder said there is no timetable yet for starting construction of the new station. He said so far there have been some smaller donations, but the company has discussed looking into grant money from the state or possibly some money from the recently signed federal infrastructure stimulus plan. Snyder said the company hopes to break ground in the next two years.
“It all depends on how good the money comes in. But we need to get started. The longer we wait, the longer it’s going to take us to do what we have to.”
June 12, 2010
On Saturday, June 12th, the Dewey Beach Lions Club helds it's 10th annual Community Appreciation Day. The purpose of this event is for the club members to give back to the community, with a specific focus on kids of all ages. This annual event held in the spring includes food, firetrucks, water slides, dunk tanks, moonbance and much more! This years event drew over 150 kids!
To see more Community Appreciation Day pictures, click here.
July 23, 2010
Dewey Beach Lions Clubhouse to be used for culinary training
The kitchen in the new Dewey Beach Lions Club Community Center on McKinley Ave. will be used, in part, by Chimes Inc. to train people with cognitive disabilities in kitchen skills and culinary arts.
The Boardwalk Buddy Walk Fund is partnering with the Dewey Beach Lions Club and Chimes Inc. in Millsboro to provide employment opportunities to people with intellectual disabilities such as Down syndrome. While details are still being ironed out, it is hoped that as early as September, the program will be up and running. The partnership between nonprofits is somewhat unique but necessary when organizations strive to do more with limited funds.
Chimes Inc., a private foundation, was employed by the state of Delaware in 1994 to provide services to people with autism in New Castle County. These services now encompass employment, residential and day habilitation programs for people throughout the state and include any cognitive disorder.
Job achievement and the satisfaction of becoming a productive member of society are Chimes’ primary goals in the employment program. Chimes provides placements, and its workers learn the duties of these jobs before they become official employees. A job coach supports them at the work site.
Typical placements include office workers, mail clerks, stock persons, grocery baggers and janitors, but recognizing that tourism and food services drive the eastern Sussex County economy and job market, the new partnership will expand Chimes’ work program into restaurants.
Funding for the program will be provided in part by the Boardwalk Buddy Walk Fund. The Buddy Walk, which is an annual community event, promotes acceptance and inclusion of people with Down syndrome and other cognitive disorders. This year the walk will take place at 9 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 9, at the Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk and Bandstand.
The Dewey Beach Lions Club has been the largest sponsor of the Boardwalk Buddy Walk since the walk began five years ago.
Some of the training will take place at Chimes’ Millsboro location, but the Lions Club kitchen will give clients a valuable opportunity to train in an environment closer to what they will experience in the real world.
Employers will be getting a motivated worker who already knows how to show up on time. The employee will take steps toward independent living.
