top of page
This year's Summer Camp Mauchatea was held at the beautiful Mount Saint Charles (MSC) Academy in Woonsocket, RI.
We spent 5 days and 4 nights on the amazing grounds of MSC and various field trips. The lodging, staff and food at Mount Saint Charles was a huge upgrade for us!
We started the week off with a visit from Dave Marchetti and his amazing reptiles. The campers were able to hold and interact with snakes, turtles, bearded dragons, a bunny and so much more. We finished out Monday with a bounce house, water slide and fun sports.
Tuesday, we headed to Nurse Alli's parents' private pool and had a wonderful day filled with swimming and food. That night we got to have dinner with some members of the RILSF and the Foster Lions even brought in an ice cream truck!!!
Wednesday we were hosted by the Burrillville Lions and had an awesome day at Spring Lake, complete with a cookout and ice cream treats! We ended the evening with a friendly game of mini golf at Mulligans Island along with a campfire complete with smores and sing-a-longs.
Thursday, we headed out to Bristol Connecticut for a fun day at Lake Compounce. Many campers were able to go on the rides, some for the first time. We ended Thursday night with another campfire and sing-a-longs.
Friday, we stayed at MSC and had a phenomenal dance instructor, Heather, come and join us. We spent the rest of the day with a scavenger hunt, BINGO, games and sports.
Thank you again to the RILSF and the Narragansett Lions for continuing to fund this amazing camp, it means so much to all of our campers. Also, a HUGE thank you to our amazing staff of Counselors, we could never create such amazing camps without your help and support.
Winter Camp Mauchatea was held January 14-16, 2023.
This year we started at USA Skates and had an amazing time, skating, playing arcade games and eating pizza. We then headed to the Cape Codder Resort in Cape Cod! All the campers had a blast with swimming, water slides, games and movies. Campers ended the weekend at EP Bowling lanes.
They can't wait for summer camp!!!
16th Annual RI VIP Fishing Tournament
Another successful event is under our belt and we had a nearly full boat with 65 onboard, including 30 VIP’s, who managed to catch 58 fish even though the catch was slow. We out fished the other boat which is a compliment to Captain Cory and the VIP’s. The foggy conditions did cause a couple of “casualties” that took one for the team and did some chumming that may have helped.
This year we went back to the AM Trip which allowed us to get back to having an awards luncheon at the Carriage Inn which is much better than doing it on the boat.
2023 RILSF VIP Tournament VIP’s & Guides
The 1st Fish was caught by Randy LaFountain of East Providence, the not so large and only Fluke was caught by Barbara Henry of Providence, and largest Sea Bass at 19.5” was hooked by James Killingham of Providence. Honorable Mention was awarded to Derek Camille for his Black Fish, a rare sight for this time of year, that he hooked by the tail as the most unusual fish caught.
Trophies and Visa gift cards were awarded to:
1 st Place $50 (22 pts/7 fish) – Randy LaFountain, East Providence
2nd Place $25 (20 pts/6 fish) – Joe Bonardi, Worcester MA (Member of RI VIC Lions Club)
3 rd Place $25 (18pts/7 fish) – Mike Prusco, North Smithfield
Randy LaFountain (1st) Joe Barnardi (2nd) Mike Prusco (3rd)
There was a points tie for 3rd that was broken by the largest fish caught.
4 th Place (18pts/6 fish) – Ray Gonsalves, Cranston
5 th Place (16pts/5 Fish) – Derek Camile, East Providence
Ray and Derek are our “Horses in the Barn” if any of the 3 winners cannot go to the National Tourney on the Outer Banks in October.
On behalf of the RILSF, the VIP’s and their Guides, I want to thank the individuals, clubs and organizations that donated to cost of the tournament.
I also want to thank our volunteers, the Hawkins breakfast &lunch team and the Frances Fleet Staff, Captain Cole & Crew for treating us so well!
Ken Barthelemy
RI Lions Sight Foundation and Scituate Lions Club
School Year 2022-2023 Vision Pre-Screening
Vision pre-screening by the RI Lions Sight Foundation (RILSF) and RI Lions clubs began soon after the school year started.
A new process was instituted to make sure school nurses knew about the change in RI Health Department regulations for vision screening before accepting help from the RILSF.
Initial focus was on schools in towns where the local Lions club could do vision screening. Once screening at many of these schools was completed, members of the RI Sight Foundation and volunteers from some local Lions clubs started assisting school nurses with vision screening in other towns .
By the end of the school year, RI Lions clubs and the RILSF have helped screen over 22,000 students at more than 95 schools in RI, with about 15% of the students getting recommendations to see an eye professional for a medical checkup of their eyes from these pre-screenings.
Thanks to all the volunteers that put in valuable time screening and organizing the screening with the school nurses.
2022 National Fishing Tournament
This year’s tournament was held on October 17-19, 2022, and it was good to be back to making the trip to the National VIP Tournament on the Outer Banks of North Carolina after our 2-year pandemic pause. As usual the event was very well organized despite having nearly 3 years to lose the rhythm, combined with minds and memories being 3 years older during the pause, and the good old Southern Hospitality prevailed.
The report of the RI participation in the tournament can be downloaded by clicking the Download button below.
Camp Mauchatea Summer Camp 2022
This year Summer Camp Mauchatea 2022 was spent at Camp Aldergate in North Scituate during a very hot week in August.
We started the week getting set up in the rooms and acclimated to the building as well as taking swim tests at the pond.
During the week we also participated in archery, hiking, a low ropes course, and crafts. We were able to see a musical at Academy Players in Providence, RI, as well as swim in a private pool and have a cookout. Boating during the week was super fun with kayaks, paddleboards and canoes.
Later in the week some very important Lions came to visit and have dinner with us. They even brought in an ice cream truck for some tasty treats!
15th Annual RI VIP Fishing Tournament (2022)
We are back on a roll after completing two full tournaments in a row, complete with trophies and the competition was back on for attending the National VIP Tournament on the Outer Banks of NC in October.
The weather was great, and we caught a lot of sun but did not catch as many fish as last year. There was also the added bonus of not one chumming! Maybe it helps that we provide Subway sandwiches, chips & cookies from the South Kingston (Rt.1) Subway store.
We also continued with the afternoon trio as it allows some VIP’s to use the RIDE bus system which makes transportation planning much easier and, according to the Crew, there was little difference in the number of fish caught. The 29 VIP’s that participated caught 76 fish but only 3 “keepers” and once again the Black Sea Bass was the prevalent species, very few Fluke plus a Sea Robin and Sand Shark.
2022 RILSF VIP Tournament VIP’s & Guides
The 1st Fish was caught by Dave Cavaco of Warwick, largest Fluke at 16.5” was caught by Janice Musco of Lincoln, and largest Sea Bass at 17.5” was hooked by John Rossi of Providence. Honorable Mention was awarded to Ray Gonsalves for his Sand Shark as the most unusual fish caught. Winners were announced when we arrived back in port each of the above were presented with a trophy and a $15 Dunkin Donuts gift card.
Trophies and Visa gift cards were also awarded to:
1st Place $50 (22 pts/7 fish) – Bob Beauregard, Providence
2nd Place $25 (20 pts/6 fish) – Mike Prusco, No. Smithfield
3rd Place $25 (18pts/7 fish) – Dave Cavaco, Warwick
Dave Cavaco (3rd) Bob Beauregard (1st) Mike Prusco (2nd)
There was a points tie for 3rd that was broken by the number of fish caught. (No fluke were caught by either VIP)
4th Place (18pts/6 fish) – Richard O’Neill, Scituate
5th Place (16pts/5 Fish) - Janice Musco, Lincoln
Rich and Janice are our “Horses in the Barn” if any of the winners cannot go to the National Tourney.
On behalf of the RILSF, the VIP’s and their Guides, I want to thank the individuals, clubs and organizations that donated to cost of the tournament
I also want to thank our volunteers, the Hawkins lunch team and the Frances Fleet Staff, Captain Cole & Crew for treating us so well!
Ken Barthelemy
RI Lions Sight Foundation and Scituate Lions Club
Bruce Loeckler’s Posse
Deaf/Blind: Lisa Moss, Janice Musco, Joe Duarte & Deaf Guide, AnnMarie
Their first time fishing, except for Janice of cours.
School Year 2021-2022 Vision Screening
Vision screening by the RI Sight Foundation and RI Lions clubs started late, not really kicking off until after the New Year because of the COVID pandemic.
However, once it started we were very busy. Local Lions clubs did screening across RI in Scituate, Johnston, Chariho, Tiverton, Little Compton, Cumberland, Burrillville, Lincoln, Barrington, Bristol, and Warren.
Members of the RI Sight Foundation also did vision screening in towns were the local Lions club were not able to assist.
More than 6000 RI students had vision screening by the RI Sight Foundation and the local RI Lions clubs in the 2021--2022 school year. (Records were not kept for the number of screenings during this school year. We think this is a gross undercount of the screenings done during the 2021-2022 school year. Procedures were changed and more accurate number are available for the following year.)
Thanks to all the volunteers that put in valuable time screening and organizing the screening with the school nurses.
bottom of page