At today’s Lions Club meeting, the guest speaker was Craig Robinson. Having grown up and been educated in Hope, Craig made the decision last summer to take up residency at Little Rock’s World Services for the Blind, where he is taking courses in financial management and working to take care of the other residents there in various respects, including custodial and clerical work as well as washing dishes for breakfast and lunch. 

He said he first heard of World Services for the Blind’s offerings at a class reunion dinner during Memorial Day last year for Arkansas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired graduates.  In July, he set up an appointment to tour the World Services campus and found that he liked the place and he liked that he would have his own room with its own bathroom.  So he and his mother Carol Robinson filled in the paperwork. They were then told Craig could move in on August 15, 2023. 

Craig described the other students he has gotten to know at World Services. “There are some students that are totally blind. Some use canes, and some don't use canes. We had this one student. He has a cane. It is so loud. He's got a nickname. His name is Bam, Bam.” He said the facility usually houses about 40 students, and there is often turnover as students complete their courses and move out and are replaced with new students. 

One evening, Craig was in his room when he heard a loud alarm with a voice commanding an evacuation of the building.  He headed out into the hallway and helped gather fellow students and head down the stairs with them. Though the alarm turned out to have been set off by the steam from some hot water, it was an experience that stuck with him. 

In the evenings, Craig said, there are many activities at the facility, including karaoke and trivia contests. The students have also gone out bowling. 

He has continued his Lions Club membership, attending meetings that take place in the World Services facility. Craig had been an integral member of Hope Lions club up to the time he moved to Little Rock. “I am the only student on campus that's in Lions Club,” he said. 

The Lions will be offering its 31st Fish Fry dinner Thursday, September 26th on the campus that is now called University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana. Fried chicken will also be served with hush puppies, coleslaw and all the trimmings. The club is also planning a fish fry for the Veterans Day ceremony at the Old Courthouse on November 11th.