STOCKTON San Joaquin Lions Club’s Helen Keller Mural Project!
Our Helen Keller Mural commemorates the 100-year Anniversary of Helen Keller challenging Lions Clubs International to become Knights of the Blind.
We dedicated the San Joaquin Lions’ Helen Keller Mural and the District 4-A1 Lions Clubs & Helen Keller Challenge 2.0 “Bags for Benches” bench on Saturday, June 28, 2025 at Maya Angelou Library, 2324 Pock LN, Stockton CA 95205.
Below are photos of the Helen Keller Mural dedication at its current location in the lobby of the Maya Angelou Library; District 4-A1 Governor Eric Cheung, sitting on the newly dedicated bench (in their parking lot) with Past International Director Ken Ibarra, Lion Jennifer Gass and Lion Rodrigo Acosta; and Lions Eric, Jennifer and Rodrigo with the Helen Keller Challenge 2.0 sign on the podium.
YouTube has several of our videos. Here are the links:
* Helen Keller Mural and Bench Dedication 2025 https://youtu.be/6UPfJb2kSRE?feature=shared
* Helen Keller Bench Dedication at Maya Angelou Library https://youtu.be/rRy5kcnSt-0?feature=shared
* Helen Keller Centennial Ceremony at Maya Angelou Library https://youtu.be/u80CnDut0Wk?feature=shared
Our mobile mural of Helen Keller traveled around the Stockton-area as a featured piece in art displays and educational outreaches. In June 2025, it was permanently placed, commemorating the 100th anniversary of Helen Keller asking Lions Clubs International to become the “Knights of the Blind”.
We hung the Helen Keller Mural for March’s month-long display (3/1-3/31/2025) in the Margaret Troke Library, 502 W. Benjamin Holt Drive, STOCKTON. Pictured are Joe Leon Jr., from the National Federation of the Blind, and Lion Jennifer Gass from Stockton-San Joaquin Lions Club.
It was showcased with a special event there on March 29 as part of the International Women’s Month Art Hop at the Margaret Troke Library. Facebook Event Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/1806568006783267/
The Helen Keller Mural was displayed in the Haggin Museum April 3-30, 2025! Museum hours are Wednesday through Sunday https://hagginmuseum.org/hours-directions-and-admission/
Above is the March 8, 2025 photo of Amanda Zimmerman, Director of Marketing at the Haggin Museum, Lion Jennifer Gass, Artist Diana Buettner, and International Women’s Month Art Hop Stockton Curator Amelia Lewis at the Haggin Museum.
“Eyes Forward!” – Celebrate through December 2025!
June 30, 2025 marked the hundredth anniversary of Helen Keller challenging Lions Clubs International to become Knights of the Blind! Accept the challenge and make your mark throughout this year of service!
Here are two YouTube videos with more information:
* Lions Clubs – Helen Keller Challenge 2 – Presentation https://youtu.be/NUQw0tPPE6o?feature=shared
* Lions Clubs & Helen Keller Challenge 2.0 Zoom https://youtu.be/Apm4xUkZRcI?feature=shared
LIONS: We invite you to accept Lions Clubs & Helen Keller Challenge 2.0! Simply add the above campaign image to your club’s existing or new VISION service projects and use hashtags #HelenKeller100 #KnightsOfTheBlind #VisionChallenge #CACares and #CaliforniaLions through December 2025 so we can revitalize Lions VISION service together and make other Lions and the public aware of all the great things Lions do to preserve sight and assist the blind and visually-impaired!
The touring of the Helen Keller Mural highlighted local artist Diana Buettner (see below) and the disabled community of San Joaquin County, and is in collaboration with:
• San Joaquin County Chapter National Federation of the Blind
• Stockton Unified School District’s Walton Special Center
Artist Diana Buettner, Lion Jennifer Gass, and Walton Special Center Staff
PHOTOS OF KIDS PUTTING THEIR HAND-PRINTS ON THE MURAL
Artist Diana M. Buettner
Born: September 25, 1959
“I am a retired teacher who used art to assist my students with difficulties in their ability to read and write. I became visually impaired as a result of a brain surgery in 2013. I have right hemisphere blind spots in both eyes as a result. I am also hard of hearing due to a genetic defect. The brain surgery ended my career in 2014.
“My art is my meditative process in which I focus on the good things in my life. Art is my passion. My goal in creating art is to bring joy, both for myself and to those who see it. My paintings are a result of my love for the aloha spirit and the people who brought me to understand the power of passion, unity, and the true beauty of art in all of its amazing forms.
“This painting of Helen Keller is, for me, a huge honor to have been asked to do. It is not perfect, but then neither am I. To be clear, being disabled isn’t always easy. I am also a kidney transplant recipient. To this day, I continue to be in awe of just how amazing life can be when I focus on gratitude for what I have rather than what I don’t have. Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured.”
— Diana Buettner
Here‘s a public-facing page about the campaign: https://californialions.org/helen-keller-challenge
Here’s a link to a page with more tips and info: https://md4lions.org/helen-keller
Here’s the link to the Lions International page about Helen Keller: https://www.lionsclubs.org/en/resources-for-members/resource-center/helen-keller
For more information and photos, please visit our Helen Keller Mural Project Facebook page HERE
Email your questions to SanJoaquinLions@gmail.com
June 27, 1880 – June 1, 1968
“Be of good cheer.
Do not think of today's failures,
but of the success that may come tomorrow.
You have set yourselves a difficult task,
but you will succeed if you persevere;
and you will find joy in overcoming obstacles.
Remember, no effort that we make
to attain something beautiful is ever lost.”
― Helen Keller