12 Reasons to Become a Lion!

Westport Lions Roar

By Lion Bob Reddick

The reasons why a person joins a Lions Club are very personal. What follows are some general reasons to join the Westport Lions Club. In a future article, I will write about why I joined the Lions Club.

The Opportunity to Serve Your Community – The Lions motto is “We Serve” and that is exactly what we try to do. Our focus is on our community and the needs of individuals in our community. Lions help make our community a better place to live.
Make a Difference in the World. Individually you have limited impact on the world but as part of a group you can have tremendous influence on the world. Collecting eyeglasses might seem insignificant to some people, but it is a big deal to people in some parts of our world. Lions around the world are responding to disasters, providing clean water, teaching children to read, and helping people to maintain and improve their vision and health.
Rewarding – There is no greater feeling than making a positive impact on someone’s life. One of my proudest moments being a Lion is when we raised $20,000 to buy a pair of e-sight glasses for a young lady in our community. No one had heard of the e-sight glasses when Lion Jim McGlade presented the idea of purchasing these glasses at a general meeting. There were a couple of questions to Jim about the product and then a motion was tabled almost immediately and passed unanimously that the Club purchase these glasses. Twenty thousand dollars is a lot of money to raise, but there was not one person that was not one hundred percent behind the project. There was no plan at that time in how we would achieve our goal, only that we would do it. I went home that night very proud to be a Lion.
Friendship – Joining the Westport Lions Club is a great way to connect with people in your community and to make new friends that could share the same interests, hobbies and passions that you do. Having good, faithful friends does improve your quality of life.
Personal Growth and Development. It is well known that volunteering helps you to develop new skills and learn new things. Potential employers often look for volunteering experience, and what job skills a person may have developed by volunteering.
Volunteer as a Family – Lions clubs off the opportunity for families to volunteer together. Currently the Westport Lions Club has only one father and son combination but there is opportunity for spouses, grandchildren and siblings to spend quality time together serving their community.
Leadership Development. Members are encouraged to take on a leadership role or chair a committee. There are lots of opportunities to be a leader at the club, district, or even at the national level.
Awareness in your Community – After joining the Lions club, I became more aware of the needs of our community and how best to meet those needs. The essence of every Lions club is to make their community a better place to live and tailors its energy to the community needs.
Fun – Being a Lion can be a lot of fun, either at meetings, social activities or club projects.
Assistance When Travelling – According to Lions International as of April in 2015 there are 1.7 million members, in 46,000 clubs, in 190 countries around the world. Every Lion is welcome to attend another club’s meeting and by using the International Directory you could easily contact a local Lions club if you needed help.
Networking – Lion membership can be a valuable method to network and link with people and groups that can benefit your work, social and personal lives.
Lionism Includes Everyone – It doesn’t matter whether you are black or white, male or female, rich or poor, you will be welcome. It is an open club, made up of men and women that want to help others.