Westport Lions Club

Westport Lions Roar

By Lion Bob Reddick

Kindness is a language the deaf can hear and the blind can see.

Mark Twain

Kindness is such an easy thing to do. If everyone would be kind and good the world would be a much better place.

The mother of Alan Doyle, who was lead singer of the band Great Big Sea, always told him, “To be good.” When you think about it, the phrase sums up what we should strive for every day. Be good to your family. Be good to your friends and neighbours and be kind to those you meet. Be good at your job, to the environment, your community, and your country.

Being kind and good defines who we are as Lions. An act of kindness can be small, personal and local, or it can be large and profound. Whether a small community comes together, or 1.4 million Lions join forces, the result can be tremendous. Three local examples of acts of kindness and working together as a community are the recent Go Fund Me initiative started by James Doran and Sharon Benson for Mary and Terry Cowan, Skate the Lake and Friends of the Arena (FOTA).

If we embark on a service journey we will grow as a person and our community will be a better place for everyone. Lions International suggests that if we want to make a real difference, one that people can see and feel we should incorporate four phases: Learn, Discover, Act, and Celebrate. 

Learn     

The Westport Lions Club needs to be knowledgeable of local needs and global issues. If we are aware of local needs and keep learning about our community and our world, then we can be more effective.

Discover

Opportunity awaits anyone willing to learn says Lions International. Knowledge sharing strengthens partnerships, encourages innovation, focuses our purpose and prepares us for action.

Act

The Westport Lions Club’s mission is service. Service is visible and measureable. It is very satisfying to be able to act and serve our community, our region and our world.

Celebrate

Lion clubs provide service and kindness in over 200 countries in the world. When Lions International shares expressions of kindness it unifies the organization and inspires other clubs to expand existing initiatives or take up new ones. The same can be said when the Review-Mirror publishes acts of kindness, it strengthens our community, and hopefully inspires individuals and groups to continue, expand and take up new challenges.

Each lion and every Lion Club is spreading kindness in ways both great and small. Service is a personal choice, you can devote as much time to it as you wish, individually and collectively we can have a tremendous impact.