Westport Lions Club

Lions Dorothy Maynard, left, and Kim Kelly working at last year’s Medical Mobility Service breakfast. This year’s breakfast will be at The Cove on Sunday, April 19 from 8:30 – 11:00 a.m. Photo Credit: Lion Bob Reddick

Westport Lions Roar

By Lion Bob Reddick

“We live in a ‘me’ world.  It’s all about them and not about others.  But we can do something about that.  We can make a difference in people’s lives, and it feels wonderful when we do.” (Lion magazine, 2019)

The Westport Lions have a long history of women volunteering and chairing or co-chairing club’s initiatives.  Jan Gagnon heads up the club’s Christmas toy drive, Penny Warriner chairs the Cash Calendar fundraiser, and Jeannette Harper co-chairs the club’s Reuse & Recycle Centre. All these women play a major role in other Lion projects.  In addition, the club is fortunate to have a large number of women who volunteer on a regular basis but choose not to join. The club currently has three women and will induct three more at the April 8 meeting.

Women were officially allowed to join Lions Clubs International in July 1987 after a 70-year-old ban was lifted.  Before this amendment, women created auxiliary ‘Lioness Clubs’ in 1975 to enable them to organize and manage their own service activities. However, Lionesses were discontinued in 1991 after Lions Clubs International deemed that Lionesses could be better served by the organization as Lions. 

Some women of Lions clubs opted to become independent and became the Swans.  The Rideau Lake Swans’ motto is “Volunteering for a Better Community.” Their name stands for: Service We Assist Nurture Support. The local club raises thousands of dollars that go to people in need and participates in events like The Lyndhurst Turkey Fair and Elgin Days. For more information about their activities, or to find out about how to join the Rideau Lakes Swans, you can email them at rideaulakesswans@yahoo.com or leave a message at 613-359-1165.

Since 1987, women have become the fastest-growing segment of membership, with 425,000 women serving worldwide. Women constitute about 25 – 34% of the total membership in 2023, and in some countries like India’s District 321B1, it is 41%. (Lions International website) 

Gudrun Yngvadottir from Iceland became the first female International President during 2018-19 and was succeeded by Canadian Dr. Patti Hill for 2023-24.   Past President Gudrun believes that “the more we see women joining in and doing interesting, important things, the more we will see other women doing the same. And this is how we build an even stronger future for Lions.”

The Westport Lions, like all Lion clubs need more women. A diverse club is a strong club.   Women bring a new perspective to a club and additional ways that the Westport Lions can serve the community. They strengthen our mission ‘To Serve’ with empathy and dedication. Women members will inspire young ladies and other women to step up to volunteer and lead.  Women will help the Lion Clubs to increase their service projects and offer more inclusive service.  The Westport Lions female members prove that service has no limitations of gender. Please consider joining the Westport Lions Club and other local Lion clubs in building a more inclusive, compassionate, and stronger world through Lionism.