Lions Club endeavouring to rebuild club in Kindersley

By Joan Janzen

KINDERSLEY—Two individuals have been visiting businesses door-to-door in an effort to build a Lions Club in the Kindersley community. Rob Hill, from the Global Action Team (GAT) for District 5, and Ron Tessier, from Eston’s Lions Club, have been hitting the streets of Kindersley.

“We’re canvassing door to door at businesses. It’s by word of mouth,” Rob said. “Membership is by invitation only. We’re here for three days. We’ll get a start and then we’ll have local people follow through.” Their visit will be followed by an information meeting on Thursday evening at Kindersley Inn.

Rob Hill from the Global Action Team, (left) and Ron Tessier from Eston - District Membership Coordinator for 5SKS were visiting businesses in Kindersley this week in an effort to rebuild a Lions Club in Kindersley. Photo by Joan Janzen

Kindersley had a thriving Lions Club approximately fifteen years ago, at which time it was a men’s club. “It had a lot of members and did a lot for the community, but people didn’t want to step up for the executive and weren’t recruiting new members,” Rob recalled. Now Rob and Ron are trying to rebuild the club in southern Saskatchewan.

“We’ve just started, and the interest has been good,” Ron observed. The Lions Club is a co-ed club; however, there are two separate clubs in Eston. “We have almost 70 members between the two clubs,” Ron reported. The men’s club has been operating for 78 years.

Lions clubs support global causes including diabetes, vision, hunger, environment and childhood cancer, but are not limited to those pursuits. Each club decides what needs they want to support within their community and there are grants available from Lions Club International, including grants for disability playgrounds.

“If there’s a major disaster such as a fire, there’s an emergency grant of $50,000 US available within 48 hours, administered through the club,” Rob explained. “There’s also an emergency clean-up grant; either one or the other is available in the event of a local disaster.” Funds come from the Lions Club International Foundation, which is supported by Lions of the World.

Thursday’s meeting was designed to provide information on the new club and Lions Club International. Twenty members are the minimum number required. Regardless of the number of members, the club will be sponsored by the Eston Club, which will guide it for two years.

“There’s always a need for service clubs,” Rob concluded. And the Lions Club is well established and has been operating in Canada since 1920.