Lions Clubs

Lions Clubs in District A-4

As the result of the "enthusiastic" endorsement of the Young Canadian Leadership Challenge by the Cabinet of Lions District A-4 in February 2007 under the leadership of Governor James Johnston, our program for youth for 10-19 will be made available as a showcase event September 21-23, 2007.

How do ordinary citizens honour the Lions motto "We Serve" when it comes to youth? The Lions Club approach over the years has been to listen to the needs of groups who have some expertise and are looking for help and to ask "How can we best, as a Lions Club contribute to what has been started by this group?" Since most groups are short of funding, Lions have generally responded by raising money for such worthy causes. Lions Clubs have contributed $5 billion dollars in Canada alone since 1920.

The YCLC Project is a different kind of opportunity for Lions. The 21st century challenges Lions to rethink our raison d'être. Those who read The Lion have heard Past Lions International President Jimmy Ross call for innovative and even paradigm-shifting action to bring about Club renewal in 2006-2007. While underlining its motto WE SERVE - Lions in District A-4 will get a rare opportunity to SERVE hands-on, interacting with youth as volunteers and facilitator trainees - and then by helping fellow Lions Clubs to get their own programs up and running. Furthermore, we see parents of participating youth wanting to be a larger part of the community service work Lions do - thus bolstering Lions Club membership.

It was with this knowledge that I presented the YCLC at the inaugural meeting of the newly forming Cantley, Quebec Lions Club. This was a daunting challenge to a group of individuals with no track record in working together. But it is a galvanizing idea - quite capable of capturing the public imagination - and it addresses the perceived need among the members for a project which would fill an unfilled gap in public services which speaks to the needs of the children and grandchildren of the members.

When it came time for the Cantley Lions Charter Night, we floated the idea to A-4 Governor James Johnston, Toronto (A 7-11) Governor Paul Baker and PDG Wayne Hoey who had been instrumental in supporting Lions-Quest in Toronto. Their subsequent support was immediate and overwhelming.

Governor James Johnston responded by inviting us to present at the next meeting of A-4 Cabinet (November 2006). Our presentation was well-received. At the Cabinet's next meeting in February 2007, A-4 Cabinet "enthusiastically" endorsed the program for the 72 member Clubs' consideration, and sent us off to garner support among the Clubs. With the support and advice of a few seasoned Lions, we elected to appeal not to Clubs first, but to individual Lions with a showcase presentation of our work.

Cantley Lions Club decided to undertake the project - a full Young Canadian Leadership Challenge for both boys and girls, September 21-23, 2007 in Cantley. We decided to make this a showcase event for Lions, for the RCMP, and for other community agencies who could take what they see back to their communities and engage support for projects in their own communities.

At the A-4 Convention in Brockville in April 2007, we received a Lions International commendation letter from keynote speaker Mick Barras for our persistence in bringing the project to Lions and the world. We also garnered the support of incoming Governor Jerome André and several PDG's in attendance. At the Convention, we met with Lions Gateway promoters - and jointly decided that these two projects were made for each other - one to provide the expertise and the other to produce the funding for local events. We later met with founder Lion Roy Brown to firm up the arrangement.

Next we were invited to the A7-11 convention in Toronto in late April where we attended the Governor's Reception, where we met Lions International President Jimmy Ross - and were subsequently able to get our material into his hands. We felt that the project was well suited to Jimmy Ross' thrust to create new Lions Clubs from younger members and based on emphasis on local project interest, rather than the traditional Lions agenda.

In May 2007 we attended the Lions-Quest National Convention as presenters. We were well received, by a small but very interested audience - who saw that our project is also a good match for Lions-Quest - especially at the 10-19 year old level.

On thursday, June 14th I travelled with Cumberland Lions and Gateway Chair Ray Ball and Facilitator Trainees Jen Reoch and Chris Howell to meet with the organizations in Welland who are seeking to hold a YCLC there next fall. This was a very successful meeting and a tentative date of Oct. 12-14 was chosen for a YCLC in Welland pending financial support from the school - École Secondaire Confédération. Gateway Club was presented to the school and others present by Lion Ray Ball as a potential fund-raising mechanism. We then moved on to meet with Welland Lions Club (President Cam Wilson) who received with considerable interest. Ray's Gateway proposal and the idea that they could support the school's fund-raising with Gateway.

On June 15th the same team met with A-2 Governor-Elect Jim Boughner, laying out both the program and the funding associated with it by Gateway. Lion Jim had some questions about how fund-raising for a YCLC might adversely effect fund-raising for Lions-Quest. We explained how the two funding methods are completely different with Lions-Quest done by Lions and the Gateway YCLC carried out by the students themselves. Governor Elect Jim will watch the Welland YCLC with interest - and will entertain a 15 minute presentation of Gateway at his first Cabinet Meeting in August.