Helping Lions runs in the blood for local member

Today, as the North Battleford Lions Club president, Volk Is a little dismayed he doesn’t see more young people and young parents joining the area’s service clubs, and make time for volunteering in their lives.

“Volunteering is getting a little… different,” he said, struggling to find the words to somehow make sense of the situation.

Volk attributes much of the general lack of interest in service clubs today to people, as he says, “finding other things important.”

“It seems to me we’re putting on the dog for the neighbours and the friends, instead of concerning ourselves with the welfare of others,” said the soft-spoken gentleman.

He is hoping more people come back to the basics, and realize the important role service clubs play in the community, raising money for worthwhile local causes and projects, that help all segments of the population.

Volk is asking people to come forward to give a little of their heart and time, to join the North Battleford Lions Club.

The cool factor

His wife Gwen, with the North Battleford Bonaventure Lions Club, piped in, and with chagrin, she wonders whether more people today often don’t think it is “cool” enough to be a Lions Club member.

Gwen tried to rationalize the shift in interest, and puts part of the blame on several TV comedies from a number of years ago that poked fun at the good-natured image of the service club member.

Gwen also wonders, while saying she also is understanding, in cases where parents today are highly involved in their children’s activities, and need to drive youngsters to extra-curricular events because the community has grown so much. In the past, kids often could simply walk to their destinations on their own.

Nonetheless, the Volks still believe the community as a whole benefits when more people commit a few hours of their time to join service clubs, such as the Lions.

Gib wants people to remember the valuable work of individuals involved in services clubs, such as the Lions Clubs, in the community, that often wouldn’t happen without them.

In addition to supporting big projects, such as raising $25,000 for the local Canadian Mental Health Association, and $30,000 for the Battlefords Union Hospital Foundation, the North Battleford Lions Club also works behind the scenes, helping local families directly, one-to-one, on a daily basis.

“We service the people,” Volk said.

“We put out almost $500 for a pair of glasses, and another $200 for someone in need. That kind of stuff the people don’t even know we are doing.”

But club numbers are dwindling, and something needs to be done.

Gib said the North Battleford Lions Club now has 23 members, a far cry from the roughly 50 it had in its heyday a number of years ago.

Not getting any younger.

At age 79 now, Gib concedes he and most of the members are getting on.

The average age for members in the NB Lions Club is “65 or better.”

For Gib, the main need for the club to recruit new members is to keep the club strong, to continue to take on new projects, to raise money to help people in the community.

He said with each new member that joins that will reduce some of the work hours for the others.

“The more people you have, the fewer hours everybody puts in,” said Volk, adding with the extra “manpower,” the group can undertake more new bigger projects in the community.

For Gib, the past four decades as a Lions Club member helping others has made a big impression on him, knowing he has been able to contribute something to his community – an invaluable reward in itself.

But his work, and the work of the rest of the local Lions Club members probably made an even bigger impression on everyone who benefitted from that support.

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @battlefordsNOW

by Angela Brown

Helping Lions runs in the blood for local member

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