MD N District N-2

The future is LEO

Leadership, Experience, Opportunity

When Beth Emery first became a Lion, she had one overriding goal – for the Truro & District Lions Club to sponsor a Leo Club for youth. After two years of learning about Lions, and giving back to the community through Lions service, she believes the time to bring that goal to life is now.

Leos are not new. Since the first Leo club was formed over 50 years ago in Pennsylvania, the organization has grown to 175,000 members in 7,000 clubs in 145 countries. Last year alone, Leos completed 24,038 projects, not a bad track record for a group of young people who have learned the power of action.

Community-based Leo clubs offer membership to young people within the local area of the sponsoring Lions club. There are two tracks, Alpha and Omega. Alpha Leo clubs are designed for youth between 12 and 18, and focus on individual and social development of teens and preteens. Omega Leo clubs, tailored for young adults between 18 and 30, are designed for personal and professional development.

Leo members acquire skills as project organizers and peer motivators, discover how teamwork and cooperation bring about change in communities, develop positive character traits, and receive recognition for their contributions.

They don’t do it alone. To provide effective guidance, sponsoring Lions clubs appoint a Lion to serve as Leo club advisor, someone who enjoys working with youth and engaging others in service. The advisor fills the role of mentor, motivator, counselor, liaison and humanitarian, guiding Leo club members in managing their club and developing effective community service projects. Advisors help Leo club officers and members reach their potential as leaders and teach Leos the importance of planning and organization. Understanding that many factors inspire youth, they listen to Leos and are sensitive to their needs, knowing when to counsel the group and when to allow them to arrive at their own decisions. They nurture a healthy relationship between the sponsoring Lions club and the Leo club, and help Leo club members understand the selfless and considerate characteristics of community service.

This is where Emery comes in. No stranger to working with youth groups, she was a Scouting member for 29 years. Having been a Venturer advisor for two different groups in the Colchester area, she is very familiar with needs of this age group, has provided training throughout Nova Scotia to all levels of Scouting, and was area Commissioner for three years.  The role she is anticipating is similar, and she is comfortable with taking it on.

What kind of things do Leo clubs do for their communities? Every club is different, and chooses its own projects.  Leo clubs have taken on planting seedlings, adopting an endangered species, collecting school supplies for students in need, volunteering as after-school tutors, donating books to local libraries, assisting during hearing, vision, or diabetic screenings, and planting  community gardens, to supply food to  local shelters. Possibilities are limited only by imagination.

Nova Scotia has three Leo Clubs, in Bridgewater, New Germany, and Yarmouth. Leos, devoted young people who actively provide communities with kindness and service, represent the best qualities of our incredible organization, Lions Clubs International. We believe it’s time to bring those qualities to Truro.

Emery invites parents and youth alike to learn more about this exciting initiative and the chance to become one of the first members of an Alpha Leo group in Truro. For more information, or to obtain an application form, phone Lion Beth at 902-893-8457. You can also check out Leo Club Program on Facebook to see what some Leo clubs around the world are doing.

As submitted to Colchester Weekly News, August 28, 2019

An invitation from Truro & District Lions

Bowling for the physically or mentally disabled

Did you know that Truro & District Lions have been sponsoring weekly bowling for over 50 years?

At their International Convention in 1925, Lions around the world accepted the challenge of world-famous deaf and blind speaker Helen Keller to become “knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness.” Since that time, Lions have gained global recognition for their accomplishments in improving sight, preventing blindness, and providing assistance to the blind. Vision remains one of Lions Clubs International’s five global causes.

For more than 45 years, weekly bowling was part of the Truro Lions Club commitment to supporting the blind and visually impaired.  The club also participated in annual one-day blind-bowling tournaments, with sponsoring Lions clubs in the Truro and Halifax areas alternating as hosts.

The number of local bowlers who met tournament criteria for vision loss gradually diminished to an extent that the Truro club could no longer participate. About five years ago, when the number had dropped enough that Truro & District Lions began to question whether it was feasible to continue sponsoring the activity, it was decided to expand membership by offering it to community members with other disabilities.

Truro & District Lions, in partnership with Bible Hill Bowlacade at 27 Jennifer Drive and Colchester Transportation Cooperative Limited (CTCL), sponsor Disabled Bowling from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. each Friday from early September to late April. Lions host complimentary Christmas and awards banquets for bowlers and their guests. The only cost, for bowlers who choose to be picked up by CTCL, is $2.00 toward their bus fare.

Disabled Bowling Chair Shirley Wilson, current club president, started as a bowler. When the Lion who had been coordinating the weekly activity became ill, she took over informally, then after joining Lions in 2015, became the official chair. Wilson and two other Lions, Howard Horne and Gary Best, are on hand each week to coach, keep score, and see that any special requirements dictated by a disability are being met. Devises on hand to ensure this are a rail for balance and direction, and a lap table with an attached chute that can be used from a seated position.

Wilson explains that the weekly sessions are as much about socialising and camaraderie as they are about bowling. To that end, a unique 50-50 draw is held for those who wish to participate. The half that is not won does not go into club coffers, as one might expect, but is retained until a group lunch during the summer break, and returned to participants at that time – a win-win situation all around.

If you’re a person with any type of disability, you’re welcome to come check us out. Please call Lion Shirley at 902-895-9195 for more information about schedules and transportation.

As submitted to Colchester Weekly News, August 14, 2019