Belwood & District Lions Club

Belwood, Ontario - Canada

Club History

The club was sponsored by the Marsville and District Lions Club and has been a vital part of the Belwood community since its inception.

In 2012, Belwood Lions celebrated their 35th anniversary of service and was attended by Charter Members, the Mayor of Centre-Wellington and representatives from many clubs in the area.

In 2017 Belwood Lions celebrated their 40th anniversary, along with 100yrs of Lions International, and Canada 150th.

 

A BIT ABOUT BELWOOD LIONS

 

The Belwood and District Lions Club is celebrating 47 years of service to the Belwood community and beyond this spring (2024) . The club was officially chartered in May of 1977 with a membership of 21. Membership peaked in 1982/83 with 35 members. The present membership is 15 (2024-25).  Belwood Lions is part of Lions International, which has 1.4 mil. members in 180 countries.

 

Belwood Lions members are fiercely committed to the local community.

 

The youth have always been a high priority. The club has sponsored numerous international and Canadian youth exchanges, sports activities and youth groups (such as Scouts Canada). Every February for almost 30 years the club has hosted an elementary level public speaking competition for area school children with the winners advancing to the district competition. The Lions Effective Speaking Competition is Canada’s largest such contest in English and French languages. If your child is in a local elementary school, your child has likely participated in this competition. On the fun side, every October Belwood welcomes the Halloween tradition as we shell out goodies to all unsuspecting children who have the nerve visit us. Each December, the club holds our Breakfast With Santa which attracts many kids & their parents, this has become a very popular annual event. We encourage youth participation in our activities and have many youth who have completed their high school community hours on various Belwood Lions projects.

 

Many “hands on” projects have been accomplished, many in co-operation with the West Garafraxa Council and the Centre Wellington Parks & Recreation Dept. Projects include; Pavilion construction, tree planting and playground equipment in Maple Park; sidewalks and footbridge on Queen & George Sts.; Belwood Hall interior renovations & equipment purchases; installing board & batten exterior siding and curtains on the stage. We also worked with the township for erection of a speed control sign at the south entrance to our village on County Rd #26 to encourage safe traffic flow through our village.
We have built many park benches and picnic tables for locations in the village, and operate our ‘Benches on Trails” program in cooperation with other local Lions groups in the area to sell, build and install benches along Elora-Cataract Trail to encourage healthy activities and provide remembrance for those that purchase the benches. We do an annual roadside cleanup under the Wellington County Adopt-A-Road program covering both County Rd 5/19 and County Rd #26 which pass through our village. 

 

The club has spearheaded emergency fundraising for local issues such as the tornado victims (1985), house fire victims and persons with critical health issues. Belwood Lions has been a longtime supporter of Groves Hospital in Fergus providing new equipment and financial support for the re-development project. The Centre Wellington Sportsplex received support  and Victoria Seniors Centre in Fergus also.

 

Many charities have been supported by Belwood Lions over the years including Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Sunrise Equestrian, CNIB, New Life Counseling, Diabetes Canada, Lions Dog Guide Training School in Oakville, eyeglass recycling, Heart & Stroke, Centre Wellington Food Bank etc.Women in Crisis, Wellington Mobile Market

 

For more than two decades, thousands of people (young & old) have found their way to Belwood and area for the annual 2 day Pike Derby in May, one of Belwood Lions longest running fundraisers. Other fundraiser events we have held include a golf tournament, Beef BBQ, Pancake Breakfasts, Community Night,Fish Fry, our Bottle return program and previously our monthly Country Jamboree.

 

Most members join Belwood Lions for a sense of camaraderie and to make friends and become part of one of the largest community service organizations. The members enjoy being together and working together for the betterment of the community. They have fun doing it and their only reward is to have everyone come and enjoy a little “painless extraction” so they can recycle the funds raised into worthwhile projects.

 

We are always happy to invite new community members to volunteer at our activities, or to become one of us as a member of Belwood Lions. Please feel free to ask one of us how you can become involved.