Lakeshore Lions serve Cobourg community
By Jerry Ford
Tuesday, July 21, 2015 , Northumberland Today
Did you know that Cobourg has two Lions clubs and has had for over 60 years? And here is another surprising fact for you: this happened in hundreds of communities across Canada and indeed around the world.
When the first Lions Club was founded in Chicago in 1917 it was a service club for men. It caught on and spread very quickly across the U.S. and eventually around the world to give us the extensive international charitable organization we see today. The work that these first Lions clubs were doing seemed very important to wives of the Lions members and they wanted to get involved, but in those days men’s clubs were only for men.
It did not take too long before Lioness Clubs opened, doing similar work but were for women only. As our society moved to gender equality the idea of men-only or women-only clubs became unpopular and today both the Lions Clubs in Cobourg have mixed membership.
For over 60 years the Cobourg Lakeshore Lions Club has been quietly serving the needs of the Cobourg community. It started as the Cobourg Lioness Club but was rechartered as the Cobourg Lakeshore Lions Club in 2007. The Cobourg Lakeshore Lions Club has a dinner meeting the third Wednesday of every month at the Odd Fellows Hall on University Avenue.
The two Cobourg Lions Clubs sometimes work together on projects such as the Lions Pavilion at Victoria Park, but they operate quite independently. Until 2014 the Cobourg Lakeshore Lions Club was responsible for the arts tents at the Waterfront Festival, the club’s major fundraising event.
Over the past decade an average of $40,000 per year has been donated by Lakeshore Lions to important Cobourg initiatives, improving the level of services and the quality of life that are available for the residents of Cobourg and the surrounding area.
The Habitat for Humanity Raise the Roof program received $20,000 for the completion of a triplex on Alexandria Street that now houses three families in their own homes. The Cornerstone Family Violence Prevention Centre provides a vital service for Northumberland residents and their young families. Cobourg Lakeshore Lions Club provided the $25,000 in funds necessary for a new residential room in the Centre.
Guide dogs are very important to the members of the Lakeshore Lions, we have two members with service guide dogs who are very active in our club. When the opportunity arose for us to sponsor a service dog that will be used for a child with autism we became a $12,000 sponsor.
Community health care is of primary importance to the Lakeshore Lions Club and they donated $20,000 over four years to the Kingston General Hospital expansion. The Northumberland Hills Hospital Light the Tree Campaign is supported each year for about $2,000 annually. The new radiation department at Peterborough Central Hospital benefited from a $10,000 donation.
New members are always welcome. To learn more about what we are doing in our community, call Jerry at 905-269-8490 or e-mail CobourgLakeshoreLions@Gmail.com.
