District 30-M Lions Blog

Saturday is the second district cabinet meeting of the Lions year. Let’s discuss some facts about a cabinet meeting. Who Is the District Cabinet – Each club president and club secretary are automatically part of the District’s cabinet. Each zone chair is also a cabinet member. District committee and multiple district committee members are part of the cabinet. All that said, any Lion is more than welcome to attend. What Is the Purpose – The cabinet advises the District Governor on matters of importance. Each zone chair explains important matters within the four or five clubs in that zone. The cabinet gets a report on Lions Sight Foundation (LSF), including fund raising and expenses. LSF committees explain projects within their committee’s control. Why Have a Cabinet Meeting – It’s important to share information obtained during the cabinet meeting. Local clubs need to know the size of the Lions footprint worldwide, in Mississippi and within the district. Knowing the work of Lion...

During the last two weeks, we presented different types of service projects for Lions Clubs. The good news is that many of the Lions Clubs in District 30-M are serving. Serving others accomplishes several objectives. Service Helps Others – Helping others is a basic tenant of Lions Clubs International. Lions founder Melvin Jones had a personal creed. “You can’t go very far until you start doing something for somebody else.” Jones was a successful insurance salesman in Chicago a hundred years ago. He didn’t wait until he made his fortune to start Lions either. He started it when he was under 40. He saw needs. He recognized that he and his fellow businessmen could help real people. Even today, people in our community still have needs. Service Helps Ourselves –Humans want to help others because it fulfils a basic natural need. Think about it for a minute. What is the natural reaction if someone is on the ground bleeding? Someone calls 911. Another tries to administer first aid. Anoth...

We are three months into the current Lions year. To achieve the North American Membership Initiative (NAMI) goal by June 30, 2021, each club should be one-fourth of the way to reaching that goal. One quarter is in the books. Three quarters remain. What are the membership results of your club at this point in time? There is a district goal to increase individual club membership by a net of one this current Lions year. That simply means, if the club had 20 members on June 30, 2020, then that club should have a membership of 21 on June 30, 2021. Simply adding a new Lion to the membership roll is not enough. What happens if a faithful Lion dies? What happens if a Lion transfers to another club? What happens if a Lion resigns for whatever reason? Each membership drop, without regard to the reason, means the club must find someone to join the club. That’s just to maintain membership at the status quo. Keeping pace is not the goal. Increasing net membership is the goal. Most club drop...

The public associates Lions with providing aid to those with a vision problem. That association dates to the 1925 Lions International Convention in Cedar Point, Ohio. Lions invited a 42-year old lady to speak. That lady was Helen Keller. She challenged Lions to be her “Knights for the blind in a crusade against darkness.” Social distancing makes some types of traditional service projects like sight screenings a challenge. Here are a few more ideas for the vision service project. Organize a braille, large print and audio book collection to benefit a library or senior center. Volunteer to create audio recordings of books & periodicals. Work with local eye care professionals to provide community vision screenings. Sponsor a World Sight Day event. Sponsor visually impaired students through camps, contests or other activities. Create a community arts program for children and adults who are blind or visually impaired. Collaborate with an eye bank to promote the importance of corneal do...

Life is not fair. That is best illustrated when doctors tell a parent that their child has cancer. That disease affects the child, the parents, siblings, and extended family. Lions have an opportunity to show real kindness to those children and adults directly impacted. That makes this type of service really appreciated. There are some ideas a club can use to tap into a tremendous service opportunity. Provide craft materials, puzzles, books & games to children receiving treatment. Prepare meals for families with children undergoing treatment. Donate gas, parking & food gift cards to families in need or a childhood cancer center. Provide cancer support books and magazines to your local school. Write cards full of well-wishes and share them with a local cancer center. Make or buy new hats, caps, head scarves and blankets to donate to children’s cancer centers. Coordinate travel arrangements to and from treatments for a family of a child with cancer. Provide tutoring services to...

During the coronavirus pandemic many Lions Clubs are finding exciting new service opportunities by participating in a Lions Club International service project. They are serving their community by feeding the hungry. Here are a few ideas for clubs to consider. Volunteer to deliver prepared meals to those who are elderly or visually impaired. Organize a program at a local school to provide healthy, nutritious meals. Prepare food baskets for families in need. Volunteer at a soup kitchen or homeless shelter. Take families in need shopping for fruits and vegetables. Organize an event to benefit a food bank in your community; use cans of food as admission. Hold a hunger walk and use proceeds to buy food for a children's center or a homeless shelter. Create a cookbook of inexpensive, easy recipes. Create healthy snack packages to be distributed to children in need. Partner with local restaurants or food markets to deliver donations to a shelter. Start a food co-operative to serve as a r...

Growing Lions Clubs want to do service. Many are also looking for an economical solution to serve. Many want younger members. Clubs that combine an active environmental service project with recruiting find tremendous success. Let’s look at a few suggestions to not only improve the environment but also grow new Lions in the process. Plant trees with the advice of a local environment organization on the best locations and varieties. Clean up a beach, community space or roadside area monthly as a club. Hold an environment-themed photo contest at a school. Plant a tree or another green form of recognition to honor the winner. Challenge all Lions in your club or district to add one green habit to their daily lives. Recognize a local organization or community leader for environmental conservation work. Volunteer with your local park service to maintain trails. Help more people access and enjoy nature! Commit to “Meatless Mondays” or not eating meat one day each week. Collect used cellphone...

A vibrant and growing Lions Club needs to engage in service-related activities. Let’s examine some ideas for service. Today’s ideas are for projects related to diabetes. Diabetes is a condition that impairs the body’s ability to process blood glucose. The common name for glucose is blood sugar. It is estimated that over 30 million people in the US over the age of 18 have diabetes . That number represents between one in four and one in three people living in the US. Without ongoing medical supervision, diabetes can lead to a buildup of sugars in the blood. That build up can increase the risk of dangerous medical complications. These include stroke , heart disease or blindness. That is why Lions Club International (LCI) designated diabetes as an international service project. Here is a list of some potential service projects for a local Lions Club to consider. Organize a “Strides: Lions for Diabetes Awareness” event. Organize a community support group for parents of children with ...

Serving is at the core of every Lions Club. Lions have a reputation for helping the blind and visually impaired. That reputation dates back to 1925 when Helen Keller challenged Lions to be her “Knights for the Blind in a crusade against darkness.” That challenge did not mean Lions are to ignore other local needs. The international board of directors for Lions Club International designated a total of five projects for international service. Even those five have a few additions. Let’s discuss each. Vision is the signature service project for Lions, as discussed above. Vision can mean doing sight screenings. It could mean paying for professional services for the under privileged. Lions love to collect glasses for recycling in the Third World. Diabetes is a growing problem in society. Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness among American adults. Control diabetes and save vision. Lions advocate for diabetic education. Environment is a global cause. Lions replant trees. Lions ...

In watching some new election coverage, a politician sometimes utters the phrase, “I’m not leaving the party, the party left me.” That happens in Lions also. An individual member becomes disenchanted with the local club. Let’s discuss a few alternatives. The easiest way is for a disappointed Lion to show that feeling is by resignation. That should be the final alternative – not the first. Perhaps changing clubs could be the solution. Do not fall for the false assumption that all Lions clubs are the same. In some ways they are. In more ways each club is unique. It’s true all Lions Club serve their community. Perhaps a specific club has one major annual service project. If a club member has limited time, then this specific club might be an excellent fit. If an individual Lion wants to serve on a monthly basis, that specific club might not be the best fit. There are Lions clubs that have multiple service projects throughout the year. For the Lion that loves to always seek service op...

Each Lions Club in the northern half of Mississippi has a membership goal. The goal is fairly easy to achieve. It is to have a net membership increase of one Lion by June 30, 2021. Let’s discuss one way to achieve that goal. To have a net membership increase means adding to the overall membership size of the club. If a club had 20 Lions on June 30 th then the goal is to have 21 Lions by next June 30 th . So, if there is a membership loss the club must find a new Lion to make up for that loss plus another new Lion for the net growth. Some membership drops are unavoidable. One of those is death. Who can avoid death? Another reason for a membership drop is relocation to a new community. There are two main reasons for relocation. One is acceptance of a better paying job. How can you stop a person from achieving better financial independence? The other reason for relocation is family. Family relocation cuts two ways. It may be because an elder needs to be closer to younger family membe...

The surest way to have a net membership increase is to serve others. For 95 years Lions have made vision their signature service project. Vision is just a portion of what Lions do in their community. Many clubs are finding new and exciting way to serve others in non-vision related projects. Today, let’s highlight two of them. The Oxford Lions Club has served the Oxford, Ole Miss campus and Lafayette County community for 80 years. It is one of the oldest Lions Clubs in Mississippi. They had met each Tuesday during the noon hour at a local restaurant. The coronavirus changed the meeting format. Last week 11 of their members posed for a picture. These Lions unloaded trucks at a local food pantry. Then they stocked the shelves. It’s when they took a break that they conducted club business and posed for a picture. This is what “We Serve” looks like in today’s society. That club touched the lives of numerous people in their community. We go from one of the oldest Lions Club to one of...

Two months into the Lions year and it appears that some clubs are being very serious about increasing membership. Let’s take a broad look not only at membership by donating to Lions foundations. The North American Membership Initiative ( NAMI ) goal for each club is to finish the current Lions year on June 30, 2021 with a net membership increase. Two months into the year, District 30-M has a net membership increase of five Lions. Let’s see where those Lions are. There are 13 new Lions in seven different clubs. Six of the clubs gained a new Lion. One club found seven people to join. Most of those new Lions are actually in a branch Lions Club. That branch is very near being able to request a formal charter from Lions Club International (LCI). It is a goal of District 30-M to charter two new clubs this year (or one during each half of the year). That puts the District more than on-target to achieve one of their goals. Beginning the recruitment process for the second club has to wait...

It might seem impossible to conduct vision screening while social distancing. Let’s provide a few tips on ways to out-fox a foxy virus. For 95 years, Lions have been the “Knights for the blind in a crusade against darkness.” That was the challenge Helen Keller gave to Lions in 1925. At the time, Lions Club International was just eight years old. That challenge remains today. The best way to prevent blindness is vision screenings. For years Lions used standard eye charts to measure acuity. While still effective, there is new technology. PlusOptix – Three years ago about a dozen Lions Clubs in District 30-M purchased a PlusOptix vision screener. This technology changed sight screenings. Let me oversimply the procedure. The PlusOptix machine is about the same physical size as an iPad or tablet. It is a bit bulkier, however. Point the PlusOptix at the eye pupil. It’s as simple as taking a picture with an iPad or tablet. Because that is exactly what happens. The PlusOptix creates a dig...

Convincing someone to join Lions Club International (LCI) is only the beginning. There are three other parts to the recruiting process. Let’s discuss those today. Orientation – When someone joins any organization, an orientation usually follows within the first 15 days. With Lions, it’s no different. Probably the best time to conduct the orientation is immediately before completing the membership application. Explain every facet of the club. Start with a brief history and include club milestones. Identify club officers. Explain the dues structure. Brag about service projects. Tell about fund-raising endeavors. This prevents unpleasant surprises after joining. Induction – Have a prompt formal induction ceremony for each new Lion. That’s more impressive that having an induction ceremony once every six months. Individual inductions allow personalization. The induction ceremony serves as a reminder for the new Lion about LCI. Remind them of our association’s history and major milestone...

We are two month deep in the Lions Club International (LCI) fiscal year. Let’s take a quick check-up to see about the health of your club. Meetings – Has your club had a meeting since July 1 st ? Perhaps your club held a traditional meeting. That means members gathering together in the same place at the same time. Perhaps your club decided to meet using video conferencing software. Zoom is an example. It’s very popular and easy to use. If your club has met since July 1st, give yourself one point. If your club has not met since July 1st, give yourself a zero. Service – What service projects has your club completed since July 1 st ? A service project can be a major undertaking like a sight screening, food drive, cleaning up a public area, or some other event that benefits the entire community. Perhaps your club sponsored a needy patient for an eye exam. That is also service. If your club has served others since July 1st, give yourself one point. If your club has not served your comm...

For decades the general public associates Lions with serving the needs of the visually impaired. That simple statement has many practical applications. Here are just a few. It might give local clubs some ideas on how to serve their community during times of social distancing.  Organize a braille, large print and audio book collection to benefit a library or senior center. Volunteer to create audio recordings of books & periodicals. Work with local eye care professionals to provide community vision screenings. Sponsor a World Sight Day event. Sponsor visually impaired students through camps, contests or other activities. Create a community arts program for children and adults who are blind or visually impaired. Collaborate with an eye bank to promote the importance of corneal donations. Develop a directory of community resources and services for those who are visually impaired. Volunteer at a visual rehabilitation or vocational training center. Organize an inclusive sporting e...

It's sometimes challenging to explain what Lions do. For the North American Membership Initiative ( NAMI ) to be successful, it's important to be able to do just that. Here is a one-minute video that does exactly that. Lions in District 30-M must find new Lions. That's a  NAMI  goal. Feel free to share this video with them. Feel free to contact me if any Lion needs additional help in finding new Lions. We Serve because Kindness Matters Lion  Andy Kalinowski  (Andy K) District Governor 662.549.3421 http://www.mississippilions.org/ https://www.facebook.com/Lions30M

One of the most important aspects of being a Lion is the social aspect. Loving people enjoy being around people. Whether it’s serving others or socializing with club members at a meeting, the social aspect of being a Lion is very important. The coronavirus pandemic impacts that. How can Lions meet but at a social distance? Let’s discuss. A Lions Club might have a service project or collecting used eyeglasses. Lions recycle those glasses for eventual patient distribution in the Third World. Many clubs have dozens of collection boxes in high volume areas like banks, waiting rooms, retail stores, etc. A club could set one day each month to collect those glasses. Ask each of the members to empty those boxes at a specific time. Visiting a business to empty a box implies social contact at a distance. Afterwards, the Lions then gather together to count the donations. That’s more interaction. It may not be perfect, but it does provide for social interaction. Let’s consider another exam...

The primary goal of the Lions Club International (LCI) North American Membership Initiative ( NAMI ) is to have a membership increase. After one month, how did District 30-M fare in achieving the NAMI goal? During the month of July, District 30-M added six new Lions. The Horn Lake Lions Club added two Lions. The Aberdeen Lions Club, East Columbus Lions Club, Grenada Lions Club and Olive Branch each added a new Lion. That’s the good news. The East Columbus and Tupelo Evening Lions Clubs each dropped two Lions. The Batesville Lions Club and Tunica Lions Club each dropped a member. That means the net was no July membership gain. The District has a NAMI goal to add 100 Lions this year. Adding six Lions falls below the membership trend line to achieve the goal. The District can sustain a 36 drops this year. Having six drops in one month is twice the NAMI forecast amount. The early reporting is just that. It’s early. There is still nearly a year to change the direction of membersh...