Lions care for community

Kensington Lions Club has a passion for serving others and giving hope to those in need.

“We were strangers who have become like family, supporting, caring and loving not only those in our community, but each other as well,” said Tracey Gibbs, the club president.

The club is just two years old but has done wonderful things for the community. Lions Club International is the largest service organisation in the world, consisting of 1.4 million volunteers. Kensington Lions members are full-time employees who volunteer their spare time over weekends and in the evenings. The club was established on 15 July 2014 by Lion, Lionel Chazen, assisted by Lion, Evelyn Herzfeld of the Edenvale Lions Club.

The club’s focus and mission are assisting community members in need. “We have four service areas that Lions Clubs International focuses on. These are hunger, youth, environment and sight. We try to alleviate hunger through food parcels, the youth have the opportunity to become Leos and save the environment through planting trees. Sight is our Lions Operation Bright Sight project where we assist those who need glasses. We collect glasses on behalf of The South African Guide-Dogs Association,” said Gibbs.

The club currently has 15 members and is looking at growing. “We would love to grow our membership; more members mean more hands to help,” she said.

Membership is by invitation only; if someone is interested in joining the club they have to approach a Lions member and request an invitation. The club will then invite them to participate in some of the projects, socials and meetings and should they decide that they would like you to become one of them, they will then invite you to join. “Interested people can leave a message on our Facebook page with their details and we will contact them. Our Facebook page is Kensington Lions Club.”

She said it has not been an easy two years, as they face some difficulties. “There are many NPOs seeking for a ‘spot’ in shopping centres in order to raise money. Some centres are reluctant to allow access to their premises for fundraising opportunities. Fundraising is one of our biggest sources of income to keep our projects running.

“All funds are raised from various projects and donations, which have been received from members of the public. The money received goes back to the public, through our various projects in our community.”

With Christmas holidays around the corner, the Lions would like to help families in need of Christmas cheer. “We will be holding two food collections for families in need over the December period. We normally have a monthly food collection but we are holding a second food collection in order to assist more members of the community over the holiday season.

“We will be marshalling at the annual toy run so that we will be able to distribute toys to underprivileged children, children’s homes, hospitals and care centres in the community. We will also be hosting a Christmas party at a local old-age home to bring some Christmas cheer,” added Gibbs.

If there is someone in the community who needs help, the Lions are at your service. You can send them a message on their Facebook page or find a Lions member in the area and they will try to assist.

Details: Tracey Gibbs 073 405 3834; www.lionsclubs.org

Read: Bringing hope and compassion to residents