The Hope Lions Club is celebrating it’s 80th anniversary on Sept. 9 and, in honour of this milestone, they’d like to challenge the community in performing or acknowledging 80 acts of kindness throughout the year.
“Engagement is our top priority in terms of what can we do to help better our local economy and to help our lives. There’s a saying within [the Lions Club], ‘where there’s a need, there’s a lion.’ So, whenever there’s an opportunity for us to help, we’re always there to show what we can do,” said Lions Club Vice President Shannon Jones. “So, we thought, with it being such a big year, what can we do to give back to the community? To thank them for supporting us, and to thank members for continuing to be [part of the Lions Club]. We have some members that have been around almost at the original date. [And] they’re still active.
“So we thought, [let’s] get out there and ensure acts of kindness, but also get the community to join us and help spread the word, and to pay it forward.”
From now until Sept. 9, the club wants the community to tell them about acts of kindness — whether it be something they did or witnessed — through the Hope Lions Club Facebook or email (hopelionsclub.md19@gmail.com). Every act will be tallied on their Facebook page, with the community being informed when milestones are reached and how many acts of kindness are needed to achieve their goal of 80 acts.
According to the club, any act of kindness, regardless of how big or small the community might think it is, counts. This includes volunteering, donating, cleaning up garbage, helping a neighbour with yard work, or putting out water for animals on a hot day — to name a few examples.
“I think we can all agree that the last few years — of COVID-19, and flooding, and wildfires — really opened our eyes to what our community is capable of achieving,” Jones said. “We just want to kind of keep that going and not only be doing [kind acts] during stressful times or during emergencies.”
Established in 1943, the Hope Lions Club, which is one of the oldest chapters of the Lions Club in the province according to Jones, is a not-for-profit where 100 per cent of the money raised is donated back into the community. The club is consistently involved with the community whether it be organizing events — like the Hip Hop Festival, the barrel race from Yale down to Hope, the upcoming Easter Egg Hunt at Silver Creek Elementary School — or doing raising funds for the community (such as the installation of a playground or renovations at the Hope Recreation Centre).
As the official anniversary is in the fall, the club is planning to do a big community event around that time. Jones hopes the community will take up their challenge not only before their anniversary but well after it too.
“I think it’s really important to share that it’s so important to spread kindness at all times,” Jones said. “Even if it’s just opening the door and saying thank you to someone when they greet you, or smiling at them, or something like that.
“You just don’t know the impact that can have on someone’s day or their life.”
READ MORE: LETTER: Memories of a Hope Lion still echo today
@KemoneMoodley
kemone.moodley@hopestandard.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.