About the Camas Lions
| What is Lions? We are THE largest worldwide service organization with over 1.4 million members in nearly 200 countries. Our Camas Club was formed back in 1938 and currently has approx. 50 members. We are all about service to others in our community. What does Lions International do? Our PRIMARY purpose is to be a good community service organization that raises funds through a variety of ways to help those who have vision and hearing problems. We collect recycle old eye glasses for use for others in less fortunate areas. We volunteer for many cornea transplant transportation groups. We pay for eye exams and glasses for those less fortunate. We collect and recycle old hearing aids. We pay for hearing exams and hearing aids for those less fortunate. In the last few years we have also started working on programs for those with diabetes. What does CAMAS Lions do? All of the above, plus we support many local causes. We donate funds and manpower to help maintain Camp Currie on the NE shore of Lacamas Lake (we have a spring clean-up work party typically in May). We assist in Walk & Knock food drive in December. We fund emergency funds at Camas schools for principals to use for kids in immediate need of sight or hearing devices, as well as clothing. We donate to many local youth and senior groups. We fund three $1,500 scholarships every year for Camas Seniors. We do a lot of good in the community and try and help all of those in need. When does Camas Lions meet? We have dinner meetings the 1st and 3rd Thursday's, Sept. June. We do not meet in July/August. Dinner meetings seem to work well for us as we can enjoy a meal and beverages and get club business done all at once. Currently meetings are at Orchard Hills Country Club in Washougal. Social hour is at 6 PM, meetings start at 6:30 PM. There are no attendance requirements of the club, so members make it when they can. Isn't Lions a group of "older" guys? Nope, not in Camas! In fact, we have a younger membership of both men and women along with many married couples (Annie is also a member). We also have valued members who have been part of the club for upwards of 60 years in some cases. We are a very proud group that enjoys the talents of all of our members and we have an excellent reputation in the community. This year I turn 47 and I have been a member of the Camas Lions for nearly 22 years. I am nowhere near the youngest member. How much does membership cost? A whole $45 per year. In addition, Lions pay for their meals at meetings. That's it. How do Camas Lions raise money? Lots of easy, fun ways. We do a big burger/dog BBQ at the annual Plant Fair in downtown Camas (THIS Saturday, May 9), we do the same type of BBQ and also serve beer & wine at the C-W Port Concerts typically held in June, and July, we have a recycling program in the Safeway parking lot for cans, bottles, paper and cardboard, we sell fireworks during July at the Camas Safeway. Those are our primary fundraising activities. Those are our current fundraisers and they bring in approx. $20,000 per year. In addition, we also have cash reserves of nearly $50,000 for larger projects and needs in the community. Do you have social events? Sure. In addition to the two monthly meetings, we also try and do a couple of family campouts each year close by and we also have a wonderful Old-fashioned Christmas Dinner each December out at the lodge at Camp Currie (this is a highlight event not to be missed!). Some of our dinners throughout the year are also "Guest" dinners, meaning that members are encouraged to bring their spouse or significant other. Most of our fundraising projects are also social events unto themselves. In short, we have a lot of fun for your normal, run-of-the-mill service club! Ok, enough of the Q & A. Hopefully the above did give you some additional information about what we do and why we do it. As I noted, I think you would be a great fit to be part of the club IF you have a desire to be part of a service organization and give back to our community and our world community as a whole. I never worry about time being a factor for 98% of those I approach only because we have no attendance requirements and members make it when they can. We have younger members with kids, and we know that we may not see some members during football or baseball season. It's all ok. I would love to invite you along for a meeting or two if you would like to meet more members of the club. You may know many of them already but it may also give you an idea of how diverse our club is. We come from ALL walks of life. Lion Sean Guard |