Midlands area Lions drive volunteerism into 21st Century

The world’s largest service organization will visit Columbia on February 24th during a tour to determine the most critical needs for volunteers to address in the 21st century.  Members from seven lions clubs in the Midlands area will have the opportunity to give their insight on volunteerism as part of an international assessment focusing on how service should advance into the next century.

“After 100 years of successful volunteering in communities around the world, Lions Clubs International is undertaking a global service assessment to determine how volunteer organizations can best meet the needs of the 21st century,” says Lions Clubs International First Vice President, Chancellor Bob Corlew who has been a Lion since 1978 and will accompany the tour.   “We are thrilled to gain insight from these Midlands area Lions, representing clubs in Columbia Northeast, Blythewood, Winnsboro, Lexington, Lake Murray and Cayce-West Columbia.”

Founded in Chicago in 1917, Lions Clubs International is the world’s largest service club organization with 1.4 million members in more than 200 countries and geographic areas.

As part of this global outreach to assess community needs, the Lions Centennial Bus will visit some of the most impactful Lions service efforts throughout the southern United States from February 19 to 27. During this nine-day tour, First Vice President Chancellor Bob Corlew of Milton, Tennessee will meet with Lions club members and other community leaders in Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.

In Columbia, volunteers will meet with Vice President Corlew and share ideas from their joint service during the October flood relief across South Carolina as well as their individual club projects such as vision screenings in their communities; engaging youth in area high schools through Leo Clubs; and showing off our great state of South Carolina through participation in the International Youth Exchange program.

“Our young people are very interested in hands on service.  We’ve seen their commitment to service through local youth Leo Clubs in several area high schools. And our Lions see the benefit of working beside these youths as mentors, ensuring that our future leaders carry the vision that our founder Melvin Jones planted among his peers almost 100 years ago,”  stated 1VDG Paul Dove, Lions District 32D.

The 26-stop tour gives Vice President Corlew opportunities for face-to-face meetings with community leaders who will discuss the current state of Lions clubs and their direction for future service initiatives.  Vice President Corlew will also participate in other local service projects, visit Lions eye clinics, charter a new club at a school for the deaf and blind, and much more.

This Lions Centennial Bus Tour is also generating excitement for Lions Clubs International’s upcoming centennial celebration, which will officially kick off at the association’s international convention this June in Fukuoka, Japan and will continue through the following summer when Lions will “come home” to celebrate at the international convention in Chicago.

Often known for their focus on eye health and helping those with visual impairments, over the past decades, Lions have expanded their areas of service to include protecting the environment, mentoring youth, developing anti-bullying curriculum for schools, disaster relief, educating children and adults and feeding the hunger. These services are expected to continue with the service assessment helping to define a specific area(s) of interest where Lions would like to see the association focus as we drive forward into a new century of service. For more information on South Carolina Lions, visit www.sclions.org.