Carlyle District Lions Club held two regular meetings in October and hosted the District Governor's team on October 23rd so it was a busy month.
We were extremely pleased to hear that the local person who is in need of a seizure response dog has been accepted into the Lion Foundation of Canada Dog Guide program but we were a little disappointed to learn that it may be as much as a year before a trained dog is available. There is a huge demand for these dogs at the present time. Each year an anonymous donor matches Lions club donation for dog guides up to an amount of $75,000. Last year when the local need for a seizure response dog became known, Carlyle Lions pledged to save and donate the cost of training one these special dogs. We have forwarded a cheque for $10,000 to the LFC Dog Guides this past month and because of the timing that amount will be matched so there will now be funds for training two seizure response dogs.
We have donated $50 to the Western Blind Curling Association and have purchased the tickets sent to us by the Lions Wilderness Experience in the amount of $125. The Lions Wilderness experience is a camp for people who face physical challenges in their lives. It is unique in that a Lion representative and members of the person's family attend the camp too.
We were pleased to join the community appeal with a contribution to the family of Gwen Kleyh (who has been diagnosed with leukemia) to help them with the additional expenses that accessing treatment creates.
Lions Pride Estates will be expanding. The four new units will be single dwellings. Contracts have been signed and services are being trenched to the lots this fall. The hope is that they will be ready next spring but summer may be a more realistic expectation.
Lions campground was closed for the season. Water and sewer service has been disconnected.
October's 200 Club recipient was Pat Cundell.
A regular agenda item at our meetings is membership expansion. Carlyle Lions have been hoping for and working toward an expansion in membership. Names of several people expressing an interest in becoming Lions have been brought forth, however, no one has yet taken the time to attend a meeting to check us out. This problem is of great concern to the club because as our member numbers decrease and we all become older, we fear that the community support that the Lions Club produces will soon be in jeopardy - will Lions Park and campground remain or be gone, will the sports facilities (especially the pool) continue to receive funds, will people with health/disaster problems be able to count on some financial support, will contributions to the work of the wider Lions movement dry up? We are rapidly getting to the point where we need more able bodies to help out. We continually wonder who out there thinks that what this club does in and for the community of Carlyle and the world is important enough to be maintained!
