The Lions of Pine County, MN

The Lions of Pine County, like Lions all over the world are dedicated to community service. Membership is made up of men and women committed to service and interested in making a difference in their local community. There are eight Lions Clubs in Pine County; Pine Area, Pine City, Rock Creek, Hinckley, Sandstone, Sandstone Quarry, Finlayson and Sturgeon Lake. All of these clubs do exemplary work for their surrounding communities. The Pine Area and Sandstone Quarry Lions are all women. Rock Creek and Sandstone have all male memberships and the remaining clubs are co-ed so there are opportunities to associate with a membership structure that fits your personal needs. These clubs have a significant impact on county residents. Over the years they have built and managed community facilities and purchased public safety equipment. The clubs all support area civic projects and sponsor scholarships for graduating high school seniors. Together they sponsor health screenings for county residents at an event held at Essential Health in Sandstone. Service efforts are not limited to individual clubs. All of the clubs joined to support food packaging to combat hunger. They also gathered to complete riverbank plantings along the Kettle River, a clean-up along the Munger Trail and a Cemetery renewal project in Hinckley. These joint projects are an excellent opportunity to expand acquaintance with residents all over Pine County. Clubs are able to request funding assistance from the Lions International to assist with local community based projects; effectively magnifying local fund raising capacity. The money to support these efforts is raised one pancake at a time. Clubs sponsor an array of fund raising activities from golf and fishing tournaments to pancake breakfasts and spaghetti dinners. All money raised from the public is returned to the public; ninety-eight percent is returned to the local community. The clubs are associations of dues paying volunteers engaged to support civic volunteer non-profits like Scouts the Red Cross and Parent Teacher Associations. Volunteerism is on the decline in the United States. Fortunately Minnesotans rank among the highest in the nation for volunteering. We can take pride in the fact that more than 3 in 10 Minnesotans engage is some volunteer project. Without new members volunteer organizations eventually reach a point where it is not possible to continue the good work. If just five percent of the Minnesota population steps forward a potential crisis can be averted, volunteer memberships can be refreshed and the work will continue. All of the Pine County Lions Clubs are eager to tell their story and welcome new members. Contact a club; attend a meeting to see what goes on there. Perhaps you will be motivated to add your name to the membership roll and place yourself in a position to make a difference in your community.