Learn about the Lions Club here!
Lions Club International is a worldwide service club organization whose members have been helping others for close to 100 years. With over 1.4 million members and tens of thousands of branches located across the globe in over 200 countries, they are reportedly the largest service club organization in the world.
Guam is no exception.
Lions Club was founded in 1917 by a man named Melvin Jones. His personal code of “You can’t get very far until you start doing something for somebody else,” has since then spread throughout his organization as a guiding principle for others to follow.
Jones specifically wanted the lion as the organisation’s symbol because he believed it stood for strength, courage, fidelity and vital action. Later, it has come to also represent the idea of citizenship as an anagram for: Liberty, Intelligence, Our Nation’s Safety. Their website notably emphasizes the significance of fidelity as it stands for loyalty to friends and their selves.
Guam hosts several Lions Club branches, each with their own unique second name to set them apart from the rest. Tamuning has the Stars and the Galaides and Sinajana has the Sunshine. In addition, there are the Latte Stones, Masters and Harmony among others. Though their names may be different, they all share the same motto of “We serve.”
“We’re just ordinary people who want to help,” said Jose Sumbang, former president of the Stars Lions Club. “We all have our own lives to live and things that we do. As Lions, we gather together because we all want to give back in some way. And we make sure to have fun and make good friends in the process.”
“I joined Lions Club with my friends and I’m glad to say that I’ve made many more since,” said Jocelyn Herrera, a fellow Stars Lions Club member. “It’s tiring, but working together with everyone makes it feel much easier.”
The work of the Lions Club is not limited to anything specific. As long as it helps the community, they are on it. Just last month, members collected and donated eyeglasses to recycle and give to children who are in need of them.
“It’s rarely easy for everything to go smoothly,” Sumbang said. “Unexpected situations happen all the time. Sometimes people cancel at the last minute or there’s something that’s just not going right or people just don’t have the time. Still, we try our best and hope that it’s good enough. If not for our sake, then for the people we want to help.”
“Between my job and classes, it’s not easy for me to fit in Lions Club meetings and activities,” said Dong Quizon, a proud member of the University of Guam branch. “Sometimes I just want to skip just to catch up on my sleep, but I joined for a reason.”
Anyone is welcome to join–both as full-time members or as volunteers. All that it takes is to speak with and get an introduction from one of the current members. There are more than 20 branches on island alone, meaning that there’s plenty of opportunities.
Lions Club members are adults who seek to serve. For like-minded youths and young adults, there are the Leo Clubs which serve a similar purpose, but with the added goals of professional and personal development.