Monessen Lions to recruit members at Oct. 6 event

The club is hoping to acquire more manpower to deliver more projects for the area.

The Monessen Lions Club doesn’t have a shortage of ways to help its community.

What the 78-year-old organization could use is more hands to do it.

So its members are following a simple philosophy as they look toward the club’s future: Just ask.

Ask someone to get involved. Ask a younger generation to bring fresh ideas. Ask neighbors to give a little of their time so the Lions can continue giving back to the community they have served since 1948.

That’s the idea behind an Oct. 6 membership event aimed at introducing more people to the Lions and the work its roughly 40 members do throughout Monessen and beyond.

“You don’t know if somebody wants to join or will join unless you ask them,” said Tim Billick, the club’s membership chairman, board member and a past president. “So we’re asking.”

The free event will begin at 7 p.m. at the Italian Society of Mutual Aid, 112 Seventh St., Monessen. Pizza and drinks will be provided, and anyone interested in learning about the organization is welcome.

“We’re going to inform them of what the Monessen Lions Club is all about, what we do and all the good we do for the community,” Billick said. “We’re trying to get more people involved in being community oriented and to help each other.”

And there is plenty of work to share.

With support from the community, the Lions raised more than $28,800 during the past year to support a lengthy list of projects, organizations and causes.

Among them was $5,000 in scholarships and grants for graduating Monessen students, $2,000 for Monessen fire departments, $1,000 each for the Monessen Group for Performing Arts and Mon Valley EMS and $500 for the Monessen Police Department.

The club also donated to Monessen baseball and softball, Mon Valley Paws, the Salvation Army, St. Vincent de Paul, Friends of the Monessen Public Library, the Greater Monessen Chamber of Commerce fireworks and other local causes.

Beyond the Mon Valley, the Lions contributed $1,500 each for disaster relief and wildfire relief through the Lions Clubs International Foundation.

Billick said much of the money comes from fundraisers held throughout the year, including the club’s Koeze nut and chocolate sale, spring flower sale, annual ticket and banquet and White Cane Day.

The latter supports one of the causes most closely associated with Lions Clubs — helping those who are blind or visually impaired.

Money raised through White Cane Day helps the club provide assistance with eyeglasses and other sight- and health-related needs. The club also conducts annual sight and hearing screenings at Monessen Elementary Center and provides eyeglasses, including examinations, at no cost for those in need.

Its assistance can be even more tangible.

Wheelchairs, canes, walkers and crutches are available to borrow at no charge and can be kept for as long as they are needed.

The club also supports PA Lions Beacon Lodge, which serves people who are blind and those with disabilities, and contributes to Leader Dogs for the Blind.

Members said the club contributes annually to sponsor the training of two leader dogs.

When organizations closer to home need help, they can ask, too.

Billick said organizations seeking assistance typically submit a letter explaining their need. The Lions’ board reviews the request and determines what the club can provide based on available funds.

Two of the latest requests came from the Monessen Fire Department for help with fire prevention programming in the school district and from the city for assistance restoring the walking track.

Both projects are in progress. Supporting Monessen’s young people has become a significant part of the club’s work.

Each year, the Lions provide two $1,000 grants to graduating seniors who are members of the Monessen High School Leo Club, along with a $3,000 grant to another graduating senior.

“So there’s $5,000 every year we give to the kids who are graduating,” Billick said.

The Lions also support school activities and local youth athletics.

“Anything for the kids, we’re all in,” Billick said. “That’s the future of not only our community but, you know, country.”

The club has changed considerably since it was founded in June 1948.

Billick joined in February 1995, when the organization had more than 70 members. Today, membership stands at about 40.

The numbers have declined, but Billick said the club has been fortunate to maintain a stable membership. Bringing in more people, however, means increasing what the Lions can accomplish.

“The more individuals we have involved, the more we can do to help the community,” he said.

Few members better represent the club’s longevity than Angelo Loulis.

Loulis has been a Lion for more than 70 years. While he wasn’t a charter member, he is the Monessen club’s longest-serving member and recently received what fellow members described as a prestigious award recognizing his service.

Treasurer Debbie Bachinski represents a somewhat newer generation of Lions.

She joined about 15 years ago while working for a state senator. At the time, she thought joining would provide a good opportunity to become a liaison with the community.

She never left. What has kept Bachinski involved isn’t just the work the club accomplishes.

“I think the camaraderie of just getting together — it’s a good group of people,” she said. “As well as getting business done, we also like to laugh and have a good time. It’s a nice social outing.”

Billick said that’s an important part of the organization.

“We do a lot of good, but we have a lot of fun doing it,” he said.

The Lions also have a financial foundation that helps support their charitable work year after year.

A large donation about two decades ago led to the creation of the Margaret Conroy Endowment Fund. In March 2006, the club’s board approved a resolution ensuring the principal would remain untouched.

Instead, investment earnings are used to support nonprofit organizations.

“We will never touch the principal of that money,” Billick said. “We just spend what is made on interest every year.”

Despite all the causes the Lions support, Billick and Bachinski said the club’s biggest need today is straightforward: members.

The club meets at 6:15 p.m. on the third Wednesday of each month at the Italian Society of Mutual Aid. There isn’t a required amount of service a member must perform.

And for those who decide to join as part of the current membership push, the club is removing the financial barrier for the first year.

New members will have their first year’s dues and initiation fee waived. After that, annual dues are $67 for an individual and $44 for a second member of the same household.

Membership is not restricted to Monessen residents, and the club already includes people from surrounding communities.

Still, its membership skews older. “We do have some young people,” Bachinski said. “Not that many, though.”

She hopes that changes. Her 38-year-old daughter has expressed interest in joining and planned to ask some of her friends to consider it as well.

“We’re hoping to bring that younger blood with fresh ideas,” Bachinski said.

The club already has a connection with younger generations through the Monessen High School Leo Club, which has been active for more than two decades.

Val Weible serves as the Leo Club adviser, helping students become involved in service projects.

Billick said the Lions haven’t necessarily seen large numbers of Leo Club members transition into the adult organization locally, but introducing students to service has value of its own.

“The kids are very excited to help,” he said. “They enjoy seeing what goes on with being civic-minded and giving back to the community, and so hopefully that plants the seed.”

More members could allow the Lions to do more than raise and distribute money.

Billick said the club hasn’t done as many hands-on community service projects as members would like. Increasing membership could provide enough volunteers to expand into those efforts.

“The more people we have to do things, the more activities we can get involved with and more things we can assist with,” he said.

Looking five or 10 years into the future, Billick doesn’t envision a radically different Monessen Lions Club.

“I’m hoping that it’s still a stable club membership-wise, and I’m hoping that it’s still as active as we are now, if not a little more active,” he said.

After decades of service, keeping that tradition alive starts with the same simple step behind the upcoming membership drive.

Just ask. “So, that’s what we’re doing, we’re asking and we hope to see a lot of new faces,” he said.