There are so many things we take for granted in this modern age when we are all so busy we can’t see the wood for the trees.
Including service clubs such as Rotary and Lions, who have been doing wonderful deeds for decades in most communities.
If you were to take Lions and Rotary clubs and all the other volunteer organisations out of the equation, I wonder what sort of world we’d have.
It wouldn’t be a better one, that’s for sure, so next time you bump into any of them fundraising, whether it’s the chocolate wheel in the local shopping centre or that enticing sausage sizzle outside Bunnings, put your hand in your pocket and lend them a hand.
The thing is neither of these organisations is out there seeking a pat on the back; they just do a good deed and get on to the next good deed.
You would rarely see any of them mentioned in the media, so it’s no wonder they are, for many of us, in the “out of sight, out of mind’’ space.
A few days ago I met Syd Hyett, a lovely chap who is also the secretary of Ingleburn Lions Club.
Syd says that in the Macarthur region there are six Lions clubs and one Lioness club.
And across the south west region there are also the Lions clubs of Liverpool, Fairfield, South West Sydney (newest club), Cabra-Vale and Wakeley.
The first club to be formed in the Macarthur region was Camden in 1961, followed by Ingleburn in 1962. Fairfield Lions Club was formed in 1956, and Cabramatta/Cabra Vale in 1969.
Imagine all the good deeds over all those years from so many Lions clubs and members.
Syd told me that next year Lions Clubs International will be celebrating a century of service.
Let me be the first to wish every single one of them a happy 100th Lions anniversary.
