What Does Being a Lion ACTUALLY Involve?

The time, the cost, the meetings, the jobs and what you're actually committing to.

There’s no single way to be a Lion.

Some people have plenty of time to give. Others have an hour here and there. Some love organising projects, some like getting their hands dirty, and others would rather help behind the scenes.

Being a good Lion isn’t about turning up to everything. It’s about contributing in a way that works for you and your club.

The Unofficial FAQs

The questions you probably want answered before you sign up for anything.

01. ⏰ How much time does being a Lion actually take?

It depends on how involved you want to be.

Lions shouldn't take over your life. Some members have time to be involved regularly, while others might help with a project here and there, take on a small job behind the scenes, or contribute when life allows.

Your club can decide how often it meets, how it communicates and how it organises its activities. You don't have to attend everything or volunteer for every project to be a valuable member.

It's about contribution, not attendance.

02. 📅 Do I have to attend every meeting?

No. Your contribution matters more than your attendance.

Meetings are useful for making decisions, planning projects and keeping everyone connected, but life happens. Work, family, holidays and other commitments don't suddenly disappear because you've joined Lions.

Your club can decide how often it meets and how members stay involved between meetings. What matters is keeping in touch, contributing when you can and following through when you've committed to something.

Lions should fit around YOUR life, not the other way around.

03. 🙋 Do I have to volunteer at everything?

Absolutely not. YOU choose how you want to be involved.

Some Lions love community events. Others enjoy organising things behind the scenes, bringing particular skills to a project, or getting involved in something they genuinely care about.

You won't be expected to put your hand up for every project or activity. Some things will interest you. Some won't. And sometimes you'll simply have other things going on in your life.

Being a Lion gives you opportunities to get involved. It doesn't mean saying yes to everything.

04. 💰 Why am I paying money to volunteer?

Because your membership helps make community service possible.

Lions are proud to pay membership dues that support the systems and infrastructure our clubs need to operate safely and effectively, including insurance, training and support, administration, technology, Lions programs, resources, branding and access to a worldwide network.

Why does that matter? Because the community shouldn't have to pay for us to run our organisation.

Because Lions members pay membership dues, 100% of funds raised from the community is returned to the community.

Membership fees vary between clubs, and some clubs find ways to reduce the cost for their members through internal activities or other sources of income.

You’re not paying for the privilege of volunteering. You’re helping provide the foundation that makes the volunteering possible.

05. 🆘 How will we know what we're doing?

You won't be expected to figure it all out yourselves.

A new Lions club has an established sponsoring Lions club behind it, and experienced Guiding Lions are appointed to support the new club during its first two years.

They're there to help you understand how Lions works, support your club officers, answer questions, help you find the resources you need and guide you through the inevitable “Okay... what do we do now?” moments.

You'll also have access to training, resources and the experience of the wider Lions network.

You get to build your own club, but you don't have to build it alone.

06. 🗳️ Does everyone have to be on the board?

No. You don't need an official title to be an important part of your club.

A Lions club needs people to take on roles such as President, Secretary and Treasurer, but that doesn't mean every member needs to hold a position.

Some people enjoy leadership and administration. Others would much rather organise a project, help at an event, bring particular skills or ideas, or simply be part of making things happen.

There may be opportunities to take on a club role later if that's something that interests you, and support and training are available if you do.

Your contribution to the club matters far more than the title beside your name.

07. 🧭 Who decides what our club actually does?

YOU do! It’s YOUR club.

Your members decide which causes matter to you, which projects you want to take on and what sort of difference you want to make. You might support an existing Lions program, respond to something happening in your own community, create a completely new project, or do a mixture of all three.

Being part of Lions gives you access to established programs, resources, experience and a worldwide network, but it doesn't hand you a list of projects you have to do.

Lions gives you the support and opportunities. Your club decides what to do with them.

08. 🦁 Does Lions tell us how to run our club?

There are some rules, but there’s plenty of room to make the club YOURS.

Being part of Lions means your club operates within an established organisation. There are requirements around things such as governance, finances, insurance, reporting and using the Lions name and brand. Those structures help protect your club, its members and the reputation you've become part of.

But they don't dictate your club's personality. Your members can shape how you meet, communicate, socialise, volunteer and work together.

You get the credibility, resources, support and worldwide network that come with being a Lions club, without every Lions club having to look and operate exactly the same way.

Lions even has a name for it: YOUR CLUB, YOUR WAY!

09. 🌪️ What if life gets hectic for a while?

Life comes first. Lions will still be here.

There will be times when work is ridiculous, family needs you, you're travelling, studying, dealing with other commitments, or you simply don't have much spare time or energy.

And your physical and mental health matter too. If you need to slow down, take a break or simply have less capacity for a while, that's okay.

Being part of a club shouldn't become another source of pressure. Stay connected where you can, let people know what's happening if you've committed to something, and step back when you need to.

When life settles down and you have more time or energy, you can become more involved again without feeling like you have to make up for lost time.

Lions is something you can be part of through different stages of your life.

10. 💬 How can our club meet and stay connected?

In whatever way works best for your members.

Some clubs enjoy getting together regularly in person. Others use a mixture of face-to-face meetings, online meetings, email, Messenger, WhatsApp or other ways of keeping everyone connected and involved.

There will still be decisions to make and club business to deal with, but that doesn't mean every conversation needs a meeting or every meeting needs to feel like a boardroom.

Your club can find a rhythm that keeps people informed and involved, while making it easier to participate around work, family and everything else going on in life.

How your club stays connected is up to you. Choose what works for your members and your lives.

11. 🚪 What if I join and decide Lions isn't for me?

Then you can leave. Joining Lions isn't a lifetime contract.

It'd be great if you find a club, people and projects that you genuinely enjoy being part of. But sometimes something is just not the right fit, or your circumstances change.

You shouldn't stay in a volunteer organisation because you feel guilty or trapped. If Lions isn't working for you, you can talk to your club about whether something could change, take a step back if that's what you need, or decide to leave.

Joining gives you the opportunity to see where Lions might fit in your life. It doesn't lock you into it forever.

12. 😬 Am I eventually going to have to be President?

No. There is no expectation that every member will eventually become President.

Some people love taking on leadership roles. Some discover they enjoy them after they've been in Lions for a while. And some people have absolutely no interest in being President, Secretary, Treasurer or anything else with a title. All of those are perfectly valid ways to be a Lion.

If leadership does interest you, there are opportunities to give it a go, learn new skills and have support along the way. But you can also spend years making a valuable contribution to your club without ever holding a major office.

Leadership is an opportunity, not the price of membership.

13. 🤝 What if I’m interested, but I don’t know anyone else who is?

That’s no problem. Every new club has to start somewhere.

You don't need to have a group organised before you put your hand up. You might know someone else who's interested, or you might be starting on your own.

Lions can help you get started, with experienced Lions supporting the process of getting the word out, connecting interested people and bringing together like-minded people who want to make a difference in their community.

Some of your future fellow Lions could be people you haven't even met yet. Some might become lifelong friends, or even your second family.

Your interest might be where a whole new community of like-minded people begins.

Who Actually Runs the Club?

The short answer? Everyone has a part to play, but no one is supposed to do everything.

A Lions club has a few official roles to keep things organised, but running the club is a team effort. Some members enjoy leadership or administration, while others would much rather organise projects, share ideas, bring particular skills or simply get involved in the things that interest them.

Having a role doesn't mean doing everything yourself. Good club leadership is about working together, sharing the load and DELEGATING.

👑President

Leads the club, but doesn't run it single-handedly.

The President helps keep the club moving in the right direction, chairs meetings, supports the other club officers and helps make sure decisions made by the members actually turn into action.

They don't need to organise every project, solve every problem or do every job themselves. One of the most important things a good President can do is DELEGATE.

It's a chance to develop leadership skills, bring people together and help shape the club, with a team around you to share the responsibility.

💰 Treasurer

Keeps the club’s finances organised and transparent.

The Treasurer keeps track of money coming in and going out, maintains the club's financial records, pays approved expenses and keeps members informed about the club's financial position.

They don't decide how the club's money is spent on their own. Financial decisions belong to the club, while the Treasurer helps make sure the money is handled properly and everyone knows where things stand.

It's a great role for someone who likes keeping things organised and making sure the club's money is looked after responsibly.

📝 Secretary

Keeps the club organised and the information flowing.

The Secretary helps keep track of club decisions, correspondence, membership information and the records and reporting that keep the club running smoothly.

They don't have to personally organise everything the club does. Their job is to help make sure the right information gets to the right people and that important details don't get overlooked.

It's a great role for someone who likes keeping things organised, communicating with people and helping everyone stay on the same page.

🙋 And what about everyone else?

There are plenty of other ways to take on a role in your club.

Depending on the club, these might include Vice Presidents, Directors, Membership Chair, project or fundraising roles, and traditional Lions roles such as Tail Twister and Lion Tamer.

But you don't need a title to play an important part. Every member can bring ideas, help make decisions and contribute in ways that suit them.

There’s a role if you want one. You don’t need one to matter.

So, How Does a New Lions Club Actually Get Started?

It starts with interested people, not paperwork.

You don't need to have everything figured out before you begin. The first step is simply bringing together people who are interested and starting a conversation about the kind of club they'd like to create.

1. 💡 Someone has an idea

Maybe there's a community that could use its own Lions club. Maybe a group of like-minded people wants to volunteer together. Or maybe someone has an idea for a completely different kind of club.

Every new club starts with someone thinking, “What if...?”

2. 🤝 Interested people come together

The word gets out and interested people have a chance to meet, talk and explore the idea. Some might already know each other. Others could be meeting for the very first time.

You don't need to arrive as a ready-made group.

3. 🧭 You start shaping YOUR club

This is where it gets interesting. The people involved start deciding what matters to them, what they'd like to do, how they'd like to meet and communicate, and what kind of club culture they want.

You're not being handed somebody else's club. You're creating yours.

4. 🦁 Lions helps with the official stuff

There are practical steps involved in forming a Lions club, but you won't be expected to work them out on your own. Experienced Lions can guide you through the requirements, paperwork, club roles and other things needed to get the club established.

You can concentrate on building the club while Lions helps you navigate the process.

5. 🎉 Your new club becomes real

Once everything is in place, your new club can officially get underway. Then comes the good bit: getting to know each other, choosing projects, building friendships and starting to make a difference.

The club you imagined becomes the club you belong to.

You don't need to know how to start a Lions club. You just need to be interested in starting one.

Lions can help with the rest.

Interested? Let’s Start a Conversation.

You don't need to be ready to join a club or start one. You can just be curious.

If you'd like to know more, talk through an idea or find out whether a new Lions club could work for you and your community, get in touch.

There’s no obligation. It’s just a conversation.

Yvette Rydman

0490 097 994

lionyvetterydman@gmail.com

Ann Reed

0417 078 418

ann@reed8.com

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