THE Merino Digby Lions Club (MDLC) will make history as they prepare to launch a unique Lions club in Coleraine designed for a large growing group of people in Australia –grandmothers and grand-others.

The goal of this new branch is to create a sociable and familiar community-based support group for the grandmothers and grand-others community of Coleraine.

The idea was first born when Lions District Club Revitalisation team leader, Robert Eyton and MDLC member, Susan Coe both attended the Lions International Convention in Melbourne.

During the convention, there was a screening about a philanthropic foundation who were fighting to support grandparents and grand-others who are bringing up children in terrible circumstances in Africa.

Mr Eyton said after the screening, Mrs Coe and himself simultaneously looked at one another and said, “we’re having one of those!”

And so, the Lions Coleraine Grandmothers and Grand-Others (LCGGO) club idea was brought to life.

Recently, the MDLC formally approved the motion to try to form a club branch in Coleraine attached to theirs.

Mrs Coe said, “we’re still in the mentoring and discovering stage of the club’s creation”.

“There are no specific rules for the club – the meetings could take place any time of the week depending what suits the participants.

“The attendants may want to do crafting or read newspapers together – it can be anything,” she said.

The aim for this club was to help create a support system for the grandmothers and grand-others of Coleraine, for example, organising social events, driving them to a doctor’s appointment, going on excursions or even providing technology support.

Some of the Lion’s greater network volunteer projects future LCGGO club members can look forward to, include the Lions type 1 and type 2 diabetes projects, Need for Feed program, Children’s Vision Screening Program, youth camps and the Skin Check and Awareness Unit.

Mr Eyton said, “some of them (the grandparents and grand-others demographic) are lonely and need social contact.

“Some of them need a reason to get out of bed every morning,” he said.

 “If we do get these clubs up and running, they (the members) are able to go and work with other teams of Lions. It’s a real good feel thing – it’s not hard and it’s good fun.

“A lot of it can be sat down for those who don’t have the best mobility.”

The MDLC will select a place for the new club to meet based upon the number of attendants and interest they receive.

Whilst Mr Eyton spoke about the opportunities the new club would bring to Coleraine, he also addressed the challenges the Lions are currently facing in rekindling their clubs in a modern and changing world.

“We’re a big, old organisation us Lions and we tend to get a little set in our ways and life is changing for us,” he said.

“We have a very old age demographic and the modern world is overtaking us a little bit, and not so much leaving us behind, but not going with us or joining us because things are different now.

“So, our job now is to revitalise what we’re doing and actually think outside of the box,” he said.

 “We’re trying to look at communities where a different model fits, but the ethics, the background, the insurance and all the other benefits that come with the Lions organisation are still embraced,” he concluded.

First Vice District governor, Susan Eyton said, “one of the things I love about Lions clubs is each club could identify a completely different need in its own community and meet that need.

“Wherever there’s a need out there in the community we try and find a way to assist them.

“If we can get this club off the ground, we can transplant it all around our district and beyond,” she closed.

For more information or to express interest in joining the LCGGO club, please contact Scoe1953@me.com or robeyton@bigpond.com