 Posted: Fri, Jan 4 2008, 8:56 pm EST Post subject: Lions an endangered club |
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| Lions an endangered club
Membership in Cranbury organization down to 65 By Maria Prato-Gaines Posted: Friday, January 4, 2008 4:22 PM EST CRANBURY — Once the heartbeat of the township, the Cranbury Lions Club’s dwindling membership could send the local organization to extinction in the not-so-distant future. ”Some people don’t get involved as they had done in the past,” said Michael Kaiser, Cranbury Lions Club president. “As the value of housing goes up, the people that buy these houses don’t seem to have time to volunteer.” Only five years ago, Mr. Kaiser said, the club had about 85 members. At its peak it had about 140 members. Today the membership has faded to just 65 members, he said. ”Older members are passing away or moving away,” Mr. Kaiser said. “We’re not picking up younger members.” The international community-service organization was originally started in 1917 by a group of men between the ages of 30 and 40. But as it stands now, the average Cranbury Lions members are anywhere from 55 to 60 years old. ”(Here) the median age of the club has changed over the last 75 years,” Mr. Kaiser said. “The younger people don’t see how they would relate to the older members.” In the past the organization has tried to impact the community’s youth by developing a local college scholarship program and by seeing that an International Peace Poster Contest was added to the school’s curriculum. ... http://www.packetonline.com/articles/2008/01/04/cranbury_press/news/doc477e9f6c5c047270455305.prt |
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