GREENFIELD — The Town of Greenfield has a new opportunity for kids to get involved in the community with the recent establishment of the Town of Greenfield Leo Club.
The Leo Club is a community service organization for kids between the ages of 12 and 18, and is directly affiliated with Lions Club International, said Town of Greenfield Club Advisor Brittany Campbell.
“It’s a really unique opportunity for Leos, because we have access to Lions’ network and resources, and we can deliver that to kids who are interested in getting involved in their communities,” said Campbell.
Campbell, who was a Leo Club member herself before joining the Lions Club as an adult, said the Leos often “piggyback” on goals from the Lions Club, but also stressed that the Leo Club can adapt to the interest of its members.
“If their school is having a food drive, and they want to get on board with that and bring Leo’s resources into that, that’s something that absolutely we can, at a certain point, let the kids take the reins and take over what they’re passionate about, and move the club in that direction,” Campbell said.
The Greenfield Leo Club held its first meetings in September, coinciding with the start of the school year. Campbell said many kids who join Leo Club eventually also join the Lions Club and mentioned that Leo Club can be a great opportunity for parents and children to participate in the community together.
“If you can get kids involved, not only as the kids age out of their Leo Club do they have a tendency to become Lions, but it’s an opportunity for parents and their children to participate in service projects together,” said Campbell. “I think the ultimate goal is to get kids involved in community service, and then it can be kind of like a bonding opportunity between them and their parents.”
The Greenfield Leo Club meets on the first and third Wednesdays of each month at 6 p.m. at the Greenfield Community Center. There are annual dues of $10 for the club, which Campbell said mirrors the Lions Club’s model and can help teach kids responsibility.
“We like to do that because the Lions have dues,” Campbell said. “This kind of gives the kids, on obviously a smaller scale, a sense of responsibility and ownership in the club.”
The club name is an acronym, with Campbell saying that Leo stands for “Leadership, Experience, and Opportunity.”
“I think that’s important, because those are really three of the main goals we have for being able to benefit the participants of the club,” said Campbell. “Anyone who joins a Leo Club, or a Lions Club for that matter, the participants really get out of it what they put into it.
“The more that we can give and do, the better we feel, because ultimately at the core of these service clubs, helping others really is its own reward.”
