Happy Birthday to the Franklin Lions Club! The Franklin Lions turn 75 this year, along with neighboring clubs Millis and Medfield Lions. To celebrate, all three clubs had planned a celebration at the German American Club in Walpole on March 27th, but with concerns over Coronavirus, that celebration has been postponed to a date to be determined.
“Joseph Cataldo was our first president,” says Kristine Shanahan, current Franklin Lions president. “Our charter night was in February of 1945. We raffled off war bonds for a hospital bed and a wheelchair, and we sponsored the high school band and 25 instruments for the school.”
That original group was very involved with youth, says Shanahan, running a wastepaper drive and sponsoring boys’ baseball, a football team banquet, minstrel shows and an oxygen tent for an injured boy, as well as other medical equipment for those in need.
“We’ve continued on our involvement with youth,” says Shanahan, noting that the group runs a children’s bicycle parade each 4th of July and has begun a strong Lions Pride program and has sponsored a high-school-level LEOS program.
“We have 22 members of our LEOS club, for high school students who live or go to school in Franklin. They meet at Mak’s Roast Beef every other Thursday evening, 6:30-7 p.m. depending on their schedules
The Franklin Lions also collect books for young adults for the Remington Middle School. Donations can be dropped off at The Dancer’s Studio, in Franklin, or they will come pick up books if contacted by email.
On top of providing eyewear to local kids in need, the group has conducted free vision screenings for Franklin schoolchildren.
“It’s a portable piece of equipment from our District 33K Eyemobile,” says Shanahan. “We have a spot camera,” she says. Lions can learn how to use the screening equipment through trainings conducted throughout the year. “We’re also trained in how to do blood pressure, hearing, and eye pressure tests as well as the vision,” she says.
Recently, the Franklin Lions has experienced, “tremendous growth,” in membership after dropping down a few years ago due to a lot of members moving or retiring. At 27 members, the group hopes to hit 30 by year’s end.
“You do have to be invited,” says Shanahan, adding, “We do (have) a lot of open events where people can come and learn about the Lions Club. There’s no politics, there’s no religion, just a commitment to doing service. We have service projects for veterans, service projects with youth, service projects with the elder, for people with Diabetes and cancer, and we have a cleanup project.”
The Franklin Lions President got involved with the group about 10 years ago, when the Franklin Lions were in the process of turning over the Franklin 4th of July celebration to the Franklin 4th of July Coalition.
“I came in at the right time, when our club was open to any new ideas. Parents are being pulled in multiple directions, so a lot of our stuff is family-oriented,” she says.
Shanahan says the Franklin Lions conduct about one service project a month, and one fundraiser, open to everyone, a month. Most events are posted on the Franklin Lions Club page.
Shanahan welcomes participation in a Franklin Lions service project if someone is interested.
“We’d love or them to come and help. They’d get to see us in action and decide if they really want to become a Lion.” Her group keeps prefers to keep service projects small, “If you can give a few hours a year, we’re good with that,” says Shanahan.
Some ongoing fundraisers the Lions run is a textile collection of unused or unwanted cloth material, which they will go and pick up, and the other is a bottle and can collection.
The money collected from the latter is used to send local children to Diabetes camps.
What it comes down to, is Franklin Lions are committed to service, says Shanahan.
“The money that I bring in is not going to administration of the club; it’s going back out to charity.”
To find out more about the Franklin Lions, find them and message them on Facebook under “Lions Club Franklin MA,” or send an email through their website at https://www.e-clubhouse.org/sites/franklinma/ or email franklinmalions@gmail.com. You can also send inquiries to Franklin MA Lions Club, P.O. Box 3, Franklin, MA 02038.
Issue Date:
April, 2020
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