When Jenny Brearley relocated from the Sunshine Coast to Echuca in mid-2023, she found herself looking for a way to create connections and play a part in her new community.
She decided to join the Echuca Lions Club, knowing that she could give back with her time and socialise at the same time.
Ms Brearley became the first woman to join the group, which accepts anyone over the age of 18.
“A lot of people think that all the Lions do is cook sausages,” she said.
“Which we do and that raises a lot of money for the community, but we do the junior public speaking, we do the Christmas raffle and Christmas cakes.
“We raise a lot of money and 100 per cent goes back into the community.”
Ms Brearley helped run the Lions’ Junior Public Speaking competition, which saw students from Echuca Primary School, St Mary’s Primary School, Australian Christian College, Moama Public School and Moama Anglican Grammar participate this year.
“I really enjoyed that,” she said.
“I got to meet some lovely teachers and also, the kids were great.
“It’s really good for them. The feedback from the ones who have done it in the past said that it gave them so much more confidence going forward.”
The group supports a range of activities and causes throughout the year, including catering for the Beyond Bitumen rally in April and the Winter Blues festival in July.
It also runs the Illawarra Dve Neighbourhood Christmas lights and an annual golf day, which was hosted back in April.
“We do a big golf day, which is probably one of the biggest money raisers, raising in excess of $10,000 each year which goes to a worthy cause in the area like Echuca Regional Health, the Wellness Centre, Neighbourbood House, or cystic fibrosis research,” Ms Brearley said.
“We have been organising the local Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday appeal for a number of years.
“This year, with the assistance of other organisations in the local community, we raised in excess of $116,000, the eighth-largest regional total in the state.”
Ms Brearley has found that her participation in the club has allowed her to make connections and meet people in the region, not only from inside the group but through their activities.
“I think it’s a good way to know other people in the community,” she said.
“Not just the Lions, but when you’re doing things, you’re meeting other people in the community.
“It is also a way that you’re doing something for the local community.”
Despite many events they assist with, plan and host, the club encourages its members to be balanced and only volunteer when they can.
It wants Lions to prioritise their personal and professional lives before putting time into the club.
“The Lions have this motto: it’s family first, then work, then the Lions,” Ms Brearley said.
“It’s doing whatever you can.
“Some people put a lot of time in because they want to, and they can, and others just help out when that can. That’s what I like about it as well.”
There are many different backgrounds in the Echuca Lions Club, including farmers and professionals.
With a range of roles on offer, these diverse skills have a place in the leadership and executive team, too.
“(There is) a new member chairperson, junior public speaking chairperson, wellness,” Ms Brearley said.
“There are three vice presidents, and each of them has a group of different tasks and there are people who do those tasks, so the work is spread out.
“People can put their names forward for things they want to do.”
The group meets on the first and third Tuesday of the month for a dinner meeting, as well as every Friday night for an hour-long get-together at 5pm at the Lions’ shed on Sutton St, Echuca.
If you are interested in finding out more about joining the Echuca Lions contact the new member chairperson on 0428 865 491 or email echuca.vic@lions.org.au
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