Lion’s Club sidelined by COVID-19

By Sean Feagan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The normal fundraising efforts of the Strathmore Lion’s Club have been largely sidelined by COVID-19, but the organization is looking to return to some form of normalcy by fall.

Each year, the club conducts several large fundraising events, including the Seniors’ Christmas Party and the Spring Auction, and it runs food booths at the ag grounds for the Strathmore Stampede and Heritage Days, said club president Phil Poirier.

“A lot of that money that we raise goes back into the community, through the schools, the art, the library, and lots of different things,” he noted.

The shutdowns in March came as a surprise to the organization.

“It was a shocker,” said Poirier. “We were most of the way through planning our annual spring auction, which was scheduled in early April, and it all came to end.”

The auction cancellation means the club lost out on about $30,000, he said. The organization has lost close to $70,000 when all the cancellations, including the rodeo, are considered.

Normally the club collects donations from businesses in town for its auctions, but those efforts have been stopped while many businesses are facing difficulties.

“It’s just not right to do that,” said Poirier. “Even for the rest of the year, I can’t see us doing that sort of thing because everybody has been struggling so much.”

The Lions met earlier this week to discuss its budget and to get set for a new president coming in. While the club has no fundraising events planned for the moment, Poirier said they will be developing new ideas for virtual fundraising, including the possibility of an online auction for the fall.

“We will be back in the fall,” he said. “We will have our struggles, but we will get through this, just like everybody else will.”