Dynamic Community Service Projects
'We Serve' is our motto — but what makes a project truly dynamic? Learn what sets great service apart, where the best ideas come from, and the many causes Lions serve.
The best projects don't start with an idea — they start with a need.
What you'll be able to do
By the end of this lesson you will be able to:
- Define the characteristics of a dynamic community service project.
- Tell the difference between a service project and a fundraiser.
- Find sources of ideas and resources for new projects.
- Use a community needs assessment to choose the right project.
- Recognise the many causes Lions serve around the world.
Two myths to clear up first
- A fundraiser is a service project.
- A project must be big and involve the whole club.
- A fundraiser's goal is to raise funds; a service project's goal is to provide a needed service. Money helps service — but it isn't service.
- A small project — even two members reading to schoolchildren — can be excellent.
The big picture — mind map
Tap any branch to reveal its key ideas.
Anatomy of a dynamic project
Five things every dynamic project has. Tap each to learn more.
Where the best ideas come from
You rarely have to invent a project. The need — and the idea — is usually already out there.
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Start with a community needs assessment
Part of the Club Excellence Process, it reveals needs you never knew about. Do it every year.
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Visit other clubs and zone meetings
You almost never leave without an idea your own club has never tried.
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Ask how they did it
Learning from another club's experience saves you from repeating their pitfalls.
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Partner up
Too small to meet a need alone? Team up with another club or organization — it adds resources and introduces new people to Lionism.
A needs assessment looks at schools, parks, police and fire, the library, senior centres and medical services. It also shows you what others already do — so you can avoid duplicating, or join forces instead.
The many causes Lions serve
LCI offers ready resources for each of these. Pick one that fits a need in your community.
Vision
The cause Helen Keller set us in 1925: eyeglass collection, vision screenings, cataract support and the fight against blindness.
Hearing
Hearing screenings and hearing-aid recycling that reconnect people to the world around them.
Diabetes
Awareness walks, screenings and education — a global cause Lions champion in every community.
Youth
Camps, youth exchanges, reading in schools, mentoring and Leo clubs that grow the next generation of servers.
Environment
Community clean-ups, recycling and e-waste, and tree planting — hands-on projects the whole community can join.
Hunger
Food drives, community gardens and food-bank partnerships — including in the quiet months after the holidays.
Literacy
Book drives, volunteer reading, and Braille literacy — often with a publisher or bookshop partner to stretch every dinar.
Disaster & global
Lions Alert prepares clubs to respond to disasters — plan, prepare, practise — while club twinning turns local service into global friendship.
Whatever you do, report it. Logging each project keeps a history for your club and lets Lions everywhere discover, copy and build on your idea — that is how one good project becomes a hundred.
Check yourself
Five quick questions. Pick an answer to see instant feedback.
Bring it home
- When did our club last run a community needs assessment — and what might it reveal today?
- Which of our current projects meets a real, current need — and is any one of them past its time?
- Which local organization could we partner with to do something bigger than we can alone?