Members of the Zelienople Lions Club participate in a Leader Dogs for the Blind event in August of 2023. Submitted photo

Elliott Hilton remembers a time when Lions Club International flourished in more rural communities like Zelienople that have served as the backbone of the famed service organization founded in 1917.

Acquiring new members was never a major issue in decades past, however, it has become quite the pain point in recent years.

“There was more camaraderie in that era,” said Hilton. “Members were willing to work together for the common good. I think we do that today, but we just don’t have the membership to do all of the things we used to do.”

While there are about 1.4 million club members worldwide that make up more than 48,000 clubs, Zelienople Lions Club is down to only 11 members after having as many as 19 just two years ago.

The local club sponsors the borough’s Halloween Parade, Easter egg hunt, a Drug Awareness Poster Contest for elementary school students and White Cane Days to aid residents who have vision problems.

The sharp downturn in participation has put a strain on the club’s community engagement capabilities.

Hilton said some of the reasoning behind the drop-off stems from a lack of interest and older members moving out of the community or dying.

“With the decline in membership, our average age in our club is 72 years old,” he said. “There’s myself and then there are 10 women in the club.”

The club has started to consider possible solutions, which included Hilton alerting Zelienople leadership of the dilemma at a council meeting earlier this month.

A key part of his plea was centered around stirring up interest among younger generations that can carry on the traditions of the Lions Club while laying the foundation for the future of the organization.

“One of the things that I told the council was to try to get younger members we need to find out what they’re passionate about and what they would like to do,” Hilton said. “Then, let them do that as part of our service. Just because we’ve done something for 30 years doesn’t mean that we need to continue doing it for 30 more.”

The long-standing motto of the Lions Club is “We Serve.” That’s exactly what Hilton and other local branches facing similar woes hope to continue for as long as possible.

“We just want to live our motto,” he said. “We want to help others and we want others to join us to help others in Lionism.”