Lions Roaring Louder than Ever – Join Us!

The Southeast Lions have been serving our beloved South Side, South End neighborhoods since 1940. I grew up in the South End. My Dad was a Lion and he took our family to the annual Lions picnic at the YMCA Park throughout the sixties and seventies. My sisters and I went down the Grandaddy slide (built by the Lions) dozens of times. We played softball and ate lots and lots of hot dogs and burgers. My Dad and his fellow Lions went door to door and sold the Lions Roar (this newspaper) raising funds for local neighborhood schools and organizations.

But time goes by, and things change. That Grandaddy slide is no longer there. Many folks moved out of the neighborhood and many others moved in. Things seemed simpler back then, and many folks reflect on those times with nostalgia and even wish things had not changed. I love hearing stories from some of our older Lions. Their eyes tear up as they share moments when they gave a pilot dog to a new owner, or a big check to the Dominican Learning Center to support immigrants, or built and donated the Southeast Lions Park and on and on. The Lions have done so much good over the years in the South End.

There are some wonderful things to build on as we grow our club today. And we have
something today that makes what we build together even stronger. I look around now
at our members, and my eyes tear up as I see our incredibly diverse backgrounds, experiences, and talents. We represent so many different perspectives and communities. Yet, ALL OF US have one thing in common, even with those Lions from the 20th century. Every Lion is “willing to serve” and loves our South End. Every. Single. One. As we move forward with a membership that looks more like the South Side of today, I am confident that we will do better and that our neighborhood will gain strength and become more vibrant each and every day.

No matter where you come from, or what you do, if you are willing to serve and you love our neighborhood, we welcome you with open arms. As a Lion you will have an opportunity to help our neighbors grow and thrive. And your roar will be heard for many years to come.

Join us!
Lion Tom Grote

The Southeast Lions were founded in 1940 and and have been serving the south­end/south-side of Columbus for 81 years and this is our 73rd edi­tion of the Lion’s Roar. Much has changed throughout the years, but one thing remains the same, we all love our neighbor­hoods. Whether we grew up here or are just moving in, and whether we identify as South­-enders or South-siders, we con­tinue to love and serve our com­munity welcoming everyone in our work space, our neighbor­hoods-all in hand helping our neighborhoods thrive.

The SE Lions have proudly supported hundreds of neigh­borhood programs, schools and organizations throughout the decades, donating millions of dollars and logging tens of thou­sands of service hours. Despite our long history of service, we are invigorated by the spirit and resiliance of our neighbors and are committed to serve for decades to come. And we ask for your help. Whether you would like to join our club, donate your time, your trea­sures, or simply be a good neighbor by being an advocate in your community. We ask that you commit to help making 2022 better than 2021, by joining us. Every member, every hour of sevice, every dollar and frankly, every friendly gesture like a wave or smile, will help us all thrive. We ask that you join us in celebrating and supporting our beautiful South-end/South­-side neighborhood. You can be the example of what it means to be united in our community. We are all in this together!

Learn more about our SE Lions club and our neighborhood now! Please consider making a donation.

The Southeast Lions are a 100% volunteer service organi­zagion and all proceeds donated to the south-end/south-side stay in the south-end/south-side. Let us know if you are a South­-ender or South-sider and post a video or photo on our Facebook group page “Columbus Southeast Lions Club”. We wish you a 2022 filled with good cheer, great neighbors, good will toward one another and great times together.