A new Lion awards have been created to honour and recognise the volunteer and leadership efforts of young people as part of the 2001 - 2002 Lions International Year of Youth.
Lions Young Leaders in Service Award is a club-level award that honours young people aged 12-18 who have completed 50 or 100 hours of community service.
Young people who have completed at least 50 hours of community service within a 12-month period can receive the Silver Seal Award certificate.
Young people who have completed 100 hours of community service within a 12-month period can receive the Gold Seal Award certificate.
Lions can present the new Lions Young Leaders in Service Award to any qualified young person in the community.
The award programme will help improve the civic, cultural, social, and, moral character of the community and publicise the community service efforts of young people.
Clubs can order a free awards kit
The free Lion Young Leaders in Service Award kit (available on the association's website or upon request from the Youth Programmes Department at International Headquarters) outlines the new award programme.
The kit includes an activity guide for Lions clubs. This 10 page publication includes:- a tracking form (for the recording of volunteers hours); a certificate form (for the signatures of teachers, youth group leaders or, other adults verifying service hours); an award certificate request form (to be submitted to the Youth Programmes Department at International Headquarters); and sample media releases.
Also included is a double - sided promotional flyer, which explains the awards programme to youth groups. The flyer is appropriate for distribution to teachers and youth group leaders such as Leo advisors.
Some young people may choose to complete their volunteer hours by participating in several small service projects, while others may choose to participate in a few larger, long - term projects.
Projects for Youth
Examples of community service projects for youth include aiding the elderly by visiting nursing facilities or performing home repairs for the elderly; projects for children such as collecting clothing, toys or school supplies; environment projects like planting trees or adopting a roadway, park, shoreline or playground; helping the homeless or hungry by volunteering at a local shelter or participating in a Habitat for Humanity project; literacy projects such as tutoring a child or an adult; public health projects including assisting with vision, hearing or diabetes detection screenings; or safety and special recreation projects such as assisting with a bicycle safety programme.
Presentation of the Awards
A ceremony is an appropriate way to present the Lions Young Leaders in Service Awards. Lions can present each young person with either a silver or gold award certificate and a letter of congratulations from the president of Lions Clubs International.
Individual Lions clubs may choose to supplement these awards with engraved plaques or other prizes.
To emphasise the importance of community service, Lions should invite parents, teachers, youth group leaders, community leaders and the media to attend the presentation ceremony.
