KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
The Kodiak Lions club has found the COVID pandemic challenging, as any institution has. But according to Jeremiah “Doc” Meyers, a veteran local Lions Club member, the effects locally and internationally have been devastating.
“This has been like leprosy. It’s just… hurt our clubs (the) world over. There’s a lot of clubs just not meeting (that) died. You know, and it’s funny, more in the United States than Europe,” Meyers said. “It’s amazing- India and that area has prospered in membership. Motivated them, ‘let’s help people, they’re really hurt. And let’s get together.’ And we’re looking at that, trying to motivate for that, but it’s… it’s hard. It’s hard to get excited when you hunker down.”
Much of the group’s fundraising is based on events, or internal among membership. With gatherings seriously limited, fundraising is down as well.
Even so, Doc says that in spite of these challenges the lions have still been able to do some limited fundraising.
“Now COVID has dwindled our meetings and project ability. I mean, our funds primarily came from games of chance. And when you close down the bars or break them down to 25% capacity, where all the pull tabs and that kind of stuff is, the revenue dissipates too,” Meyers said. “And so we had a couple fundraisers last summer, we cook a lot of hamburgers when there’s a concert. And we had a garage sale that actually raised $5,000, which only could happen because the Coast Guard couldn’t have their annual hangar garage sale. So we put it on, and we did good.”
These funds go to an impressive array of local projects and causes, including the maintenance of local parks, constructing shelters by hand for local bus stops, building wheelchair ramps for local homes, and international efforts. Aiding the blind in particular is a cause that unites Lions Clubs around the world.
In the meantime, the roughly 70 members of the Kodiak Lions club look forward to a post-pandemic world, when they can get back to their charitable work. Doc Meyers, who recently retired from his decades-long eye care practice on Kodiak will be joining KMXT’s Jared Griffin for Talk of the Rock this Tuesday at 12:30 pm to discuss his time in Kodiak and more.
