A recruiting drive is underway for Newtown Lions Club.

Chartered in 1949, the Newtown club currently has approximately 55 members, according to First Vice Present and Membership Chair Bill Brett. That number is down a little from previous years, when the club averaged more than 70 members.

"By and large, we are an older group," Mr Brett said of the local chapter of the international organization. "We've lost several members in recent years."

Men and women are welcome to join, Mr Brett also pointed out. Most clubs in Connecticut have female members. The national average [of women to men] is closer to 40 percent, said Mr Brett.

"We obviously need to improve that," he said.

MaryJo Brett, Mr Brett's wife, became the first female member of the Newtown chapter, in April. She had wanted to volunteer for the club's Health Committee, she said November 2, but found out she could not help because she was not a member of the Lions. Until late last year, Newtown's club was all-male.

"I told him that I would help if they decided to allow women into the club," Ms Brett said.

The club decided late last year, she said, to open its membership to men and women. Ms Brett began her membership process this past January. Her husband of nearly half a century served as her sponsor, and she became the club's first female member.

"It's a great organization," Ms Brett said. "They do a tremendous amount of good with the money they have earned through the years."

Newtown's Lions Club carries out the Lions motto "We Serve" by participating in numerous local events, and making donations to an even larger number of local, regional, and state organizations.

Members also support and participate in international programs.

Fundraising activities include the annual Classic Mustang Raffle, which sends one lucky ticket holder home with an antique Mustang; and The Great Pootatuck Duck Race, a Memorial Day weekend event. In recent years the club has added The Great Pumpkin Races, a pre-Halloween event that invites all ages to use their imaginations to not only decorate pumpkins, but also find ways to put an axle through the autumnal gourd and race it down the paved parking lot hills behind Edmond Town Hall.

The club and its members do not benefit from any of the funds generated during these activities. All funds raised go toward the club's charitable events.

The members of Newtown Lions Club also do a lot of hands-on work around town. Members offer pediatric eye screenings, coordinate blood drives, maintain Orchard Hill Nature Center, and participate in HomeFront Day, which offers repairs to a home for a member of the community.

Shortly after 12/14 the club also created The Sandy Hook Elementary Fund, which later partnered with The Newtown Recovery & Resiliency Team (now The Center for Support and Wellness) to provide a secure location for donations to help those directly affected by the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The fund continues to provide counseling for those concerned with their mental health.

Newtown Lions Club is part of Lions International, the largest service organization in the world, with 1.35 million members in 200 countries.

The opportunities to become involved in his community appealed to David Landau, who joined the local Lions Club chapter in Spring 2015.

"I was looking for a way to get involved, and to give back to the community, both where I work and live," Mr Landau said.

A real estate agent with ReMax Right Choice and vice president of Newtown Board of Realtors, Mr Landau was sponsored by fellow Realtor Gary Frey, who works for a different agency.

Mr Landau is on the Car Raffle Committee, and is also a newly elected board member.

"I enjoy that this gives me the flexibility for my busy schedule, to e able to volunteer my time," Mr Landau said October 26. "I was also amazed with the amount of charities that they are involved with.

"We're always doing something around town, which is one of the things I like."

Newtown Lions Club will host a Prospective Member Session on Wednesday, November 9, from 6 to 9 pm, at Newtown Country Club, 2 Country Club Road. Dinner will be served, and guests will learn all about the club.

There is no fee for those attending that event.

"We want to bring our numbers back up to 60 or 70 members," said Mr Brett.

For those who cannot attend the November 9 dinner but are interesting in joining the club, David Landau suggests reaching out nevertheless.

"Reach out to any Lions Club member you know. Come to one of our bi-monthly meetings as a guest, and see what we're all about," he said.

Newtown Lions meet twice monthly, at Newtown Country Club.

"You will need a sponsor, but as long as another Lion brings you, you can come as a guest," Mr Landau said. "You can meet the men - and the women - and see what we are all about."

Reservations for the Prospective Member Session are requested, by November 7, and can be made by contacting Bill or MaryJo Brett at 203-270-1053 or wrbmjb@sbcglobal.net.Newtown Lions Club has a $35 application fee, as well as annual local and national dues. Members are responsible for their own dinner costs once accepted into the club.