Maximum Effort It is all about ME!!

Trends in Alabama Trends in Social Needs – Not Fashion

2008 Prevalence Rates of Visual Loss - Alabama 153,597 people By age - Under 5 1, , , , and older 39,407 The term vision loss refers to individuals who reported to have serious difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses as well as those that are blind.

1 out of 9 Americans have diabetes Under 20 years of age 215,000, or 0.26% of all people in this age group have diabetes About 1 in every 400 children and adolescents has type 1 diabetes Age 20 years or older 25.6 million, or 11.3% of all people in this age group have diabetes Age 65 years or older 10.9 million, or 26.9% of all people in this age group have diabetes Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults aged 20–74 years.

Children in Poverty In Alabama, there are 604,297 families, with 1,108,085 children. Poor Children: 24% (267,355) of children live in poor families (National: 21%), defined as income below 100% of the federal poverty level.

Opportunities for Local Lions Clubs "There is an exploding demand for public services -- Medicaid and ALL Kids in particular," said Chris Sanders, a policy analyst for Alabama Arise, an advocacy group for the poor. ALL Kids is the state's subsidized health insurance plan for working families.

Alabama Lions Trends  Decreasing Membership  Club Charters Surrendered  Service Projects Decline  Fewer Sight Impaired Served  Fewer Youth Programs Funded  Alabama Lions Band Smaller  Diabetic Children Uneducated  Increasing Member average Age

IT’S ALL ABOUT ME – MAXIMUM EFFORT FIRST STEP Assembles a Club ME Team 1. Club President 2.We Serve Expert 3. Club Success Expert 4. Maximum Effort Expert

CLUB ME TEAM Establish realistic goals for: A. Increased service, B. Enhanced membership satisfaction, C. Induction of New Members, and D. Extension of New Clubs.

We Serve Expert Complete a Community Needs Assessment Promote new hands-on service projects Evaluate effectiveness of current Service Projects

Club Success Expert Promote Club Meeting improvement in order to enhance membership satisfaction. Chair the Program Committee Schedule Guest Speakers for each meeting Focus on member involvement

Maximum Effort Expert Focus on Retention through involvement of all members Identify members who have withdrawn in the past 5 years and invite them to join in our renewed effort to serve Identify and promote monthly targeted membership efforts Organize Quarterly Membership Drives

Baby Steps 2. Complete the “Rate Your Club” Survey within 30 days 3. Complete the “Community Needs Assessment” within 45 days 4. Hold a Club Long Range Planning session in 60 days. 5. Attend Club Training hosted by Zone Club Coach.

Anticipated Results!! Increased members satisfaction and retention Increased service to the community Increased total Membership Decrease average age of club member Greater involvement in District and MD activities.