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Overcast Clubs strive to survive
Many organizations coping with dwindling membership and funds
Membership in local community organizations has been on the decline for years. Some organizations have folded, most recently the Garden Club which shut down after 49 years. Others are just hanging on, and even a few new groups have popped up recently.
Times and interests have changed. The success of many organizations typically depends on the ability to maintain a strong, active membership.
Vinny Ang, who grew up in Valley Stream and served as the village clerk for nearly two decades until retiring in 2010, has seen a lot of change. He remembers the Valley Stream Rotary Club, which had a large membership but eventually disbanded. The village had its own Elks Club, but participation dwindled until several lodges merged into one in Lynbrook.
“It’s just been an erosion of all these organizations and clubs,” he said. “It’s been going on for a long time. I’ve watched this over the years and it’s not a phenomenon that’s unique to Valley Stream.”
Ang and his sister, Lori, both were involved with the American Sea Rangers when they were growing up. Lori Ang remains a leader with the Valley Stream chapter, but said the club could be on its last legs. In a given year, there are about 15 to 20 members, with about a dozen attending each weekly meeting.
“I think that it’s become not as popular,” she said. “The kids who like it, really like it, but they seem to be fewer and far in between than it used to be.”
The group is open to boys and girls ages 8-18 and meets regularly at the Wheeler Avenue School. It is military-based, with activities that include parades, drill competitions and courses in knots, aviation, navigation and military etiquette, among others. Participants are taught discipline and respect for authority. Lori Ang said the Sea Rangers was at its highest membership in the 1960s, with about 200 boys and nearly 100 girls involved.
The Valley Stream Civilian Patrol, a volunteer neighborhood watch organization, has about 25 active members. That is down from about 100 in 1990, when President Ralph Polverino first joined the organization.
