Traditional volunteering is in decline, but Valley Stream Lions Club sees uptick in membership.

In the Valley Stream Lion’s Club, a long-crouching lion is beginning to roar back to life. After years of declining membership, mirroring a broader trend in the downturn of some traditional service clubs across the village, the organization is showing signs of revival.

President Jim Zabatta welcomed new members Amrit Singh, Don Pupke, Liz Nigro, Carl Mirabile, Ed Guerrero, Eleanor Cattry and Su Deep Roy to its volunteering corps.

The Takeaway

• The Valley Stream Lions Club, like many traditional service organizations, has faced dwindling membership, dropping from 50 members in its heyday to just 12 in 2023. However, a recent increase to 20 members suggests a potential resurgence.
• To attract new volunteers, the club has adjusted its structure—reducing meetings, encouraging members to bring friends, and striving to balance tradition with evolving community needs.
•  Younger volunteers prioritize flexible, cause-driven service over rigid organizational structures, challenging groups like the Lions Club to modernize their approach while maintaining their core mission.

Volunteerism has long been a cornerstone of life in Valley Stream, with organizations spanning from veteran groups to cultural arts initiatives. But increasingly, these groups are finding themselves struggling to fill volunteer rosters, as the number of active members continues to dwindle.

Is traditional volunteerism in Valley Stream vanishing?

The Valley Stream Lions Club, once a dominant force in local charity and service, has for some time now been facing an existential challenge. Zabatta, who has served in nearly every leadership capacity within the club, said the membership numbers have dropped precipitously from the 50 attendees that once filled its meetings to just 12 active volunteers in 2023. This year, membership levels have grown to 20 Lions, a far cry from what it was in the club’s heyday but a positive new direction.

Zabatta says that the club routinely encourages its current volunteers to come to meetings with a friend or acquaintance in tow. He also says The Valley Stream Lions Club has adjusted its expectations, reducing its meeting frequency from three times per month to once, and those meetings lasting no more than an hour. Like many other organizations, it is grappling with a deepening divide between older volunteers, who grew up with service as a social norm, and younger generations, for whom volunteering must meet a different set of expectations.

It’s not just the Lions. Groups from the Valley Stream Civilian Patrol to the Valley Stream Historical Society have suffered from a noticeable lack of fresh blood. As Valley Stream’s volunteer members age out or take a step back from their regular duties, the pressure to recruit younger volunteers becomes more urgent.

Can tradition and change coexist?

For Generation Z, volunteer work increasingly needs to be flexible, impactful, and aligned with causes that resonate on a personal level. Issues such as climate change, social justice, and grassroots activism often take precedence over the more traditional volunteer roles, which are often perceived as rigid or bureaucratic. “Younger people want to see immediate impact,” said Zabatta in 2023. “They’re not as interested in long-standing, organizational structures.”

DoSomething Strategic, the social impact consultancy arm of DoSomething.org, surveyed over 1,300 Gen Z and Gen Alpha individuals to understand what drives their engagement with volunteerism. The findings were clear: 93 percent of Gen Z respondents prioritize community impact as their primary motivation, rejecting the notion of volunteering as a transactional exchange.

While 83 percent still value traditional, in-person service, many also seek flexible and accessible opportunities—including micro-volunteering, skill-based contributions, virtual options, and mutual aid efforts.

This shift in priorities has led some groups to rethink their approach, moving towards more spontaneous, cause-driven efforts. But others, like the Lions Club, remain committed to balancing their historic traditions with the evolving needs of the community. And the Lions, argued Zabatta, rely on the community’s enduring support as much as it has come to rely on Lions for their engagement and contributions.

“We count on the community to support our functions such as food drives, our flea market, and our up-and-coming arts & crafts fair,” he said.

The Lion’s Club is also a longtime donor to other cause-worthy organizations from the Holy Name of Mary Outreach Program to the ANCHOR program fund.

Have an opinion on this article? Send an email to jlasso@liherald.com.