On Saturday, April 13th, the Brooklyn Canarsie Lions celebrated their 67th anniversary with a lavish breakfast, held at Canarsie Ascend/Holy Family School Auditorium, 9719 Flatlands Avenue.
In her welcoming remarks to the 100 patrons, President, Lion, Dr. Jean Joseph, sang the praises of the club and cited numerous activities and service projects they performed or sponsored in the community. They recently hosted a Career and Vocational Fair for which there was such an overwhelming response – the Lions plan on repeating the event later this year. The group also plans to expand its Black History Month celebration next February.
The president also mentioned some of the club’s other amazing accomplishments — such as doubling their food distribution to the community to feed over 150 persons weekly. Additionally, she stated, the club continues to experience rapid growth in membership. Giving herself a well-deserved pat on the back, Joseph said, “Membership has not only been growing strong but growing exponentially! At our last meeting, we inducted eight new members, taking us to a total of over 100 new members in my first term of office as president.”
Joseph, a native of Roseau, Dominica also traveled to her home country during the Christmas holidays and distributed hundreds of toys to children there, “thus expanding our reach internationally,” she announced proudly.
Yet, she stated, “There is certainly much more we can accomplish, but we cannot do this alone. We need your support in order to continue carrying out our noble efforts of service. There is no limit to what we can do by working together.”
Dr. Sima Karetnaya, U. N. Ambassador for Global Peace, also mentioned the importance of working together and respecting each other. On March 1st, District 20 K 1 Lions participated in “World Peace and Environmental Stewardship” during the annual Lions Day at the U.N. (LDUN) celebration. Karetnaya, who hails from the Ukraine, commended the Lions “for just being all about action” and reminded everyone that “there is only one race in the entire universe and that is the human race.” She also expressed gratitude “as a mother” for the overwhelming cheers her daughter, Stella Beyder, received after she sang the National Anthem earlier.
Jacqueline Phillips, a Past District Governor of District 20 K 1 Lions who was assigned as a mentor to Brooklyn Canarsie Lions during her tenure, stated, “I am happy to say that I am so proud of this club. They have done well. They continue to do well, and I will continue to help them to achieve the goals that they plan to attain. I wish everyone well on this anniversary celebration. It was a wonderful event.”
Brief remarks were also made by State Senator Roxanne Persaud, Frank Seddio, Councilmembers Farah Louis and Chris Banks, Hon. Judge Sharen Hudson-Williams and other supporters.
The event was emceed by author Kamla Millwood, the club’s Editor-in-Chief, and featured various forms of entertainment while the guests dined. There was steelpan playing, praise dancing, singing and other musical renditions played on the harmonica.
