A new club is in town! No, not that kind of club, there is no dancing nor drinking involved, only having fun by volunteering and participating in community projects. Leo Club Rotterdam is in the process of being recognized and registered as a non-profit organization by Paul van der Hoek and Jonas Oldemeyer, two IBA students.
As Paul explains, Leo Club is the youth branch of the Lions International Club, which the largest global community service organization. While Lions are for adults, Leo Club of Rotterdam is recruiting 18 to 35 year olds of all shapes and sizes, in order to represent the international community of Rotterdam. “If you hear something about doing good, it is mostly about collecting money and sending it somewhere, but you don’t actually get to see the results. With Leo Club and activities like reading to children, playing board games with the elderly, or organizing a sports day for orphanage children, this is a unique social club”, Paul says.
All about party and study
Jonas also emphasizes the fact that Leo Club is a way to help the community, but also to get involved in something that is not directly related to the university. With so many organizations for Dutch and internationals springing up nearly every week and with parties 24/7, Jonas says he feels that there is hardly any opportunity to give back to the community. “When you study, you read all these books, all these great theories, but somehow you might loose your attachment to the real world. Leo is a great way for you to get ‘back to earth’ and do something small, but nonetheless helpful”. And if you go one exchange, you can still stay involved because chances are that there will be a Leo Club in your destination city.
Recruiting
The Leo Club Rotterdam is currently recruiting members, who do not need to speak Dutch, but beginner level of Dutch would be an advantage. At the present stage, you would be involved in creating the groundwork and the statutes for the club, but down the line the time commitment will increase, with approximately six events to participate in per year. As Paul concludes, “you can put your Leo membership on the CV, but that’s not what matters; we need committed people, who want to develop personally not only by organizing parties”. If you want to join, drop the guys a line at [email protected]. MD
