The San Mateo Lions Club has been resurrected after nearly a year hiatus when membership dropped to five and its final meeting was held in July.
A new charter was issued April 18 and the club now has a healthy 28 members, said membership chair Ken Ingram.
The club hit the ground running and has already collected 70 pounds of used eyeglasses to donate to the less fortunate, Ingram said. It also participated in a Habitat for Humanity project and helped to build houses, he said.
"We're kind of excited," Ingram said.
The club's resurrection is the latest chapter in a storied tale that began locally in 1938. The first club met twice a month in downtown San Mateo.
Over the years, membership steadily increased until recent years when membership dramatically dropped.
Last July, with just five members, the club closed down.
"Membership dwindled, a few people died off, then the club just died off itself," Ingram said.
With other local clubs in Foster City, San Carlos, Half Moon Bay and Burlingame alive and well, Ingram said there was a large void in San Mateo.
Al Russell, of the San Carlos Lions Club, was instrumental in getting the San Mateo club started again. Ingram refers to Russell as the San Mateo club's "guiding lion." The club has five husband-and-wife teams and meets twice a month at the San Mateo Marriott.
The Lions Club is a service organization with more than 42,000 clubs in 180 countries around the world. It has 1.4 million members.
For more information about the club call Ingram at 245-2993.
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