By Sarah Opdahl

There’s a group of fifty young New Fairfield residents, ages 11 to 18, who are laser focused on providing service in the Leos (Leadership, Experience, Opportunity) Club. All in grades 6th through 12th, the diverse group comes “together with a sense of service to help those in need,” advisor Patty Neal-Petrillo explained. With a wide range of projects completed each year, club members are able to individually and collectively work for the greater good, be it a cause to help locally, nationally, or globally.

Active since 1998, the local chapter of Leos is a year-round club that is most active from October through July. They meet once per month on Zoom and frequently gather to enact the various projects, events, and fundraisers the group engages in. Activities are often centered on the Lions International eight pillars of service: Vision, Hunger, Diabetes, Childhood Cancer, Environment, Disaster Relief, Humanitarian Effort, and Youth. Projects widely range, but one example is a  toy drive that benefited Smilow Pediatric Cancer Hospital and another involved donating personal care items and holiday gifts to Nuvance Health Danbury Hospital Behavioral Health Unit, Praxair Cancer Center, and The Goldstone Caregiver Center. Open-hearted, “every member of the New Fairfield Leo Club is a valued Leo that works as a team member to accomplish the task or current goal to a successful end. We laugh, have fun, encourage, uplift, inspire, and truly care about one another and the service work we do. The Leos take pride in what they accomplish no matter what the opportunity is, it matters to them and the people they are helping,” Neal-Petrillo commented.

One extremely unique project was spearheaded by Leo Vice President Mia Vasquez, a senior at New Fairfield High School, who took a strong interest in collecting reusable menstrual hygiene products for charitable organization East Africa Children’s Hope (EACH) and specifically their Keep Girls In School Initiative. The program provides feminine products to young girls who may not have otherwise had appropriate materials and would therefore miss a week of school each month. Vasquez not only oversaw a large project to provide for the program in 2023, she just returned from Africa, where, amazingly, she worked with EACH to complete her Senior Enrichment Experience (SEE) project.

Camp Rising Sun, Families and Children’s Aid of Danbury, and T1D (Juvenile Diabetes) are among the many groups the Leos have raised funds for, and they love to provide local service, such as a recent project to oversee StoryTime & Craft Adventure for young children at the New Fairfield Free Public Library. Local club members also enjoy working with nearby chapters, such as Abbott Tech and Brookfield High School to complete projects. For the last two years, the three schoo’s’ Leos clubs, in service with Harvest Pack, have packaged over 20,000 meals that were distributed domestically to Kentucky, and even internationally to Ukraine. In addition, there was collaboration over the past three years to hold electronics recycling events, which kept over 10,000 lbs. of electronics out of landfills. Affiliated with the Lions Club, the Leos also assist with their events, including the Annual Car Show, Lions Carnival, July 4th Parade, Breakfast with Santa, Easter Egg Hunt, the Senior Picnic, and the Senior Luncheon.

Neal-Petrillo is proud of the work the club is completing, and is happy to serve in an advisory role to help in “empowering and motivating young people to realize they can accomplish anything they set their minds to.” She facilitates opportunities for club members to “attend leadership conferences, conventions, and workshops to continue learning, sharing ideas, and developing the skills necessary to enhance their impact through service” and “watching them grow in confidence and ability has been one of the greatest honors of my service.”

If there are young people who are interested in serving those in need with compassion and kindness, the New Fairfield Leos Club is always looking for new members. Neal-Petrillo explained, “membership is open to youths who are interested in building friendships, earning community service, and building important skills all while having fun.” For more information about joining, and to obtain an application for the New Fairfield Leos Club, please contact nfleos@gmail.com or Ladylion1226@gmail.com.