The Canton Lions Club was chartered on August 24, 1938, and is still one of the oldest clubs in District 31 L. One of the first major projects of the club was helping to start a band at Canton High School. With the funding that the Canton Lions provided, the band had a successful startup. The Canton Lions Club has continued to make financial contributions to the band over the years, leading the effort on 2 occasions to send the band to represent the North Carolina Lions at the Lions International Convention in Dallas, Texas in 1968 and Chicago in 2017, which was the 100th anniversary of the founding of Lions Clubs International. The club has had 2 District Governors and 1 North Carolina State Council Chairman. In addition, the club has had board members and a President of the WNC Lions, Inc which manages the McCune Community, an assisted living facility in Black Mountain, and served on the Board of Directors of North Carolina Lions, Inc.
Over the years, the Canton Lions Club has been involved in a number of efforts to help the Canton community. Providing eye exams and glasses for children and other individuals in the community was at the top of that list.
Over the years, the club has helped out with the following projects, a number of which are still ongoing:
- - Found and support at Leo Club at Pisgah High School to provide service opportunities for high school students
- - Purchase of a P. A. system for North Canton Elementary School
- - Purchase of iPads for Canton Middle School
- - Fund a shelter at the Canton Recreation Park
- - Assist in the Historic Camp Hope restoration project
- - Provide clothing for children through the Bear Bottoms Project for Clothes for Kids
- - Shop for kids at Christmas
- - Provide scholarships for Pisgah High School Leo Club members
- - Provide flood relief for Haywood County residents during the 2 floods of 2004 and more recently in 2021
- - Ongoing support for Camp Dogwood and the VIP Fishing Tournament
- - Provide financial support for Canton and Bethel Middle Schools
- - Fund the school lunch program for Meadowbrook Elementary School
- - The ARC of Haywood County
- - American Legion Baseball
- - Travelling to and from appointments
- - Doing hobbies, arts and crafts together
- - Reading, writing and light household tasks
- - Shopping for food or clothing
- - Travelling to and from appointments
- - Doing hobbies, arts and crafts together
The funds for these projects have been raised by various projects over the years including: Carnival rides at the Canton Labor Day Celebration; Alumni football games; The Building Bridges Mud Run; The Canton Urban Assault; and more recently by working concession stands at the Asheville Civic Center.
The Canton Lions Club is 40 members strong and still growing. We pride ourselves in being active in our community. We want to make a difference! Come join us and help make a difference in your community!