Gender and Sexual Diversity

One of the interesting things about being a Lion is that we meet and listen to fascinating people and ideas. Murray Thorpe, guest speaker at our Apr. 29th meeting, certainly fits this category.  Murray, a local resident, gave a thought-provoking presentation on the subject of gender and sexual diversity. Murray used some role playing to give members a feeling of what it could feel like to be transgender. Murray asked whether we had friends or relatives who had faced this issue – and it turned out that most members had. Murray explained that if we had been asked the same question 10 years ago the result would have been very different – society has changed. We learned that this condition is not something which is a matter of choice.

In order to explain more directly what the experience might be like he asked us to imagine being transgender and had to explain this convincingly to the person next to you. How would you do that? What would be your thoughts, feelings and fears?  We tried – but found it extremely challenging. It is so challenging that it is almost unimaginable for most people. I think it generated a greater sense of respect for people who go through this. If you have an opportunity to hear Murray speak, take the opportunity. Murray has helped families deal with this situation – so if you are aware of a family going through this perhaps Murray could help.

Reconciliation

As mentioned previously, Navan Lions has developed a reconciliation committee to explore what we can do to facilitate reconciliation with the indigenous population locally. We have tried various initiatives and discovered that there are more indigenous people in this area than we had been aware of. Our most recent activity was the presentation of an information table at the recent Lions 50th A4 District Convention April 25th to the 27th. The table summarized the initiatives undertaken so far and presented a number of useful publications. We also collected names of those Lions from other clubs who wish to be informed of future ideas and activities. There is no doubt that interest in this topic is growing – but it’s a slow process and will continue to demand the considerable effort on the part of those involved.

A big THANKS to our sponsors

One of our important fundraisers continues to be our Golf Tournament. Started in 2016 by Lion Don Macartney, the tournament has enabled the club to donate more than $21,000 to Make-A-Wish Canada. This year, we plan to add to that sum. The Navan Lions Club owes much of its success from the support of local people and businesses. That support enables the NLC to help many organizations as outlined on our website at https://navanlions.ca/fundraising/

This year, over 70 local businesses have generously supported our golf tournament – to name a few, these include: Waste Connections of Canada, M.L. Bradley, Jonas Building Restoration Ltd., Tanner Insurance, Low Murcison Radnoff LLP, Navan AutoPro, Maverick`s Donut Company, Simpson Electric Ltd., Sam Dagg Snow Removal Services, The Physio Space and Ottawa Chiropractic Health Clinic & Physiotherapy. We also received the support of our City Councillor Catherine Kitts.

Now more than ever, Canadians understand the importance of local businesses. The Navan Lions Club encourages its members and the community to support them.