Tucked under the Cochrane Curling Club, through a door barely visible from the dark parking lot, is a room filled with bright and bodacious women who make up the Cochrane Lioness Club.
The group – who meets every month in their hidden space known as the den – has been part of the charitable landscape of the town for nearly 40 years, and includes a handful of women who have been there since the service organization was formed.
“There’s always somebody that you can pour your heart out to,” said Eileen Stone, one of the original members of the club. “We know who we can go to if we need something.”
This holiday season’s annual Festival of Trees event is just one of the many fundraisers the Lionesses sink their claws into.
The festival kicks off Dec. 3 at Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre, with trees decorated from different businesses on display until the end of the month. Community members can vote on their favourite tree, with the winner announced in January.
The Christmas tradition includes a holiday market and photos with Santa Claus – all while collecting donations for the Cochrane Activettes.
The Lionesses also are responsible for last month’s successful Christmas Market at St. Andrews United Church, as well as the hugely popular Mom to Mom Sale in the fall, which supports Cochrane Family Community and Support Services.
Jakki Mackenzie – a new member of the group – said she was drawn to the organization not only for the good it does in town, but for the camaraderie of the women involved. Recently, members old and new shared memories of working horse races together, putting on friendship dinners, attending camps with their kids and putting their husbands – many of them Cochrane Lions – to work.
“These girls have got this bond,” said Mackenzie.
“It’s everlasting,” chimed in another original member, Joan Westerson, “because we’re all still here.”
Anyone interested in learning more about the Cochrane Lioness Club can go to www.cochranelioness.ca.
