The whole idea of a service organization is to give back to the community and that's exactly what one local club did yesterday (June 21).

The Airdrie Lioness Club presented cheques for $5000 each to two local community groups.  The first one was to Airdrie P.O.W.E.R, the group trying to bring a domestic violence shelter to the city.

Lioness President Rhonda Auclair expressed the club's sentiments about that group.  "That one is really, really dear to our hearts because we want the women of Airdrie to be able to have a shelter in Airdrie without having to go into Calgary.  You feel like you're really disconnected by having to go to Calgary to start with.  If we have a shelter here in Airdrie it's just going to be a great resource for our community."

Crystal Boys of Airdrie P.O.W.E.R says the donation means a lot to the group, on a couple of levels.  "Of course it adds to the funds that we can move forward faster with the shelter.  But also, the Lioness club were our very first donors back when we first started.  They enabled us to get started and to really be where we are today so I'm very grateful to have their support over the years."

The second $5,000 donation was presented to the Airdrie Public Library.  Marilyne Aalhus, Fund Development and Marketing Coordinator with the library says they'll put the money to good use.

"The Lioness have been amazing to the library, we're very fortunate to have their support.  We're going to be adding some furnishings to our children's area, much needed appealing furniture that's going to be exciting for kids to use and come in and enjoy.  We are such a young community that pre-school and children are definitely our first plan of service priority because we cater to so many young families in our community.  We're very fortunate that the Lioness have continued to support our children's program."

Auclair says their mission is to give back to the community.  "The Lioness is very active throughout the year in Airdrie.  We participate with a lot of community causes.  We get involved with the Airdrie Library, P.O.W.E.R, the Boy's and Girls's Club, the Food Bank, the list goes on and on.  We are active all year long and we're a group of women who want to give back to the community."