A monthly community gathering with pancakes, purpose, and local flavour.
There is a small group of dedicated volunteers on beautiful St. Joseph Island, Ontario, who work behind the scenes to help make the Island and their community, a great place to live, work, play and visit.
Since 1972, the St. Joseph Island Lions Club has been the service club that is behind a multitude of initiatives and projects in support of their community and beyond. The Lions Club on St. Joseph Island is part of a wider network of over one million people in over 200 countries worldwide. The Lions Club motto is “We Serve”, and serve they do!
A Community-Focused Tradition
I met with Carla Dixon Hendry, co-chair of the club’s monthly Pancake Breakfast fundraiser. I wanted to learn more about not only the breakfast and food served, but also what the money raised is used for. Through their popular monthly St. Joseph Island Lions Club Breakfast, including bursaries for students at both St. Joseph Island Elementary School and Central Algoma Secondary School, contributions to health care at St. Mathews Memorial Hospital, and other charitable projects.
Other projects that are helped by the breakfast events include
- Collecting glasses for eye missions worldwide
- Supports the Walk for Guide Dogs
- Purchases turkeys for Christmas baskets for the food bank on St. Joseph Island, and collects food for the food bank
- The Lions Club hosts a Christmas party for kids at the library
- Highway clean-up twice per year by Lions Club volunteers
- Park bench maintenance in public parks and beaches all over the island
- As well as assist other clubs and organizations that need help
Carla pointed out that, “All money raised stays locally and that any leftover food from the breakfast goes to the local food bank for redistribution out to those who need it.”
The Breakfast Experience
There are currently about 34 members of the St. Joseph Island Lions Club, with 8-10 volunteers who regularly run the monthly pancake breakfast. Carla is co-chair, along with Sherry Rogers.
The pancake breakfast consists of pancakes, of course, sausages, scrambled eggs and fruit. Also served are coffee, tea and juice and french toast.
Suppliers of food on the menu come from St. Joseph Island, including Island Market for most of the ingredients, maple syrup from Mountain Maple Products, local eggs and coffee from St. Joseph Island Coffee Roasters.
Carla added that “our customers come from all over the North Channel of Lake Huron, from Thessalon to Sault Ste. Marie, including the islanders. In the summer, we get a lot of boaters, cottagers and other tourists visiting the area.”
I was surprised to learn that the Lions Club also does private breakfasts for different groups, like family reunions for other special events. They’ve been doing this for a few years now for the Sailor’s Boat Race on the island during the summer.
When and Where to Find It
The pancake breakfast happens year-round on the 4th Sunday of each month, except for December. During January, February and March, the breakfast is held at the Royal Canadian Legion, 1534 10th Side Road, Richards Landing, St. Joseph Island, Ontario.
During the rest of the year, the breakfast is held at the Hilton Beach Community Hall, 3050 Hilton Road, Hilton Beach, St. Joseph Island, Ontario.
Breakfast Hours: 10 am – 1 pm
It is amazing what a small group of dedicated volunteers serving their community with selfless commitment can achieve.
For more information, contact: sjilionsclub1@gmail.com
For more events in Algoma Country, click here for the events calendar
