What Are the Maryland Lions Clubs and How Can You Find One Near You?

Updated

Maryland Lions Clubs are local chapters of Lions Clubs International, grouped into districts that cover specific counties and the District of Columbia. If you live in Southern Maryland or the DC suburbs and want to volunteer, the practical path is to identify the district that covers your county, then contact a chapter directly through its website to ask about meeting times and membership. The example below is the Lexington Park Lions Club, which serves St. Mary's County and belongs to District 22-C.

How Maryland Lions Clubs Are Organized

Lions Clubs International operates through a layered structure, and Maryland clubs sit inside one of its districts rather than under a single statewide office.

  • Local club — the chapter you actually join and volunteer with, such as the Lexington Park Lions Club.
  • District — a regional grouping of clubs. District 22-C includes the Maryland counties of St. Mary's, Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, and Prince George's, plus Washington, DC.
  • Lions Clubs International — the global parent organization that sets the core service focus areas.

This matters for finding a club: searching by county or district is more reliable than searching "Maryland Lions Clubs" as a single entity, because each chapter runs its own schedule, projects, and membership process.

What Maryland Lions Clubs Actually Do

Chapters organize their work around Lions Clubs International's core causes, adapted to local needs. The recurring themes across Maryland clubs include:

Focus area What it looks like locally
Vision Vision impairment services and children's eye care
Hearing Hearing loss support
Youth health Childhood diabetes assistance
Community Neighborhood service, cleanup, and local observances

The Lexington Park Lions Club, for example, has highlighted observances tied to healthy vision, clean water, parks, and Maryland pride in its community updates, alongside broader service and remembrance themes. Individual chapters choose which projects to prioritize, so the specific programs near you will depend on the local club.

How to Find a Club Near You

  1. Start with your county. District 22-C covers St. Mary's, Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, and Prince George's counties plus DC. If you live in one of these, you're in that district's territory.
  2. Search for the local chapter by name. Many chapters, like the Lexington Park Lions Club, maintain their own websites with contact details and news.
  3. Check the chapter's events and updates. A club's site or community updates show whether it is currently active and what it is working on.
  4. Reach out directly. Use the contact information on the chapter site to ask about meeting times, current projects, and how to get involved.

If a chapter's site shows no upcoming events, that does not necessarily mean the club is inactive — it may simply not post a public calendar. Contacting the club is the reliable next step.

What Getting Involved Typically Involves

Joining a Lions club is usually a relationship-building process rather than a form submission. Expect to:

  • Contact the chapter and express interest.
  • Attend a meeting or event to meet members and see how the club operates.
  • Ask about membership obligations, including dues, meeting frequency, and expected volunteer time.
  • Choose a service focus that matches your interests, whether that's vision, hearing, youth health, or general community work.

The Lexington Park Lions Club describes its membership as spanning farmers, business leaders, government officials, and retirees — a sign that chapters generally welcome a broad range of backgrounds rather than a single profile.

A Local Example: Lexington Park Lions Club

Chartered in 1946, the Lexington Park Lions Club has served St. Mary's County for decades as a chapter of Lions Clubs International under District 22-C. Its public updates emphasize practical, week-by-week service prompts — checking on neighbors, marking health observances, supporting veterans' families, and caring for children's eyes — which gives a realistic picture of what local Lions involvement looks like: steady community-level work rather than large one-off campaigns.

If you're in St. Mary's County, this chapter is the most direct starting point. If you're elsewhere in District 22-C, use the same approach: find the chapter that covers your county, review what it's currently doing, and contact it to ask about joining.