Rotary and Lions - worth joining to expand my social life?

[grandtoseeyou]

Looking for ways to make new acquaintances and have more of a social life. Wondering if any of you have experience of these organisations. Had a look at their websites and Rotary especially seemed rather pompous and male dominated. Asked if you had professionals qualifications I do, but......

Would like to get involved in doing good deeds with others - but unsure if these are right for me. Anyone had any dealing with them?

[FarBetterNow]

Personally I would avoid them.
I think of them as the public face of Freemasonry and if that is not strictly true, most of them will be masons and torys, which wouldn't suit me.

[tinfoilhat]

It depends how old you are. Rotary tend to be 40's plus, Lions 50's plus. Both have 'young' versions (Roteract and Leo's?????) if you're in your 20's.
Yes, they both used to be male dominated but this changed some years ago and they are now mixed clubs. It all depends on the particular club you would join - your local one might be a good mix of ages and m/f or they might all be getting on a bit and/or mainly male/female. The best thing to do would be to get in touch and ask if you can get involved, you could attend a couple of meetings/get togethers and see if you like them or not. If they're a decent club they won't pressure you to join, you'll just be able to decide for yourself whether it's right for you or not.
The masons-link is utter rubbish imho, there are no more masons linked with them than any other group - social or work related. Plus the masons tend to just donate money to charity whereas Rotary/Lions actually voluntary work to raise money.
My Dad has been heavily involved in the Lions for many years and I have always been very humbled by how hard they work for not only local causes, but world-wide.
And as for the Tory comment, I'm not quite sure what politics has got to do with raising money for good causes, but as it's been made I would say this depends on what area you are in surely?!
As I said, it all depends on what the dynamics of your local club is.
Hth - good luck!

[grandtoseeyou]

Thanks for your comments - will track down my local clubs and take it from there

[IceCubes]

My mum is a very active member of Rotary but she goes to the one in the next town as the one here is very male dominated. Since she joined, lots of women have joined and now she has a wonderful circle of friends. It's true that it tends to be older people, but there are people in their 30s starting to join.

There are a lot of great opportunities, give it a go!