A difficult, emotional decision was required by the Catasauqua Area Lions Club, prompted by a lack of new members.

“After 48 years of serving the community, the Catasauqua Area Lions Club leaders voted to disband,” said Bob Zakos, president of the Lions Club. “The loss of this service club to the community is a blow to volunteer efforts that make Catasauqua and North Catasauqua a stronger community.”

According to Zakos, this decision was made over the summer.

All club funds were dispersed to various other community nonprofit groups in both Catasauqua and North Catasauqua, such as the fire departments, the American Legion, Catasauqua Community Thrift Shop, Catasauqua Ministerium Food Bank and more.

Zakos said the reasons for the club’s demise was due to a fatal combination. The active members are limited in their ability to perform active community efforts due to age, and the club struggled to attract new, younger members to join the organization.

A meeting was held with officials from the governing organization, Lions International, and the decision to cease operations was taken by a majority of the local Lions Club members, Zakos reported.

Lions International is a worldwide network of local service clubs engaged in giving back to the community. The Lions Club was founded more than 100 years ago in 1917 when businessman Melvin Jones started the first club in Chicago, Ill.

Since then, the Lions International has grown to exist not just in all 50 U.S. states, but also in more than 200 countries around the world - totaling 46,000 local clubs with more than 1.4 million members.

The motto for Lions International, and all local clubs, is “We serve.”

The Catasauqua Area Lions Club had been serving the communities of Catasauqua and North Catasauqua since 1972. The club’s activities included providing outreach services to vulnerable citizens, as well as improving the quality of life in the community by volunteering on various service projects.

Zakos said some of the club’s major endeavors over the decades have been to support the creation of the Suburban North Family YMCA, cleaning up the Lehigh Canal, fostering the creation of July 4 Independence Day events, building the trophy case that adorned the entrance of the former Catasauqua High School and many other projects.

During its existence, the club raised funds to support the CHS athletic teams, provided academic scholarships to graduating students, served an annual holiday meal for those in need and took underprivileged youth on Christmas holiday shopping sprees.