PHILIPSBURG:----This 2014-2015 Lionistic year, St. Maarten Lions Club President Mr. Sunil Khatnani came up with the idea of budgeting $200 per club member to be spent on an individual community service project of their choice. Club members have given to projects of their church, to service projects of the Leo’s Club, and to projects involving children and the elderly, ranging from eye-glasses to contributing to home-repairs of the less-fortunate. This week 11 members of the club joined forces by putting their $200 together in order to donate to a joint individual project focusing on art, the elderly, and the physically and/or mentally impaired. Local saxophonist Mr. Connis Vanterpool was invited as a guest to the club’s last social event of thIS Lionistic year, where he received a check to go to the replacement of the vintage saxophone which was stolen from his car in May of this year. There was one condition, the 11 Lions’ club members asked Connis to provide a service to his community in return by giving a 30-minute concert for our elderly in the St. Maarten Senior Citizens’ Home and a 30-minute concert to the clients of the Sister Basilia Center with Ms. BettyV. Both Connis Vanterpool and BettyV were more than willing to give the concerts and are currently in discussion with Mrs. Brechje Boetekees of the White and Yellow Cross to set up the date of the two concerts, which will take place within the next three weeks. Vanterpool had already accumulated about half of what is needed to get a new saxophone, and thanks to the donation of the St. Maarten Lions Club he now has approximately 80% of the funds needed to purchase his replacement vintage saxophone.
