GREATER SPRINGFIELD – There is no shortage of groups for people interested in connecting with their community but for organizations such as the Rotary International and the Lions Club, there is a shortage of new members.

“We’re pretty much holding steady. Retaining membership is the number one priority,” said Brad Sperry, secretary of the Rotary Club of Wilbraham and Hampden, a local chapter of Rotary International, whose mission is to “provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through our fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders.”

“It’s a struggle,” He said. “Obviously, we’re not the only ones struggling.”

East Longmeadow Lions Club President Donna Martinez has also noticed a decline in membership in her chapter of the 102–year–old organization. She said another member told her that membership at the organization’s height was 271 people. Currently, there are 41 members.

“We used to have 40 to 45 people,” at a meeting. “Now, we’re lucky to get 20 people,” Martinez said.

Mark Baldyga of the Loyal Order of the Moose in Westfield said declining membership is problematic throughout his organization. That said, with 101 members, the Westfield chapter is far smaller than others in the area, such as Chicopee, which he said has 1,400 members.

“A lot of these fraternal clubs, it’s hard to get people into them,” Baldyga said. For him, the rules are standing in the way of new members joining.

“There’s a lot of old, antiquated rules they don’t want to change,” he said. Specifically, not allowing the hall to be rented by non-members and not advertising are two of the rules Baldyga thinks should be changed to let more people know about the group.

Sperry said that most of the members in his chapter of the Rotary Club are of an older generation. Younger people might be “spooked when they walk into a room and see a bunch of old people sitting around,” he joked.

Sperry cited changing demographics as a reason for the drop in membership.

“I don’t think younger people are joiners, if you will,” Sperry said.

Martinez lamented, “Kids today aren’t going to see [their parents] being involved in the community.”

John Barber, president–elect of the Agawam Rotary Club, also cited a generation gap in the trend of civic–organization membership decline.

“People may associate civic organizations as something that is for generations of the past and not as relevant to younger generations,” Barber said. He said his chapter membership is composed of a wide range of ages. “I believe this fact has helped us weather the decline in interest of civic organizations because we are able to engage in various community service events that fit the interests of a multitude of generations due to the age diversity of our current membership.”

Martinez, who is also the president of the Friends of Norcross, said when she asks younger people about joining they cite the business of their family lives. Barber also said the hectic pace of life was a factor.

“Business people are busier for a variety of reasons. No longer is a two-hour lunch, weekly, an accepted norm. For many business people today, lunch is a sandwich or salad at the desk while reading reports or checking email,” Barber told Reminder Publishing in an email.

While the Longmeadow chapter of UNICO, an Italian American service organization, has not experienced a decline in membership, past president of the chapter Kimberly Roche stated, “We have felt the effects of general decline in interest towards community service organizations as it has been harder for us to gain interest in potential new members.

“One of the major reasons our club has considered, is that people have such limited time in our current culture. In a world where time is such a valuable commodity, people tend to spend their extra time on family-orientated activities such as after school programs like sports, dance classes, music lessons and weekend activities with their families,” Roche said.

Martinez identified another factor in the decline of membership.

“Years ago, big companies really encouraged their employees to be active in community organizations. I don’t know that they do that anymore,” Martinez said.

Like Martinez, Barber thinks the change in employer encouragement has had an impact.

“Companies used to be locally operated. The local gas and electric companies were invested in their communities and would encourage and support involvement in civic organizations. A home office in Austin or Chicago doesn’t have the same level of commitment to Agawam or Chicopee. It’s not only the utilities, but ownership [and] management of local manufacturers, banks, and more are no longer local due to mergers and acquisitions,” Barber said.

Organizations are working to address these issues, however. For Rotary International, Barber said, “The hard and fast attendance requirement is a thing of the past, reflecting today’s reality. Membership options are increasing, such as a ‘corporate’ membership where the burden, and privilege, of attendance is shared. Meeting times and locations have become more flexible.”

The Agawam Rotary Club is also trying to combat the age gap “by being flexible in the types of fundraisers we do in an effort to demonstrate to people that civic organizations are still relevant and can morph to fit the interests of current generations, but also future generations to come,” Barber said.

The Wilbraham and Hampden chapter is trying different things to spark interest, locally. They have tried putting out a survey, increasing the number of community service projects and collaborating with schools and other organizations.

Roche said the Longmeadow UNICO chapter had been trying to work around potential members’ busy schedules “by discussing ways that we can do community service events and fundraisers that are family-friendly. This way, people do not have to choose between family or community service, rather they can engage in community service with their family, which provides a valuable lesson to the next generation about the importance of being civic–minded and engaging in your local community in a selfless way.”

For those who may be interested in becoming a Lion, Martinez said they can go to the website or their Facebook page and contact any lion.

“It’s as easy as getting a Lion to sponsor you, and any Lion will, and filling out an application,” Martinez said. She added that anyone can come to a meeting to “check it out,” without having to join.

Baldyga said there has been some change at the Loyal Order of the Moose, too. Until recently, female members, known as the 3,000 Club, were not allowed to serve as officers, but that rule has been modernized.

These tactics may be paying off as there has been some new blood joining groups. The Rotary Club of West Springfield inducted two young new members on Nov. 5, and Martinez said a man who had been on the fence about membership for a long time became a Lion at a recent meeting.