Raise (funds for) the roof

PINEHURST — Growing up in the Silver Valley, there’s a solid chance you were inside the Pinehurst-Kingston Lion’s Club (PK Lions) building at least once.

Whether as a member of the fraternal organization PK Lions, attending a church service, a birthday party, boy scouts, planning for Pinehurst Days, or one of the famed fundraiser breakfasts, the building is home for a multitude of things.

Because of the age of the building (which happens to be two former Bunker Hill houses), weather and snow accumulation, it naturally needs a new roof, but the costs to fix it are currently hedging around $70,000 to $100,000, and with the prices of materials constantly increasing the ability to fund the repairs is increasing in difficulty.

“We are getting support and cooperation from the city of Pinehurst, as well as Shoshone County. There have been some grants funds coming in that they are helping us with, but it’s been a slow process, we’ve been raising funds now for about four years,” said Club President Brad Kitchen.

Starting with the basics, the community group is about sight and hearing and providing residents who can’t afford that health care with free exams.

“People come to us and fill out an application,” Kitchen said. “If there’s a need, we do it locally out of our own funds. The funds we raise when we do different events, like the White Canes, are sent to Lion’s international and distributed worldwide.”

Because these funds are distributed worldwide, the funds accrued do not go back to the PK Lions, causing them to find other avenues to fundraise the money raised. One way the group can fundraise money is through their monthly breakfasts, which are continuing to get more popular, but raising that amount of money needed from breakfasts could take a long time.

“It’s not like we aren’t receiving funds. We are thankful for the people, entities, and more who have donated and supported us,” Kitchen said. “The problem is, it’s such a huge amount of money. It takes a lot of time to make that kind of money.”

The PK Lions are also a major reason why Pinehurst Days continues to exist and grow, and is one of the largest family-friendly events in the Silver Valley area, featuring local vendors, a huge parade, burnouts, and more. This year the theme will be "Honoring Heroes" like first responders, military and law enforcement.

The Lions are also looking at recruiting more members and asking anyone interested to get more information, as it’s an excellent opportunity to get involved with the community in multiple facets.

“From the time my daughter was little, around 10 years old, she was hanging out with me and helping out at the Lion’s Club,” said PK Lions volunteer Bruce Rumpel. “Breakfasts, Pinehurst Days, she was there helping out. If you have family, you can bring them along, and they can also help. It’s a lot of fun.”

The PK Lions will be handing out its annual White Canes in the Barneys Harvest Foods parking lot in Pinehurst from May 5-6.

Pinehurst Days will be held Aug. 4-6.

The PK Lions meet on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. in the Lions Community Bldg, 106 Church St., Pinehurst. Donations for a new roof can be sent to that address or given to a club member at their attended events.