Lions bingo is no more

It was the largest single fundraising activity for the Deniliquin Lions Club, but dwindling attendance and volunteer support made continuing unsustainable.

President Richard Fogarty said numbers did not improve after making a community plea in January this year.

“We really need 20 players, at a minimum, and were only getting about 15 each week,” Mr Fogarty said.

“Bingo has always been our biggest fundraiser - an icon for Lions for so long - and started to become unviable.

“All service clubs across Australia are struggling for numbers, and it is really sad for those who have been coming to bingo all the time.”

The final Lions bingo night was held on Thursday, with community members and Lions members joining for the last few games.

Among the players were long time Lions Pat Hogan and Geoff Riley, who were actively involved in the establishment of the activity in 1976.

Then the club’s president, Mr Riley said it was the first regular game of bingo introduced to the town and was started with a particular purpose.

“Past district governor the late Gordon McCann approached me and asked me for permission to start bingo, with the intention of raising money for aged care and the youth,” Mr Riley said.

“The money we earned was used to purchase the land where Navorina Aged Care was built.

“When we started we were the only bingo in town, and we would average between 30 and 50 players each week.”

In more recent times, the money raised from bingo has gone to a broader range of Deniliquin Lions projects.

In previous years it has generated $10,000 and $12,000 for those projects.

Mr Fogarty said losing the bingo nights means a smaller pool of funds for the Lions to donate to the community.

“It certainly means we wont have the finances to donate at the level we used to, but we will still have our monthly community market, our Christmas raffle and our catering services.

“They will become our primary sources of raising community funds.”