Patt Kox

Service Banker Patt Kox likes to keep busy. Extremely busy. After having worked 60-hour weeks at Home Depot in Appleton, she slowed her pace in December 2011 when she joined our Northland office.

Going from 60 hours a week to 40 took some adjusting, so she went looking for volunteer opportunities.

“Home Depot had a volunteer organization called Team Depot. I served as a captain for a few years, and it was my job to find projects in the community,” Patt says. “When we went out and built playgrounds, I would bring my children along, and it would be a family activity.” Sons Andrew, Antone and David were 10, 12 and 14 respectively at that time.

With her sons grown — they now are 20, 22 and 24 — and fewer work demands, she found she had time on her hands. “My husband had passed away, and I was looking for a way to be involved in my community. A customer recommended Grand Chute Lions because they were known as a very active group.” (Grand Chute is a small community close to Appleton.)

Lions meet local, international needs
The mission of Lions groups around the world is “To empower volunteers to serve their communities, meet humanitarian needs, encourage peace and promote international understanding through Lions clubs.”

One of the Lions’ most visible charitable programs is collecting used eyeglasses and donating them around the world to people who cannot afford to purchase glasses. But there’s much more to Lions, as evidenced by Patt’s home club.

“This organization has found so many ways to give back to the community,” she says. “There is a group that builds wheelchair ramps. There is a homeless shelter in town, and we take food in, cook a meal from scratch and serve it the last Tuesday of every month. When there are human tissue donations, Lions members transport them between hospitals. There are year-round fundraising efforts, with all proceeds going back to the community.”

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

The group’s annual rose sale is the most recent fundraiser claiming some of Patt’s time. “We take orders and then deliver a dozen roses in this area for $15,” she says.

Volunteering heightens awareness of own good fortune
Patt’s volunteer hours can range from 10–15 hours to as many as 30 a month. “There is so much going on that you can volunteer for as much or as little as you want,” she says. “It sometimes is a challenge to keep track of where I have to be when.” Patt appreciates Branch Manager Heather Starr’s efforts to adapt Patt’s work schedule from time to time to accommodate important Lions events.

Patt feels blessed to live in a community where people care about each other, where they extend a helping hand when it’s needed. “Volunteering brings into focus how lucky we are. The people in Lions have been so welcoming. I consider them friends who enrich my life. I appreciate having the opportunity to give back to the community I live in and to show my sons how important that is.”