FAQ
Dues:
1. Why does Lion's Heart collect dues? While Lion's Heart is a non-profit organization, we need to collect dues from our Members to pay for website costs, insurance, Member's tee shirts, trophies and awards, the awards event, promotional materials, Member's folders, and other organizational and administrative expenses.
2. Is Lion's Heart a 501(c)3 non-profit? Are dues tax-deductible? No, Lion's Heart is not a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation, as defined by the IRS, because that status is for charitable fund-raising organizations and Lion's Heart does not raise funds. Lion's Heart is a California Corporation.
3. How do I pay my dues to return to Lion's Heart every year? It's so easy! Every year before noon on April 15th, Members can log in and click "Renew Membership" and pay by credit or debit card. After you pay and login again, and click on "Renew Membership," it will have a "Paid" status. See also "Refund Policy."
4. What if I miss the April 15th deadline to pay the returning dues? You can then re-enroll as a returning Member between May 15th and August 1st only. You will pay the dues for a new Membership and will only be placed in the former group if there is room. The Member will have missed the first meeting when all groups hold their officer elections and vote on the Torchbearer's Award. If the group that the Member was in is full, the Member will be placed in another group. If all groups are full and there are no openings by August 1st, the dues are fully refundable.
5. Why do I have to wait to re-enroll if I missed the deadline? The only way we know if our Members are returning to Lion's Heart is when they pay their returning dues. If a Member has not done that by the deadline, we must assume they are not returning. New Members are then placed into groups who have been waiting to get into Lion's Heart.
Enrollment:
6. How do I know which group my child is assigned to? For enrollment from February 1st through mid-April, the Class Coordinator will contact their Members in late April/early May. New Members will also receive in the mail a welcome letter, along with their tee shirt and Member folder, which will have all the information about the Member's group. For enrollment from mid-April through August, new Members will be contacted immediately upon assignment into a group, and be sent the welcome letter, tee shirt shirt and Member folder. If there is no room in a group, new Members will not be contacted until a new group forms. If no new group forms by August 1st, new Members will have a choice of staying on the pending list until next year or receiving a full refund.
7. Why can't I request my child be in a specific group in 6th grade? We create the new 6th grade groups on a first come, first serve basis only. We put the first 20 in the blue group and the second 20 in the red group and so on. If friends want to be together, the best chance for that to happen is to enroll at 12:00 A.M. on February 1st, although we cannot guarantee anything, as it depends on how many join each year. We usually fill up the first group by 7:00 A.M. on February 1st. It would be impossible to manage, and no way to fairly take requests for children to be with their friends.
8. Can I transfer my child to another group? We strongly discourage this but if it is a necessity, you may request your child move to another group (within the same chapter, or another Chapter) but only between May 1st and August 1st of each year, only if they are in 7th grade or older, and only if there is room in the requested group. There is a fee to transfer groups. You should make your request with the Chapter President, not the Class Coordinator. If a Member wants to transfer to another Chapter, the request must be made with the President of that Chapter.
9. If my child needs to quit Lion's Heart, can he come back anytime? Yes, if he or she left as a Member in good standing. A returning Member that resigns would pay the new Membership dues, which are higher than returning dues and only placed in their former group is there is room. If they go through the "Re-enroll" process, we can reinstate their volunteer log. Also, there are situations where a Member is not eligible to return until the next year, such as not attending the required meetings or not logging in the required hours by the deadline.
10. Why can't we enroll between August 1st and January 31st? Our year starts on May 1st and ends on April 30th so we don't pro-rate the hours and the required meetings Members attend. We open enrollment at 12:00 A.M. on February 1st and Members will start in May.
11. Is Lion's Heart a faith-based program or associated with any other organization, such as Lions Club International? No, a mother and son started Lion's Heart in 2004 when they wanted to create an organization for teens to serve the community. Lion's Heart is completely independent and is not faith-based.
Membership:
12. Does Lion's Heart tell the Members what community service to perform? No. The Members are responsible for coming to meetings with ideas for group activities. This is the main purpose for meeting. They also discuss individual community service activities. Lion's Heart does not dictate to Members which charities to help. Which charities and how to perform community service is completely left to the Members. Please see "What is Community Service and What is Not" on this website. Lion's Heart occasionally sends out emails about volunteer opportunities as a courtesy when we are contacted with requests.
13. Do Members have forms to sign when they perform community service? No forms are required with Lion's Heart. Members simply enter their community service hours on their online volunteer log, including a contact name and phone number. Our Class Coordinators periodically and randomly spot-check our Members' logs for legitimacy, but we don't require any forms to be filled out. For the most part, it is the honor system. After all, we are all volunteering!
14. Must parents perform community service? Only if you want to join your child! We do not require parents to participate but the Class Coordinators do expect and encourage help during group activities and carpooling.
15. How many meetings do the Members attend? Only eight meetings in a year are scheduled and Members cannot miss more than three. Once a Member misses that fourth meeting, they are deemed immediately resigned and cannot re-enroll until the following year. Each group makes up their own meeting schedule, however most meet on a Sunday afternoon or evening. All groups are required to meet the first half of May and before or after the Pride of the Lions Awards Event held on the first or second Sunday evening in June (if the chapter has sufficient Membership). Meetings are usually held in Member's homes or before or after a community service activity. If a Member joins after one or several meetings have taken place, the policy is for the Member to attend at least half the remaining meetings.
16. What should I do if I have a change to my child's contact information? Members can update their contact information once they login, including changing emails address or even changing the Username and Password.
17. What should I do if my child's tee shirt is the wrong size or it's been outgrown? We will replace or exchange a tee shirt anytime at no charge if it's the wrong size or outgrown. However, the shirt must be returned via mail with a check for $8.00 to cover the return postage. Please include your name, address, and the size you need. See Contact for Lion's Heart address. If you have any questions, contact the Merchandise Manager. You can also exchange a tee shirt at the awards event. If the tee shirt is torn or stained, you will need to purchase a new shirt.
18. Are parents invited to the Pride of the Lions Awards Event? Yes! We strongly encourage parents and family members to attend. This is a wonderfully inspiring event and since the Torchbearer's Award is kept a secret until presented at the event, your son or daughter might win the award! We do present the trophy to the winner, along with a little bit of information about each of our special recipients. The President's Volunteer Service Awards and the Golden Lion Awards are also presented. We have a slide show of our Members performing community service throughout the year. Class Coordinators are required to have two parents from each group attend and sit with each group to insure its Members behave appropriately.
19. Why don't all seniors get the Golden Lion Award? We would love to acknowledge all of our Seniors, but we have a very special award only for the seniors who have been in Lion's Heart all six years and have met all of the requirements to stay in Lion's Heart all those years. The Chapter President presents these Members with a gold medallion key fob along with announcing briefly specific activities within Lion's Heart and where they plan to attend college or their future plans.
20. How do the Members know how to be an officer? An online class is available for any Member interested in knowing more about becoming an Officer. Elections are held at the first meeting of the year in May.
If we didn't answer your question here and you are already a Member, please contact your Class Coordinator. If you have a specific enrollment question, please contact the Chapter President.