EVANS CITY — The Lions Club here is setting up Butler County’s first Leo Club, which is for teenagers.

Robin Swank, president of the Evans City Lions Club, said the Leo Club will have a board of directors, raise funds, meet, and come up with service projects on their own. They also will help the Lions Club with its projects on occasion.

Swank said that a meeting on Thursday had four teens and two parents attend to learn more about the initiative, and several others have contacted her about the youth club, which is open to 12 to 18 year olds.

The Leo Club provides a community service avenue to youth who are not involved in scouting or a church group, although those teens are welcome to join, Swank said. Club membership also can be listed on college applications, she said.

“We are looking for the best and brightest,” she said.

At Thursday’s meeting, Swank said a teen involved in JROTC and another who is an Eagle Scout had varying models of community service.

“Because they come from different backgrounds, they can bring so much more to the table,” Swank said.

The whole project started when Swank was at the Lions booth at Oktoberfest in Evans City in September. She told several teens who came to the booth that the Lions Club was considering forming a Leo Club.

“The more I talked, the more interested they became,” Swank said.

The Lions Club approved the idea in September, and will provide a financial donation to get it going.

Swank said the next Leo Club meeting will be at 7 p.m. on Thursday at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church on Van Buren Street.

She said a conversation to determine which members are interested in serving as officers and listing potential service projects likely will be the topics of discussion.

The club likely will meet at St. Peter’s Lutheran twice a month, Swank said.

Service projects can be anywhere in the borough, the Seneca Valley School District, or the immediate outskirts of Evans City. Teens who live in these areas are invited to join the club.

Regarding initial projects, Swank hopes club members will begin sweeping and shoveling snow from sidewalks for the borough’s senior citizens.

The Leo Club also serves to transition 18-year-old members into the Lions Club.

“I’m really looking forward to this,” Swank said. “It’s going to be a good thing for the kids as well as the community.”

John Rogers, an Evans City Lions Club member and president of the EDCO Park Authority, said many youths each summer volunteer for projects at the park.

“This is another avenue for kids to help out and get involved in the community and make Evans City a better place,” Rogers said.

Information on the Leo Club is available by calling Swank at 724-900-0834.