Lions International<\/a>, one of the largest international community service organizations, with more than 1.4 million members in\u00a0200 countries and geographic regions.\u00a0<\/p>\nLeos, which stands for Leadership, Experience, and Opportunity, focuses on global causes including childhood cancer, diabetes, disaster relief, environmental sustainability, humanitarian aid, hunger, vision and youth development.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCommunity building is the best way to progress society,\u201d Gabriel Pedroza, junior health science major, said. \u201cI\u2019m grateful to have so many people come out. This is a lot of turnout for our club.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pedroza, president of Omega Leos,\u00a0founded the club at UCF on Oct. 1, 2025, seeing it as an opportunity to engage students in more than just health-related initiatives.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw it as an opportunity to get people involved in not just health-related initiatives but in community building, and build a community on campus of people who really want to get involved and make a difference,\u201d Pedroza said.<\/p>\n
The organization recently received a $5,800 grant from Lions International, funding that will supply the needs for \u201cHungry Saturday\u201d for six months. The grant allows the student-led club to expand its impact while building a culture of long-term service on campus.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope that we get very big and then stuff like this becomes easy for us,\u201d said Ella Gorano, vice president of Omega Leos and senior communication and science disorder major. \u201cWe have had a lot more volunteers today than we have had at any other Hungry Saturday so far. And it\u2019s honestly amazing, it was so easy and smooth.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Omega](\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAADCAQAAAAe\/WZNAAAAEElEQVR42mM8U88ABowYDABAxQPltt5zqAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==\")
<\/p>\n
Members of Omega Leos speak with representatives from the Oviedo-Winter Springs Lions Club during Saturday’s outreach event at Samaritan Resource Center in Orlando.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Emmy Bailey<\/p>\n
The student organization is mentored by members of the Oviedo-Winter Springs Lions Club, who help guide the collegiate chapter through its early development.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a collaborative process,\u201d said Teresa Pedroza, a member of the board of directors for the Oviedo-Winter Springs Lions Club. \u201cWe\u2019re here to mentor them and teach them what it means to be part of a service organization.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beyond event coordination, mentors hope to instill service as a lifelong commitment.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to make it so that service becomes a part of their lives forever \u2014 not just something they check off for college applications,\u201d Teresa Pedroza said. \u201cIf you can brighten up their day knowing they\u2019re having at least one good meal today, to me that\u2019s satisfying.”<\/p>\n
Teresa Pedroza said while it\u2019s difficult to witness ongoing need in the community, consistency matters.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“I wish they weren\u2019t in the situation where they\u2019re seeking support in the form of a meal,” she added. “But I\u2019m glad that we\u2019re here to do it for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hungry Saturdays creates a consistent space for connection among those who attend, members said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNormally, I come back here to get help from the agency, and everyone can come here to get community and connect with each other,\u201d Keith Quinn, a participant at the event, said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A community member grabs a meal and an apple during the ‘Hungry Saturday’ event on Saturday at the Samaritan Resource Center in Orlando. The outreach, organized by Omega Leos, provides meals and essential supplies to individuals seeking support.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Emmy Bailey<\/p>\n
According to Feeding America\u2019s\u00a0Map the Meal Gap 2025 Report<\/a>,\u00a0588,450 individuals, or 1 in 7 neighbors,\u00a0across Second Harvest Food Bank\u2019s seven-county service area are food insecure. In Orange County, 13.9% of individuals are experiencing hunger, with\u00a0report rates in each of the seven counties in Second Harvest’s coverage area that exceed the national average.<\/p>\nTeresa Pedroza added that seeing familiar faces week after week is bittersweet.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou see some of the same faces over and over again, and that\u2019s sad,\u201d she added. \u201cBut I hope that they find comfort in the fact they\u2019re seeing us on a regular basis.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the Omega Leos continue to grow, members say the goal remains simple: To build a campus culture where service is not an obligation, but a way of life.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey don\u2019t have to volunteer with Leos. They can just go out and volunteer their time,\u201d Gabriel Pedroza said. \u201cWe just want people to come by and donate their time to make the community a better place.\u201d<\/p>\n