A local service club is throwing in the towel after 40 years of hard work.

The La Prairie Lionesses are disbanding and ceasing operation. Club President Heather Graham explains why.

"The timing was right for us to try to come to an end, and that's what we've done. We wanted to say thank you to all the businesses and the citizens of Portage and area that have supported us all these years over the many projects that we've done. We appreciate everything that they have done to help us out to raise money."

The club pledged to serve the citizens of Portage and area as an international service club. Graham says this wasn't an easy choice to make.

"We gave it a lot of thought, and we did a lot of soul searching before we decided to come to that conclusion. We were getting smaller in numbers, but that's not the reason why we left. When COVID-19 came along, we weren't able to have our fundraisers or get together as a group. It made it very difficult as a service group to stay together and do the purpose of what we are meant to do."

Graham is proud of both past and current members for the work they've done to make Portage a better place to live.

The club prided itself on donating to the Salvation Army, women's shelter and Journey for sight.

She says this marks the end of a big event for them.

"One of our biggest fundraisers was for the Central Plains Cancer Services. We always have helped them. For the last 20 years, we held a live auction and all the proceeds went to them because everybody has been touched by cancer. We raised about $222,000 for them. So, that was probably one of the biggest projects that we took on over the years."