Members have launched a recruitment drive and are working to raise awareness about their aims and many achievements.

The club's motto is "We Serve" and over the last 11 years it has raised around £12,000 for a wide variety of national and local charities, including the Lynn News Special Care Baby Appeal and the Macmillan Centre at Lynn's Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

They also provide cuddly toy lions, called Joy Boys, to the emergency services to provide comfort for children travelling in ambulances, paid for out of club funds.

But the fundraising has been stopped in its tracks by the declining membership.

Secretary Jill Tann, of South Wootton, said: "At the moment we are doing smaller, low-key things and we have had to call a halt to fundraising until we can get some new members on board.

"We hope to become a bit more high profile in the future."

Far from sitting around chatting over a coffee, the group is highly active in the community, raising money through a range of events and activities, including quizzes, fashion shows, trips to other Lioness clubs, and conventions.

The club also gives women the chance to make new friends, especially if they have moved to a new area, do something positive in their community and feel part of such a huge organisation with more than 1.4 million members worldwide.

"We are proud to wear our badges," Mrs Tann said.

Members must be over 18, but there is no upper age limit and the club will offer a friendly welcome to anyone.

Mrs Tann said: "We know it's difficult for mums to find time when they are busy with their children.

"Family always comes first, but we really need some new faces and a younger generation to come in with new ideas, enthusiasm and stamina.

"We would like members from any walk of life who are genuinely interested in helping others. Our aim is to help while having fun and friendship at the same time."

Much of the club's good work is not high profile. Members give up their time every month to check the tapes sent out by Lynn's Talking Newspaper, for example.

But president Sheila Crake said the club was hoping to really grab some attention with its new campaign which encourages women to donate their old and unwanted bras.

The Bra Appeal collects and distributes unwanted bras to charities in the UK and abroad, giving them to homeless and women in poorer countries.

Other bras are bought by a textiles company which makes a donation to the Breast Cancer Campaign per kilogram before selling them to traders in developing countries.

"It's not a one-off, this will be an on-going campaign," Mrs Crake said.

The Lynn club held three recruitment days in Lynn town centre last week and Mrs Tann said they were extremely pleased with the response.