Whether it’s through his family’s business or the Mahoning Township Lions, Tom Zimmerman IV is dedicated to serving the community in Carbon County.

For 20 years, he’s been the president of the Mahoning Township Lions, a small group of volunteers who makes a big local impact. And through Zimmerman’s Dairy, he’s always willing to help local events and organizations.

“I like to help other people. That’s what we do. We pay for eyeglasses, we help people whose houses burn down, we take care of the soccer field, and we do a lot of stuff for kids too, like the egg hunt,” Zimmerman said.

The Lions were founded to help the blind, but they are a community service organization which helps a wide range of charitable causes.

The Mahoning Lions donate their time and funds to causes such as the local library, food banks, 4-H, scholarships, and an annual egg hunt, among many others.

While the group has just under 30 members, the percentage who are active are much higher than other service groups.

It takes constant fundraising to continue supporting those causes. The group holds semiannual ham dinners and ice cream socials, at which Zimmerman is a fixture.

They make their fields available to youth soccer teams every year. Zimmerman keeps the fields maintained and ready to play.

Zimmerman’s family has called Mahoning Valley and Carbon County home for generations. The residents’ friendly nature is one reason he enjoys serving the community.

“I like the people in Carbon County. We have good people in our area,” he said.

Over the years, some of Zimmerman’s favorite projects with the Lions have been supporting the Healthy Smiles, Happy Kids Dental van, as well as all of the glasses that they have provided to students over the years.

He’s also been a friend to the animals of Carbon County. The Lions have held an annual rabies vaccine clinic for many years in partnership with the Mahoning Valley Animal Hospital. One year, Zimmerman donated hundreds of rolls of paper towels to the county’s two animal shelters.

“He’s very active, and he’s sincere about it when he does it. He’s not looking for anything in return. It’s the definition of a good person and they’re few and far between,” said Tom Connors, director of the Carbon County Animal Shelter.

Zimmerman can often be found representing the Lions at a wide range of community events around Carbon County. Former Carbon County Commissioner Tom Gerhard said one doesn’t have to look any further than Facebook to see how many events for local organizations that Zimmerman has supported.

“There are a lot of great volunteers out there. I don’t want to take away from any of them, but this guy truly deserves to be recognized. He is what a volunteer is all about.

If Zimmerman’s presence at an event isn’t related to the Lions Club, it’s usually related to his family’s business, Zimmerman’s Dairy.

Zimmerman is the fourth generation to be involved with the business, which was founded in the Mahoning Valley in 1900.

Whenever a community group contacts him for an event, he is always willing to help. They donate gift certificates and give discounts.

Zimmerman said that the charitable streak in the business was passed down to him by his grandmother.

“She told me ‘Punky, there’s two types of people in business, those who have money and those who have friends. You’re gonna die with a lot of friends.’ To me that’s a better way to die than with a lot of money,” he said.