Because five decades later, more than a few community organisations are celebrating their 50^th anniversaries this year.

Among them are the Belconnen Lions Club and the Corroboree Little Athletics Club, which originally started in Corroboree Park in Ainslie and is now based at Dickson ovals.

Belconnen Lions members past and present will be marking the occasion with the club's 50^th charter dinner on Saturday night, at Raiders Belconnen.

The club started on November 30, 1970, more formally known as the Lions Club of Canberra Belconnen.

Corroboree Little Athletics, meanwhile, is the oldest Little Athletics club in the ACT, established in late 1970.

It celebrates on Saturday morning from 10.30 with a 50^th birthday party at the tracks on the Dickson ovals, off Hawdon Place.

Special guests will be Olympians and former Corroboree Little Athletics members Lauren Boden and Jayden Sawyer and the club's founder, Joyce Boyson.

But, first, to the Lions.

While it engages in a lot of different fundraising, Belconnen Lions could be known as Canberra's barbecue kings.

It doesn't matter what public event you go to, it seems someone from Belconnen Lions is always manning the tongs.

Whether it's serving up a snags or egg-and-bacon rolls at the Balloon Spectacular, DonateLife walk or ACT Playgroup open day, the Belconnen Lions are the ones making that barbecue sing.

The hot breakfasts at the Balloon Spectacular is the Belconnen Lions' biggest fundraiser for the year, with the balloons again taking to the skies from next Saturday, March 7.

Belconnen Lions committee member Ron Skeen said catering was certainly a good source of fundraising for the club, but he still didn't discount the fundraising power of the Lions' mints and Christmas cakes.

Over the years, Belconnen Lions has raised an amazing $1.25 million for local, national and international projects. They have included everything from specialised walkers for children with cerebral palsy to fitting out a room at the Karinya House for mothers and babies.

And there were many other grassroots services it carried out such as "cleaning up the yard of the little old lady who doesn't have any family. Things like that", Mr Skeen said.

Corroboree Little Athletics president Garry Stevens said the club's first meeting was at Corroboree Park in Ainslie on October 27, 1970. It started with an impressive 140 members and now boasts 330.

Eric and Joyce Boyson started the club when Eric was executive director of the Canberra YMCA and Joyce was community services director. The "mothers' club" used to raise money for Corroboree Little Athletics by selling fairy floss at Garema Place on Friday nights for late-night shopping.

After the first season of the club, Mr Boyson invited Olympian in shotput and discus, Warwick Selvey, to speak to the group. "One of the boys asked him to show them how he would throw a discus at the Olympics. Warwick agreed to do so, was given a Little Athletics discus and said 'Gee, its a bit small' and threw it and we never found it again," Mr Boyson recalled.

Mr Stevens said Little Athletics provided kids with "sunshine, exercise and competition with their mates", with the emphasis on them always trying to achieve and improve on their personal best.