Page 43 - Phonebox Magazine July 2016

Newport Pagnell and Olney Lions Club
Lions - At the Heart of local communities
Being the largest Service Organisation in the World with 1.4 million members in 46,000 clubs in every corner of the globe we, not surprisingly, have a pretty strong presence in the UK with 17,000 members in 900 local clubs. But who are the Lions?
We are simply ordinary people, like yourself, who do extraordinary things to help others and support good causes with emphasis on the needs of the very communities we live and work in.
Every year, in Europe alone, Lions club members volunteer around six million hours of service and raise £88m to support the needs of their Local communities and your club of 17 members contribute to this gure by volunteering well over 2,000 hours of their time and raise over £14k from our activities. The vast majority of this money is used within the local area but we still manage to support National and International causes when necessary.
Motorama...
Did you join us at Motorama?
Unfortunately the weather, whilst not too bad considering what it had been like earlier in the week, was suf ciently overcast to cause a large number of ‘no shows’. With over 120 booked in and an inevitable number of unexpected drivers turning up on the day, we were heading for a full house.
The cars were slow in arriving but by opening, we had 98 vehicles dotted around the Market Place and a great range of motoring history was there for all to see from Jensen to Jeep, Ferrari to Ford, Vauxhall to VW, we had them all along with a few historic Motorbikes too.
The weather, however, not only impacted on our entries but also hit our ‘takings’ with our income being well down on previous years.
Once the accounts have been nalised, the pro t from the day will be split between The Medical Detection Dogs Charity and the Toby O’Grady Trust, both local organisations that are dear to the heart of the Club. In addition, we will be making a small donation to a charity which one of our exhibitors supports with a model traction engine which he has spent many hours painstakingly building. More about our donations in a future issue.
A massive thanks goes to our Friends of Lions group, a number of whom turned up on the day to help us set up, look after vehicle registration, sell programs, promote our raf e and generally helped ensure that the event went smoothly. Without this group of supporters, the club would not be as effective as it is. Find out how you can help us by visiting our website where you can also see some great photos of our Motorama entries.
An International Commitment
Being part of an International Organisation, we do support some major initiatives and charities that have a global reach, but this is done in a very special way.
Through a partnership program with an International charity or by supporting Lions clubs in other countries, the Lions International Foundation (LCIF) runs a number of initiatives which can be supported by clubs worldwide.
This month, we chose to send a donation of £750 to two Lions International Charities – Lions Sight Savers and Water Aid.
The Lions Sight Savers Trust was founded in 1982 and works with the Sightsavers charity to combat preventable blindness and get equality for people with disabilities. So how does our Trust help?
• Over £3m donated since it was formed
• 100% of donations go to projects managed by Sightsavers
• 90% of the world’s 314m visually impaired people live in developing
countries
• £30 will fund one cataract operation in these countries
• 75% of their conditions are either avoidable or preventable at
minimum cost
• In developing countries, local Lions clubs members are often from
the Medical Field
• Lions Clubs also run or nance local medical facilities and hospitals
A major attraction to Lions clubs in supporting our own Foundation is the receipt of a report back detailing exactly how many people received what treatment and the outcome. This really brings home the bene ts such small sums of money bring to people’s lives and makes great reading. Water Aid is another Partnership arrangement that sees Lions club working to deliver taps and toilets in a campaign for change. The objectives are not only to see clean drinking water being available in villages and to reduce the risk of serious illness and death from poor sewerage but also to build the skills of local people and transform their lives.
And nally
Watch out for the Lions Tent at the events we attend in both Olney and Newport Pagnell. You will nd us at the Market Place Olney on selected days throughout the year when we will be selling the Town Calendar on our new bookstall. Come along and browse our wares, meet us, have a chat and learn more about us. Many thanks to Olney Town Council for their support in our efforts to keep the Newport Pagnell and Olney Lions Club alive and well.
July 2016 | Phonebox Magazine 43