Archived News - Lions Club
News from the Lions Den
It has been another busy month for the Eaton Bray & Edlesborough Lions. The Easter Eggs that we had distributed around the villages to be raffl ed were gratefully received by the winning ticket holders and the proceeds from these raffl es raised just over £350.00 which will enable the club to purchase high viz waistcoats for Edlesborough primary school children. Thank you once again to everyone who supported us.
Our Lions Club received the opportunity to team up with the MK Dons Football club in recognition of their 'ability counts' day on Saturday 6th April. We took 85 individuals along with us to watch the match against Crawley Town. The group consisted of 10 Lions and 75 individuals with varying degrees of disability, both physical and mental.
The Dons were promoting their various disability teams and a parade from the athletes was enjoyed by all during the half time interval.
The day presented us with a number of wonderful opportunities. Initially, the ability to take these people, who would otherwise perhaps never get to see a live football game, to the match was priceless. In addition to this, being able to link up with a football team and to receive all of the subsequent promotion was an incredible boost for our organisation.
The Dons were equally delighted with the day, despite the nil nil draw, and we hope to be able to run similar events again in the future.
Our monthly free delivery service of fish and chips continues and we are delighted to report that we are picking up new recipients every month. It is wonderful to know that this small act of community service by our club is being enjoyed by so many of you by calling Rachel on 01525 229 656.
Ordinary people doing amazing things
Source: Focus, May 2013
News from the Lions Den
Summer may have been a disappointment for many of us on the weather front but we Lions have been out and about enjoying ourselves never the less.
Our 'free delivery' fish and chip trial has been a resounding success and after just two months, we made the decision to make this a regular part of our community service program. We are delighted with the number of residents who already take part in this but we are still willing and able to deliver to more people. We must say a sincere thank you to the anonymous gentleman who donated £20.00 to Lions after reading about this service. We must stress this is a community service and that the club do not make money from this, however, all donations are used towards supporting local causes. Our next delivery will be taking place on Friday 26th October. Your orders need to be placed with me by Wednesday 24th. Please leave a message on the answer phone if no-one is in.
Eyes Down – we are playing for a 'Full House'
As of Tuesday 6th November, we are starting a monthly bingo night in Dagnall Village Hall. The plan is that this will run on the first Tuesday of every month to keep it nice and simple. Starting at 7.30pm with a complimentary cup of tea or coffee at half time.
Free entry ! – just £1.00 per game
We hope to see lots of you there ....
Helping to keep our young people safe ....
As you will recall, the funds raised by the Lions at the Edlesborough carnival were used to purchase high visability waistcoats for our primary school children. At the time of writing this, our first order has been placed and we are eagerly awaiting the delivery. We plan to distribute the first batch to the Eaton Bray Academy towards the end of September before the dark mornings are back with us.
Fancy winning £20 ?
We have put together a cryptic quiz to get you thinking and to entertain you as the darker evenings approach. It is £1.00 to enter and the person who gets the most correct answers will receive £20.00. In the event of a tie-break, all winning entries will be put into a hat and one lucky entry will be drawn. The theme of this months quiz is 'Songs from Yester-years' ....all entries to be received by 31st October to be included in the draw. The quiz is available in this month's edition of Focus.
For more information on any of the above or about Lions in general please do get in touch via our website www.ebelions.org.uk.
Ordinary people doing amazing things
Source: Focus, October 2012
News from the Lions Den
We have now reserved our spot at St Mary's carnival in July and are busy making plans and preparations for our stall.
This year we have decided that we want to raise funds to support a local cause again. We have decided that we want to provide a service aimed at keeping our local primary school children safe when they are out and about – on their bikes, walking to and from school etc. As such, the club has pledged to raise enough funds over the next couple of months to purchase a high visibility waistcoat for every primary school child in our villages. We have been speaking with the schools to ascertain the number of children this covers and realise this is no small task, however, our aim is to have these items in the schools by the time the children return after the summer vacation! With that in mind, please come and see us at the carnival to find out how you can help and what other projects we are currently working on. Remember that every penny donated to Lions gets used to support our causes – we do not draw any administration charges from the club.
As always, we continue to look for new members. We will be out and about much more over the summer months so please do come over and say hello and find out a little more about your Lions club, how it can help your community and how you can get involved.In one of our earliest articles we wrote about the Lions message in a Bottle campaign. You may recall that his scheme is free to the user. Whilst it is focused on the more vulnerable people in our community, anyone can fall downstairs, so this scheme can benefit anyone, including you. As a minimum it will save the Emergency Services valuable time identifying you and your emergency contacts. By telling whether you have special medication or allergies or not, it is a potential lifesaver and provides peace of mind to users and their friends and families. We have secured a large batch of these bottles recently and are hoping to make them available within the community at places like the pharmacy. For more information, please do contact us by emailing [email protected] – if these little bottles make a difference to just one person we will have done something good for our community.
Tickets for Foulness Island are proving very popular so please do let us know if you are hoping to join the trip on 9th June as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.We are really looking forward to all of our events over the summer months and hope you will be able to share some of the enjoyment with us...
Ordinary people doing amazing things
Source: Focus, June 2012
News from the Lions Den
We have got a busy couple of months ahead of us with numerous events to organise and attend so we are looking forward to the opportunity to meet with lots of you over this time.
On Friday 18th May we are supporting the National Spinal Injury association (SIA) with a fish and chip super being held in Edlesborough village hall. One of our members will be delivering a talk on spinal injuries and the work the association do based on his own personal experience. Whilst Lions are often regarded as supporting worldwide causes, our primary focus is much closer to home and as this charity has helped one of our members significantly we feel we want to do something for them now. Every year in the UK over 1000 people experience a spinal cord injury. There are an estimated 40,000 spinal cord injured people in the UK alone !
Most spinal cord injuries result in paralysis and the impact of an injury can turn lives upside down. Injured people and their families are faced with the challenge of coming to terms with their injury and rebuilding their lives with a disability.
SIA offers support to individuals who become paralysed and their families from the moment the injury occurs and for the rest of their lives. Their members find this an invaluable service. So come along to support this worthy, national cause and find out more. Tickets are £12.50 which includes your fish and chips and a £5.00 donation per ticket to the charity. Tea and coffee will be available to purchase but please bring along your own soft and alcoholic beverages. Tickets for this event need to be purchased in advance so that we can order the fish and chips. Please book by no later than Tuesday 15th May. Call Rachel for more details on 01525 229 656.
On Saturday 19th May, PARADOX are coming to Eaton Bray. The cracking covers band will be recreating classic cuts like Clapton and The Culture Club through to contemporary contenders such as Coldplay, the Chilli Peppers and The Kaiser Chief's!!! Paradox is a 6-piece covers band based in Leighton Buzzard. Formed ten years ago, their mission is to get people rocking. To support this, we have a full bar license for the event to make your evening really go with a swing.
Tickets are on sale NOW and are already selling well. Priced at just £10.00 per person, bought in advance or £15.00 on the night. Doors open at 7pm. To make sure you don't miss your opportunity of a night to remember, get your tickets early by calling Rachel on 01525 229 656 or email [email protected]. For a sneak preview of their latest line up or for more details in general, please go to our website www.ebelions.org.uk
On Saturday 9th June we are running a unique day trip to Foulness island, off the coast of Essex. This island is probably more familiar to some of you as the proposed site for the third London airport during the early 1970's which was up against Wing, much closer to our homes. Thankfully talk of the airport has now ceased and in reality, Foulness island is a haven for wildlife. Situated off the east coast of Essex, separated from the mainland, Foulness reported 212 residents in the last census.
Foulness Island is predominantly farm land and is protected from the sea by a sea wall. The island's name is derived from the Old English for wild birds, and is an internationally important site for migrating and breeding birds, including avocets. During the North Sea floods of 1953, almost the entire island was flooded, and two people died.
Prior to 1922, when the military road was built, access was only available across the Maplin Sands via the Broomway, a tidal path said to pre-date the Romans, or by boat. Although public rights of way exist, the island is run behalf of the Ministry of Defence and access to the island is only permitted on a limited basis.
Through some family connections we have been grated permission to run a one day trip to the island with a luxury coach departing from Eaton Bray. The coach will take you to the island where you will be met at the 'boarder control' and given access. From here, the coach will proceed onto the island and will use the Heritage centre as its base for the day. The package includes two separate wildlife tours, one is a walking tour, the other covers a wider area of the island via a tractor and trailor – both will have wildlife experts available to answer any questions and point out sites as you tour. The Heritage centre will be open all day and a light lunch is also included. Tickets are priced at £35.00 per person and spaces are limited to 60. The MOD require a list of names for everyone attending the trip one week in advance so tickets must be purchased no later than 1st June using the booking form in this magazine or by calling Rachel on 01525 229 656. Please note, access around the island is limited to the two organised tours, you will not be able to conduct any tours without approved island guides. This really is a unique offer and one we can't guarantee we will be able to run again in the future.
Ordinary people doing amazing things
Source: Focus, May 2012
News from the Lions Den
Youth – Challenging tomorrow today....
Lions are committed to supporting and encouraging young people to learn, to achieve and to grow. Youth projects are organised by clubs both locally and internationally.
At the international level, the influence of Lions can touch thousands of people, at a local level the needs are often immediate and personal but equally important.
One of these projects is known as the Young Ambassador award. It aims to acknowledge today's young 'ambassadors' working as volunteers and gives them the recognition they deserve. The award helps to boost their self esteem and con fi dence whilst highlighting the charities and volunteer groups with which they are involved.
Candidates need to be aged between 15 and 18 years in age.
I am delighted to be able to say that this year, we have a winning candidate.
15 year old Fiona has cerebral palsy. A disorder that can involve brain and nervous system functions such as movement, learning, hearing, seeing, and thinking. Three years ago she felt she had little to offer any one and certainly not in a sporting context. However she has since learnt that, in the right environment she excels at a number of sports.
Fiona now competes in National Boccia competitions and DSE National Athletics Championships. She has trained as a sports leader and now coaches young disabled athletes aged between 5 and 7 years old – some of whom are being watched closely by the GB Paralympics coaches.
Fiona competed against 13 other 'young ambassadors' from all over the UK. She was the youngest entrant but this certainly didn't hold her back.
When Fiona speaks, people are spellbound, both at her content and soft, gentle yet enthusiastic manner. Indeed, Fiona made such a lasting impression that she was rewarded with the 'Ship Shape' award.
THE SHIPSHAPE AWARD, sponsored by the Jubilee Sailing Trust is awarded to a candidate who demonstrates a particularly strong personal commitment and enthusiasm for their community work but who, in the opinion of the judges, would benefit from the opportunity to develop their con fi dence and their leadership skills.
JST is a registered charity that owns and operates Lord Nelson and Tenacious. Founded in 1978 off the back of a grant from the Queen's Silver Jubilee Fund, the JST owns and operates the only two tall ships in the world that have special features that enable able-bodied and disabled people to sail the ship together as equals. Tall ship sailing with the JST provides everyone the thrill and adventure of life at sea.
The award this year offers a greater opportunity than ever before.
Just 4 days before the Young Ambassador fi nals took place at Dudley this year, the Trustees and Vice President of JST made the announcement that the tall ship Lord Nelson will leave the UK in October 2012 to sail around the world.
Founder Christopher Rudd said in his announcement speech "We all know who the heroes of the JST have been over the years: those with disabilities who have put the Trust's ideals to the test...afloat, at sea, on board Lord Nelson and Tenacious. It is to these courageous characters that we give thanks tonight. Let's drink a toast to all our shipmates, especially those who have defied disabilities to challenge the elements aboard our very special and magnificent tall ships".
Lord Nelson was designed and built to be sailed by able-bodied and physically disabled people including wheelchair users, as part of a full working crew. This will be the first time that an accessible square-rigged sailing ship with a mixed physical ability working crew has undertaken a circumnavigation.
The 21 month world voyage, which JST are calling 'Sail the World', will incorporate four Equator crossings, 7 continents, 30 countries and 45,000 sea miles and is the most ambitious project the charity has yet undertaken.
The purpose of Sail the World is to give people of all physical abilities the chance to undertake adventurous ocean passages under sail. It is planned that wheelchair users will be part of the working crew for each of the 10 passages, the longest of which is 58 days and 5,800 sea miles from New Zealand to Ushuaia including rounding Cape Horn. Square-rigged sailing ships have been rounding that historic rock for centuries but this will be the fi rst accessible tall ship with a mixed ability crew to do so.
Sail the World also aims to introduce other nations to the experience of accessible sailing on a tall ship, which for many people can be a life-changing discovery of abilities they didn't know they had. Ports of call around the world have expressed a strong interest in chartering the ship for a few days, between the long passages, in order to enable their own nationals with disabilities to sail who otherwise would not get the chance. The JST hopes that people from these countries will also want to join the ship on the longer adventurous passages across the oceans of the world.
The JST ships are recognised world-wide as being unique and already there is great excitement around the globe about giving Lord Nelson a warm welcome wherever she goes.
Disabled sailor and JST Trustee Niall Tarrell said "I have been a wheelchair user since the age of twenty-one and sailing on Lord Nelson opened up a sense of achievement and opportunity that I had rarely felt before. Taking this message to the rest of the world and giving disabled South Africans, Australians, Asians and South Americans a chance to share this experience we believe will inspire people around the world".
The ship will leave in October 2012 from Southampton. Sail the World's first destination will be Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Other ports of call include Cape Town, Singapore, Sydney and Auckland. The grand home coming will be in July 2014 after visiting Iceland.
After Fiona had been awarded this coveted prize, I was approached by the CEO of JST who said he was so impressed with Fiona that would love to give her the opportunity of taking part in one of the Sail the World legs.
Fiona now needs to decide which leg of the tour she wants to take part in so that the amount of funds required to cover her travel can be calculated.
Fiona has already been awarded a £500.00 donation from JST towards the cost of her experience but the remainder of the funds need to raised to offer her this life changing opportunity. Lions around the area are already committed to finding ways of supporting this wonderful, worthy young lady but I am hoping that she has touched the hearts of some of you reading this article too.
A Just Giving link has been created on our website www.ebelions.org.uk. Any money you pledge here will help support Fiona – if you can spare a pound then please do consider her as a worthy beneficiary.
I make no apology for feeling so passionate about this competition having metyoungsters like Fiona and so many like her, I know there are far more good young people than the small minority of bad we read about in the press.
Our next informal information evening is taking place on Wednesday 4th April at Eaton Bray village hall from 7.30pm. Full details can be found in the advert in this magazine or by calling Rachel on 01525 229 656. We would love to see some of you there.
On Friday 18th May we are supporting the National Spinal Injury association (SIA) with a fi sh and chip super being held in Edlesborough village hall. One of our members will be delivering a talk on spinal injuries and the work the association do. Come along to support this worthy, national cause and fi nd out more. Tickets are £12.50 which includes your fi sh and chips and a £5.00 donation per ticket to the charity. Tea and coffee will be available to purchase but please bring along your own soft and alcoholic beverages. Tickets for this event need to be purchased in advance so that we can order the fish and chips. Please book by no later than Tuesday 15th May. Call Rachel for more details on 01525 229 656.
On Saturday 19th May, PARADOX are coming to Eaton Bray. The cracking covers band will be recreating classic cuts like Clapton and The Culture Club through to contemporary contenders such as Coldplay, the Chilli Peppers and The Kaiser Chief's!!!
Paradox is a 6-piece covers band are based in Leighton Buzzard. Formed ten years ago, their mission is to get people rocking. To support this, we have a full bar license for the event to make your evening really go with a swing.
Tickets are on sale NOW and are priced at just £10.00 per person in advance or £15.00 on the night. Doors open at 7pm. To make sure you don't miss your opportunity of a night to remember, get your tickets early by calling Rachel on 01525 229 656 or email [email protected].
For a sneak preview of their latest line up or for more details in general, please go to our website www.ebelions.org.uk
Finally on Saturday 9th June we are running a day trip to Foulness island, off the coast of Essex. A luxury coach will be running from Eaton Bray. Full details will be provided next month.
Better still… come along to meet us at our open evening and collect your event tickets while you are there...
Ordinary people doing amazing things
Source: Focus, April 2012
The Pirates of Edlesbray
Well, the smell of the crowd and the roar of the greasepaint have faded away and this year's panto has passed into nautical history along with the Titanic and the Spanish Armada. Anyone who didn't bother to come to this year's show, then boo and hiss to you because you missed a great show, the result of many hours of swabbing the decks and climbing the rigging, put in by all the members of Edlesbray Players on your behalf.
This year we were hit by various bouts of (sea) sickness which threatened to scupper the good ship White Opel and all who sailed in her. Miraculously, just like an old episode of Ground Force, it all came together at the last minute and seemed to go down well with the almost full houses it played to.
Many thanks to all of you who helped in any way and particularly all of our loyal fans without whom we would be sunk.
The new Eaton Bray Edlesborough Lions group did a splendid job running the bar and raised £500 for the charity Medical Detection Dogs, while the teas and coffees raised £50 for the East Anglian Air Ambulance.
As usual we are still after some help with running our shows, you don't have to act, sing or dance and you're not required to paint or construct scenery if that's not your thing, you just need to be able to organise things, make phone calls and send out emails. If you are recently retired or just have time on your hands, it's great fun as we all work as a team, and it's very satisfying.
We are always open to suggestions however extreme or outrageous so send us your thoughts via the contact page on the website www.edlesbrayplayers.co.uk
For photos from this year's show, see the The Pirates of Edlesbray - 2012 Panto album on the Edlesbray Players Facebook page.
News from the Lions Den
Do you believe?
There are 7 billion people living on planet earth. Over one-third live in poverty, meaning they don't have enough to eat, don't have access to clean drinking water, live in sub-standard housing, or they lack proper medical care. It is very likely that all of the above applies.
Poverty, homelessness, abuse, disease and disabilities, both physical and mental affect millions of people. Lions Clubs international can not provide responses to all of these people. Or can we?
I believe that we can make a difference. Helping just one person can set an example for others to follow.
The Yellow River is the seventh longest river in the world, stretching 3395 miles in length. It is often called the cradle of the Chinese civilisation, serving as the birth place of northern Chinese civilisations and giving prosperity to millions. And yet, at its source, high in the Bayan Har Mountains, it all begins with a very humble trickle of water. It gains its power and strength as it fl ows northwest, then northeast, turning southward and fi nally east, fl owing through seven provinces along the way and nourishing over 120 million people. Its astonishing that such a mighty force starts out so small.
Lions Clubs International also had a humble beginning. Our founder, Melvin Jones and a few of his colleagues, were similar to those few drops of water that today, some 94 years later have changed the world and touched millions of lives.
Believe that You can make a difference!
On 10th December we will be holding our Christmas, crafts and second hand book sale at Dagnall village hall from 10am until 4pm. Entry is free so why not come along and get some Christmas treats for your family and friends? A full list of the stall holders and books we are selling will be published on our website closer to the date so keep checking www.ebelions.org.uk for further updates. Santa has promised us he will be in attendance and will be found in his grotto all day giving out gifts to younger members of our community, (a £5.00 entry charge applies to the grotto but all children will receive a gift). Once Santa's duties are done at Dagnall, he will be making his way to the local children's ward and leaving gifts for some of those children that aren't able to visit him this year.
Please support us in any way you can, especially at this time of year when so many people are in need of our help both at home and abroad.
Ordinary people doing amazing things
Source: Focus, December 2011
News from the Lions Den
We are busy getting ready for our Race Night being held on 19th November at the Eaton Bray Village Hall. Tickets are already on sale and it seems that lots of you are hoping to come along and join us for the evening. It promises to be a great night and we hope to see you there. On the next page you will find a cut out form that you can use to purchase tickets or indeed you can even buy and name your own horses.
Our next event after the race night is being held in Dagnall on Saturday 10th December from 10am til 4pm. We are holding a Christmas, craft and second hand book sale.
Santa has promised to join us for the day and will be in his grotto waiting to meet any of our younger (or young at heart) residents. Entry is free (£5.00 to visit Santa including a gift) and hot and cold refreshments will be available throughout the day.
This will be an ideal opportunity to pick up some gifts, last minute stocking fillers, tasty festive foods or simply treat yourself to something special. Closer to the event we will be publishing a full catalogue of all of our books for sale on our website so keep checking www.ebelions.org.uk for further details. We still have some spaces available for stall holders so if you want pitch, please do get in touch by calling Rachel on 07815 067 556.
Last month we told you about the Lions message in a bottle campaign and how it can make a difference to the lives of everyone. This month, we are covering a subject with both local and global impact. Sight.
Lions International are recognised worldwide for it's service to the blind and visually impaired. The organisation initially became involved through a challenge issued in 1925 by a lady called Helen Keller, an advocate for the blind. She challenged Lions to become the 'knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness'. In 1930, Lions introduced the white cane which we wrote about in an earlier entry and is still widely in use today around the UK and the world.
Working in partnership with other organisations in countries of the developing world, Lions work provides 600,000 professional glaucoma screenings and provides 20,000 corneal transplants each year.
We collect more than 5,000,000 pairs of used eyeglasses each year and distribute these to developing countries. We provide thousands of people each year with free, good quality eye care, glasses, Braille writers, large print tests, white canes and guide dogs.
Campaign SightFirst is Lions most ambitious and most successful initiative ever. Lions operate this program, which is the worlds largest blindness prevention programme, with the aim of establishing long terms solutions for eliminating preventable and reversible blindness. The major causes of blindness come from cataracts, river blindness, trachoma and, especially in developed nations like the United States and the UK, diabetic eye disease and glaucoma.
Thanks to this program, Lions can proudly report that they have restored sight to 4,600,000 people through cataract surgeries. Further serious vision loss was prevented for 20,000,000 people and improved eye care services for hundreds of millions were improved.
Lions have :-
- Awarded £100,000,000 for 698 projects in 80 countries
- Provided 60,000,000 treatments for River blindness
- Built or expanded 207 eye hospitals, clinics and wards
- Upgraded 314 eye centres with new equipment
- Provided management training at 92 facilities
- Trained 83,500 ophthalmologists, ophthalmic nurses, other professional eye care workers and village health workers
- Launched the world's first ever initiative to combat childhood blindness in partnership with the World Health Organisation. Thirty paediatric eye centres will be established as a result of this.
Lions Eye Health Programme (LEHP) is a community based public awareness initiative that encourages the early detection and timely treatment of glaucoma and diabetic eye disease and the appropriate treatment for low vision. The programme is run in collaboration with the International Glaucoma Association (IGA), Diabetes UK, the Irish Glaucoma Association and the Diabetes Federation of Ireland.
Importantly, now everyone with an interest in eye health care can participate in LEHP, not just Lions clubs!
We plan to start collecting eye glasses to continue supporting this work so if any of you have an old pair of glasses that you no longer require, please send them to Rachel at 9 Eaton Park, Eaton Bray.
Lions World Sight Day was launched in 1998 by Lions International. It is a global event that focuses attention on the problem of preventable blindness. The shocking fact is that every five seconds one person in the world goes blind and one child goes blind every minute.
Ordinary people doing amazing things
Source: Focus, November 2011
News from the Lions Den
A lot has been happening since our last article. Firstly, our club has now officially formed and some of our new members have been inducted, which was a great social event held at the Doubletree in Milton Keynes. Some of the members enjoyed watching a game at the stadium before the formation evening, watching the Dons win at home to Chesterfield 6-2.
Hopefully some of you reading this will have managed to come along to our Medical Detection Dogs presentation evening at the end of September. It really is a wonderful and very worthwhile charity making a difference to many people's lives. More pictures of these and other events can be seen on our website www.ebelions.org.uk
Our next event is coming up soon - 19th November. There is a large advert placed in this month's Focus for our Race Night. This promises to be a great, fun filled evening. Tickets are available now and are priced at £12.50 per person. The price includes your entry to the event and a hot supper. Please bring your own drinks. To get your tickets please call 01525 229 656 or email [email protected].
Another date for your diary is Saturday 10th December when we will be holding a 'Christmas, Crafts and second hand book sale' at Dagnall village hall. Watch out for more details coming in next month's magazine.
Each month so far we have written about a different Lions project. We recognise that some of these may not always feel relevant to the local community but our 'Message in a Bottle' really can make a difference to a significant number of people everywhere.
This scheme is free to the user. Whilst it is focused on the more vulnerable people in our community, anyone can fall downstairs, so this scheme can benefit anyone, including you. As a minimum it will save the Emergency Services valuable time identifying you and your emergency contacts. By telling whether you have special medication or allergies or not, it is a potential lifesaver and provides peace of mind to users and their friends and families.
The Message in a Bottle scheme ensures that important medical and personal information is on hand for the emergency services when they are called out to your home. Members of the Message in a Bottle scheme place a small plastic bottle in their fridge containing details of all relevant medical information. A green cross sticker is placed inside your front door and another on the fridge to alert emergency services to its presence. Lions work in partnership with local councils, health services and emergency services to deliver the scheme.
Many Lions Clubs across the country have taken to recognise this initiative as a means of fulfilling the motto 'we serve' and often fund this scheme from their own charity accounts.
If you know of anyone who could benefit from one of these small plastic bottles please do get in touch. You will find that we tend to have these on display at most if not all of our events and give them out free of charge, if you have a need for one now, please do get in touch by emailing [email protected].
Ordinary people doing amazing things
Source: Focus, October 2011
News from the Lions Den
Firstly, we must say a sincere thank you to everybody who came along to see us at the Edlesborough carnival on 2nd July. It was our fi rst 'public' event and we were made very welcome. We are delighted that so many of you came to say 'hello' and enjoyed our games. It was a milestone moment for this proposed new club to hand over our star prize of dinner for 4 at the Doubletree by Hilton when the winning ticket was pulled from the Treasure Island board!
In total we raised an impressive £190.00 from the day – every penny Lions earn is donated back into local causes and this new club will be no different!
The proposed club has decided to make it's fi rst donation to the Medical Detection Dogs in memory of a former Lion who sadly passed away earlier this year after a short battle with cancer.
Dogs are renowned for their sense of smell. For centuries doctors have know diseases have characteristic odours which, dogs may be able to detect. Cancer cells release small amounts of volatile substances. Cancer Detection Dogs are being trained to detect these volatiles, it is hoped that this work and research will enable scientists to develop an early cancer screening system.
Medical Alert Dogs are trained to assist individuals who manage complex medical conditions on a day to day basis. Dogs are taught to identify the odour changes that are associated with certain medical events. For example for someone living with diabetes, hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) or the avoidance of it can be a daily problem. Symptoms can vary from confusion, seizures to comas and be life threatening. Medical Alert Dogs are trained to recognise blood sugar levels outside the normal range. Dogs, once trained, can warn and get help before the symptoms are felt. They will bring their owner any necessary medical supplies such as glucose and blood testing kits and get help if necessary. They can also be trained to push alarm buttons.
Medical Detection Dogs provide alert dogs for those with other very dangerous health conditions including Addisonian crisis which causes severe pain, convulsions and unconsciousness. Pain seizures which lead to collapse and hospitalisation. Narcolepsy, a malfunction of the sleep/wake regulating system which causes sleep attacks and paralysis.
They are continuing to investigate other debilitating and potentially fatal conditions which dogs may have the ability to help with. These include severe allergic responses and migraines proving dogs really can be 'man's best friend'!
We are hoping to organise a presentation evening in the autumn to include a talk from the Medical Detection Dogs Team and perhaps a meeting with some of the dogs themselves. Full information will be circulated closer to the date once fi nal details have been confi rmed.
It was incredible to see how many of you got into the carnival spirit and decorated your houses – we don't envy the judges who had to choose which display was the best ! It is this very community spirit that convinces us that our proposal for a Lions club will be successful and we sincerely hope that more people will come forward and join us....We need at least 8 more members before we can become a fully functional Lions club so if you are interested or know anyone who may be, then please do get in touch. More information is available on our website www.ebelions.org.uk
Ordinary people doing amazing things
Source: Focus, August/September 2011
Lions Club
A proposal to launch a new Lions club in the village of Eaton Bray has been raised by a local resident and current Lions member.
Local residents are invited to an open evening being held on Wednesday 1st June at 7pm in the Eaton Bray village hall. Here you will be able to meet some Lions members of other clubs to find out more about the worthwhile activities that Lions partake in, including youth campaigns, diabetes research medic alert, speech, sight and hearing, and our famous message in a bottle campaigns to name just a few….
You will also be able to hear first hand about the fun Lions have as members of this international organisation including dinner dances, quiz nights, club outings etc.
So why organise a new Lions club here?
Our motto is ‘We Serve’. We have more volunteers in more places than any other service organisation in the world and since 1917, Lions clubs have offered people the opportunity to give something back to the communities they live and work in and to help those in need. Whenever a Lions club gets together, problems get smaller and communities get better. That’s because we help when help is needed both in our own communities and around the world with un-matched integrity and energy.
Over the years as community needs have increased, Lions have also broadened their focus towards humanitarian efforts. Each Lions club is autonomous and is free to choose projects and activities that fit the lifestyle of its members and impacts the community the greatest.
So come along and meet with us at 7pm on Wednesday 1st June to find out more about the work Lions do, the proposal to launch a club in your community and to see how you can get involved.
For more information, please contact Rachel on 01525 229 656.
Source: Focus, May 2011