We spent £27,500 to help good causes in our last Lions' year:
(PLEASE USE OUR 'CONTACT US' TAB ABOVE IF YOU NEED A MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE & are unsure how to get one)
"Serving the community" describes the rationale of all Lions Clubs, and in particular the Lions Club of Fleet. Our Club responds to the needs of our local community, whether this is in the form of financial assistance, hands-on involvement or organisational skills.
Congratulations to Petersfield Lions on an outstanding SpecTrek. A record total of 138,148 pairs of used spectacles have been collected this year for redistributing to needy people all over the world. Lion Grahame Pullen coordinates the collection for Fleet Lions and is pictured here delivering 4,000 pairs of specs donated by Fleet residents and collected by local opticians and others.
We provided 125 food parcels to help make some local peoples' Christmas a little better. Morrisons kindly loaned us part of their warehouse so we could pack them.
And what a marvellous carol concert it was!
We receive requests from groups, local organisations or individuals to help them either to achieve a worthwhile project, or assist them in times of hardship or disability.
There are a number of levels in which the Club and our members meet these requests, it may be in the form of a cash donation to help a local charity or service organisation purchase some vital equipment. For example a specialised bed for a Hospice, or tenting kit for a local Scout Group.
At another level it may require a number of our members helping to move furniture, or decorating the rooms of a disadvantaged local resident. Or simply taking an otherwise solitary and infirm person for a drive in the country.
RECENT DONATIONS (2023-24)
- Fleet Phoenix – young people's summer activities: £5000
- Lions Special Family Day Out at Marwell Zoo: £2000
- Lions Funfest for the disabled: £1500 (of £8500 total)
- Xmas hampers for the needy: £4900
- Prostate screening blood tests: £4800
- Special wheelchair: £1000
- New toilet for Samaritans: £1000
- Lions Community Store: £1500 (of a lot more!)
- Reader pens for children with reading difficulties: £1100
- Dictionaries for infants: £700
- Lions' international disaster relief/sight issues/clean water: £2000
- Band for Remembrance Parade: £400
- Helping with utilities bills (donated from Winter Fuel Allowances): £4500
- Pollinators seeds for schools and public: £600
- Lions national school science project (ROAR): £1100
- Hart Youth Achievement Awards: £500
- Lions Christmas concert: £500
- Playschool decking replacement (with our labour): £400
- Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice: £500
- Air Ambulance: £500
- Hampshire Search and Rescue: £500
The Club's experience in organising and manning events is also called on by local groups and organisations to assist them in their own fundraising or charitable functions.
Whilst the prime objective of Fleet Lions Club is help within the local community, being part of a worldwide service organisation provides the Club with the opportunity to contribute to international needs. We support Lions International initiatives in fields of Sight Conservation through the funding of Eye Camps in the subcontinent of SE Asia and India, and the funding of fresh water well installations in Africa. And we recently donated £100, that with matched funding from the Loomba Foundation, will provide eight sewing machines to allow widows in India to earn a living.The international coverage of 44,500 Lions clubs ensures a local presence to oversee the correct and judicious use of all funding.
Serving the community is the reason that inspires people to become Lions, putting something back into the local community and making a difference to someone's life is the reward that our members consistently achieve.
Within the Club a Community Services Committee vets all applications and requests before submission to the Club for approval. This to ensure the validity, and to confirm that assistance cannot otherwise be obtained from Central or Local Government agencies, or specific National Charitable Organisations.
Meetings
The Community Services Committee usually meets on the third Wednesday of each month at 8:00pm at:
various locations
