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The Northleach and Fosse Lions Club
www.northleachandfosselions.org.uk
The Lions’ motto is ‘We Serve’.
Northleach Lions Club meets on
the second Tuesday of each month for its business meeting. The venue is
the Red Lion Inn in Northleach starting at 8.00pm. All interested are
welcome to attend.
The Lions’ mission statement
To create and foster a spirit of understanding among all people for
humanitarian needs by providing voluntary services through community
involvement and international co-operation.
Some background
The International Association of Lions Clubs was founded by
Melvin Jones in Chicago on 7th June 1917. The first Lions club
in the UK was formed in London on 29th December 1949. The Northleach and Fosse Lions Club was founded in 1989 and is part of
what is termed District 105W, which in turn is part of Multiple District
105 – the British Isles and Ireland – itself part of the world-wide
International Association of Lions Clubs. District 105W currently (September 2003) contains 66 Lions clubs with a
membership in excess of 1,100. The District includes most of south Wales and the coverage continues
across the English-Welsh border to form a roughly semi-circular area
around the estuary of the River Severn. East of the Severn the clubs
defining the District borders are Leominster to the north, Marlborough to
the east and Frome to the south. What follows is a brief outline as to the aims of the Northleach and
Fosse Lions Club and Lions generally, how the Club is run, and its
purpose.
Who are the Lions?
Well, absolutely anyone. You don’t have to be well off, a
‘professional’ person or especially skilled to be one a Lion. You simply
need a commitment towards a common cause – serving your community. There
is no affiliation to any political or religious body. The Club welcomes both men and women as members and there is also a
strong tradition of participation, help and support by Lions’ partners for
fund raising events and social events.
What does membership cost?
Lions membership
now £25.00 per half year
What would my commitment be?
As much time as you wish to give within the bounds of your own
life style and commitments to your family, work and financial constraints.
Members attend as many business meetings, fund raising activities and
social events as they can.
How is the club run?
The Club has a business meeting at 8pm on the second Tuesday of
every month at the Wheatsheaf Inn. The Club members elect their principle officers - president, secretary
and treasurer each year. There are small sub-committees to cover such
aspects as activities (ie fund raising), welfare and social, each with
their own chairperson. Every member is allocated to a committee and so all
members participate in the active running of the Club. The members also
enjoy regular social events.
How do Lions raise money?
The principle sources for fund raising in the Club’s area are
probably the Christmas collections at the various supermarkets, but in
addition members man the gates at local events, sell programmes at the
Moreton-in-Marsh Show, run stalls at a number of local fetes and galas, as
well as organising concerts and various other activities throughout the
year.
Where does the money go?
The club exists to respond to any genuine need brought to its
notice, either with practical or financial help. Northleach and Fosse
Lions Club have a proud tradition of donations and service, mainly to
local communities. Examples include recent donations to the Northleach Medical Centre, the
James Hopkins Trust, Macmillan Cancer Relief, Edward’s Trust, Huntington’s
Disease Association, the Family Haven, Ability Exploration, Hospice Care
Kenya and the Northleach youth football team. The Club has provided many soft toy lions for Gloucestershire Ambulance
Service NHS Trust ambulances, so that the crew can give one of the toys to
comfort any child unfortunate enough to need to be transported by
ambulance – and it’s theirs to keep. Many people will now be aware of the ‘Bottle in the Fridge’ scheme.
Organised and distributed by Lions, this is a completely free system where
vital medical information regarding elderly patients is stored in a small
plastic bottle in that person’s refrigerator. Paramedics know to look for
this information in an emergency situation and already there have
practical examples of the scheme being of vital and practical use. Some donations are made in response to Lions International appeals,
such as the worldwide eradication of preventable blindness, helping to
provide clean water in drought-ridden areas, sleeping bags for the street
children of South America and the Central European Flood Disaster fund. It is worth stressing that the club itself is entirely self-financing
by means of members’ subscriptions, raffles and social events organised
for that purpose, so that all the money from fund raising
activities goes to worthy causes and not to Club administration.
And the social side?
While Lions raise money to give away, they have fun doing so.
Fund raising events are often hard work, but being part of a team is very
rewarding, as is the knowledge that the money being raised is all going to
worthy causes. The Club’s wide selection of regular social events includes picnics,
barbeques, meals at local venues, skittle evenings, quiz nights and visits
to local places of interest. There are also two annual formal dinners at
local venues.
What is the membership procedure?
If you wish to learn more about the club and its activities,
ask to come along to a business meeting to see what goes on. Lions are in no way a ‘secret society’, after attending three business
meetings, your application will be considered by the club members in the
usual manner of clubs and societies. A short simple ceremony at the next
business meeting will suffice to induct and welcome you as a member of the
International Association of Lions Clubs.
Still like to know more?
If you would like further information about the Northleach and
Fosse Lions Club, please ring the president. He will be
pleased to try to answer your queries and perhaps take you along to a
meeting.
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The Objectives of Lions Clubs International
TO CREATE and foster a spirit of
understanding among the peoples of the world.
TO PROMOTE the principles of good
government and good citizenship.
TO TAKE an active interest in the civic,
cultural, social and moral welfare of the community.
TO UNITE the clubs in the bonds of
friendship, good fellowship and mutual understanding.
TO PROVIDE a forum for open discussion of
all matters of public interest, provided however, that partisan
politics and sectarian religion shall not be debated by club
members.
TO ENCOURAGE service minded people to serve
their community without personal financial reward and to encourage
efficiency and promote high ethical standards in commerce, industry,
professions, public works and private endeavours.
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