Fundraising
The activities detailed below are only a small example of the what we do to produce our income which lets us support the individuals, charities and organisations we help. These are not the only means we use to raise funds as you can find us at School Gala days, Fetes, BBQs and anywhere else can get a presence - have a look at our Calendar for details of these 'extra curricular' events.
Lions, unlike many charities, use none of the cash given to us for administration. The costs of running the club are met entirely by the members own subscriptions and personal fundraising activities so you can be sure that when you donate £1 to a Lions club, that entire £1 will be used for the benefit of others less well off than yourself.
Dickens of a Christmas
This is a major fundraiser and takes place during December when around 3000 people attend our Craft Fayre located in the Olney Centre.
The Fayre is part of Dickens of a Christmas - an outdoor event organised by Olney Town Council, Chamber of Trade and a number of other interested parties including Lions. A truly fun day which sees retailers, market traders, entertainers and a others dressing up in traditional Victorian costume to welcome residents and visitors to the town.
To have a look at one of our past events which helped the club raise over £5000 for our charity account, click here.
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Our Town Calendars
Following a scary meeting when one of our members suggested that the club should produce a town calendar along the lines of that famous nude calendar created by the genteel ladies of the WI but fortunately for our customers, shyness amongst the mainly male membership put paid to the idea.
The seed was sown, however and out of the small acorn, has grown an annual town calendar for each of our two towns.
They vary in format but sales are on the increase and we can usually expect in excess of £3000 each year thanks to sponsors, the local retailers and our very generous public who buy them.
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The Lions Toast.
One of our members, a Scot funnily enough, suggested one evening that we could run a whisky tasting to raise funds. As every meeting finishes with us having a Toast to Lions Clubs International, so the brand of our event became established as "The Lions toast". From these early days when around 25 people came along, we now have over 70 on our list with most events having at least 50 attendees. Find out more about the event which we have run by clicking here and if you would like to be added to our distribution list or to hear about other events which have extended to Gin and Wine, simply visit our Contact Us page and ask us to add you to our list.
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Motorama
One of the major events in the Olney calendar, is our Motorama event. This is the day when cars from all ages converge on the Market Place and surrounding streets in a display of colour, power and nostalgia.
If you would like to see some of the exhibits from our previous events, view the Motorama pages
If you have a car you would like to bring along to our next event please reach out to us via our contact page!
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Collecting Cans
Visit many of the retailers in either of the two towns or surrounding area and you may see one of our bright yellow collecting cans sitting on the counter or back shelf. Dropping a few coins into these mounts up for us and this is rapidly providing a significant annual income.
The cans are regularly emptied so you can be sure your money will not be gathering dust for too long before it is recycled for the good of others.
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Street Collection
Once a year in October, we take part in the Milton Keynes wide 'Lions Street Collection' which sees Lions from all clubs in the Borough of Milton Keynes dusting off our spare collection cans and facing the elements as we give local people the opportunity of dropping a coin or two into our collecting cans.
The cash is welcome, obviously, but so too is the chance to chat to those who so happily help us financially and we have, through this activity, found out about a number of good causes which we have gone on to support both in a financial sense and by actual service work.
If you see one of our members or friends battling against the rain, snow or wind (or just enjoying the sunshine) do go up and say hello, drop a few coins in the box and find out what we are currently doing.
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Online Sales
On-Line purchasing is becoming common place and our club have teamed up with Easyfundraising to generate much needed funds from those using the web in Preference to mail order or visiting stores.
Anyone purchasing on-line from any of over 600 outlets, can register to support our Lions club and we will get a percentage of your purchase straight into our charity account.
A brilliant opportunity to support us AT NO COST to yourself.
For further details take a trip to our Easyfundraising page.
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Web Searching = Funds
How often do you use Google, Yahoo, Ask.com or any of the many different search engines?
We have linked up to Easysearch which means that we earn a small revenue, every time one of our supporters uses the easysearch engine. Many searches = a good revenue and we would encourage anyone who wants to help us at no cost, to use this facility in preference to any other.
Find out how you could help us bring in more revenue by visiting our Easysearch page.
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Printer Cartridge/Mobile Phone Recycling
You can help us raise funds by recycling your old printer cartridges and mobile phones.
How?
It's easy. Simply visit one of our recycling points which are listed if you follow this link.
Alternatively just give us your contact details and we will get a supply to you which will not only see you helping Lions but also helps the environment at the same time.
Two feelgood factors for the price of None! Can't be bad, can it?
Why not help us out with some Time?
We are a small club which does an amazing amount of good work in the Local, National and International communities.
We need help, however, and would ask you to consider joining our 'Friends of Lions".
A couple of hours of your time at key points in our Calendar can make life so much easier for all our members and who knows, once you get to know us, you may find you want a more permanent link into the life of Lions. Remember Lions can be of any sex, young, old, any religion, no religion and all we ask is that you want to put something back into the community.
For further information drop us a note via our contact page and someone will get back to you.