How we Serve

Lions motto is "We Serve" - and as you can see from the items below, our club is pretty active in supporting those who are not so fortunate as ourselves.

Whilst the majority of this help tends to be financially based, we are also more than prepared to "get our hands dirty" by physically helping out, after all, service is not just about signing cheques.

Each month the club members meet in our Business Meeting (which anyone is welcome to attend) when amongst other items, we decide on how to distribute our funds. This is usually following appeals which we have received but can equally be a pro-active suggestion from a club member.

If you have something you feel that Lions could support, drop us a note via the contact us page and we will see if we can help. We cannot give a promise to support everything but we can guarantee that your request will be given consideration.

2023

JULY
	Newport Pagnell Carnival Lions Clubs are not just about fundraising, albeit that is an important activity for most clubs.   Our motto is "We Serve" and service is a vital aspect of our work.    A few years ago, the Newport Pagnell Carnival committee asked us if we would help them out by managing the car park associated with the event and we were delighted to do so.   This helped us establish ourselves in the town when we had all but vanished due to having few members residing there. So it was that we took on the task again this year and a number of us took up position in the car park to help drivers negotiate the obstacles and safely park their vehicles. This is a good opportunity to meet the folks of Newport Pagnell and we hope they may consider the
possibility of joining us as a member or friend of the club.   The more hands we have locally, the more we can do.
	Olney Riverfest Another annual event which we assist with is Olney Riverfest or as the old timers in the town know it, "The Raft Race". This event sees teams racing down the Ouse in home made rafts following the end of the annual Scouts Duck Race, from the weir to the bathing steps.
We were again donning our hi-viz jackets and managing the Car Park which had been set up in the Football Park, with an added incentive for us of being able to retain the parking fee which is levied for the event. A very busy day saw our members and friends helping around 200 Cars to safely park up and clear the ground when the occupants were heading home either victorious, dreaming of success next year or simply having enjoyed a great day out thanks to the excellent organisation of The Olney Group (TOG).   One of the many large scale events which makes Olney such a popular place to belong to.

JUNE
	MKID India Day Milton Keynes (IDMK) is a cultural, community-driven, not-for-profit, nonpolitical and non-religious organisation of the Indian Diaspora in Milton Keynes. The aim of IDMK is to showcase the “unity in diversity” of all communities through a cultural event held during the middle of British summer (usually the last weekend of June) with the objective of connecting & uniting communities,  leading to a more inclusive society. They promote Indian Cultural diversity through Art, Carnival and Cuisines.Promote & help local & international business through the organised events and provide a platform for youth to learn team building and leadership skills. The ultimate aim is for youth to organise and lead  future events.   The Lions Club of Milton Keynes Central became involved in the early planning of the event and  felt that Lions could become active in a service capacity.
Many of the other local clubs, including our own, volunteered to be marshalls, litter pickers, general helpers and, of course, promoting Lions..
	SHINE ZAMBIA One of our friends group and a potential member, indicated that he and his family were visiting the charity which was set up by his daughter (an ex Olney resident) and her husband, many years ago.    We were familiar with this charity when we supported it couple of years back by paying for a months food for the students.   This is often the only food that the children have as they often walk 2 hours or more to get to school and the same home.
One of the objectives of the family visit was to prepare a Chicken Meal with vegetables for the children as the majority of them had never tasted such food, their daily diet consisting of Maize and Rice.   Purchasing the food locally in Zambia, meant that prices were so low and it was very economical to prepare it for a very low sum.   The club, hearing of his plans, decided to step and and cover the cost of the food and so, Lions in the UK have helped Shine pupils to enjoy a unique meal in the birthplace of modern Lions of the 4 legged variety. Thanks Malcolm & Sue, we were delighted to help your culinary expedition.

MAY
	Recycling for the Environment Our club has become very active in encouraging our community to recycle a range of products Thanks to our Local Sainsbury Store who has allowed us to site a collection bin, this Lionistic year has seen us collect almost 5000 pairs of spectacles, 200+ hearing aids, over 100 printer cartridges, 30 mobile phones and over 80 kilo of foil medicine packs. The Spectacles are sent to Chichester Lions Club who arrange for them to be refurbished, tested and forwarded to charitable clinics and medical facilities in countries who have no NHS.   This meets one of the Lions main objectives to be "Knights of the Blind", a challenge thrown down to Lions in 1925, a challenge every Lions Club in the world helps keep alive.   Learn about Helen Keller by clicking on this link. Hearing Aids are sent to Dr Michael Nolan of the Starkey Hearing Foundation who refurbish them before distributing them through their International Hearing Missions in over 100 countries.  Dr Nolan, previously an executive with the Starkey Foundation, currently leads the International Lions Used Hearing Equipment Program and The Switch on the Sound Campaign,
Printer Cartridges and Mobile Phones are recycled via companies who pay us a sum which varies according to the condition of the item and this brings in a useful regular income to the club. Medicine blister packs were previously delivered to Superdrug in Milton Keynes who then recycled them via a large waste recycling company.    Unfortunately, we were delivering too many packs and the corporate decision was taken by Superdrug, to stop accepting large quantities.   Clearly there is a willingness for residents to stop these items from going into landfill and we have raised the issue with MK Council to see if they can work with Lions in the new City to introduce a formal program of recycling.   Meanwhile, we have had to suspend this particular program.  If you used our services in the past, please now dispose of your medicine blister packs in your landfill bag/bin.

April
	LCIF Appeal The climate change situation and the impact on the weather worldwide is resulting in our charitable foundation (LCIF) being called upon with increasing frequency to support Lions Clubs who are in areas which are affected by major catastrophes such as Flooding, Tsunami, Earthquakes and most recently, the tornadoes that hit portions of the Southern and Midwestern United States. When a devastating Tornado outbreak ripped through dozens of communities in Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Illinois and Indiana, LCIF swiftly responded by awarding grant funding to the Lions
clubs based in the immediate areas.   Additional support came from clubs throughout the Lions World, ours being no exception. Despite our own funds being lower than we would like, we still responded by sending a small donation to the appeal which will benefit from the activities of clubs many miles from the area affected.

March
	Newport Pagnell Scouts Jamboree An email from two local Scouts who had been selected to be part of the Buckinghamshire representative group at this years Scout Jamborees being held in a number of European Countries and the World Scout Jamboree taking part in South Korea was received. This was an enquiry to find out if the club would be willing to give some financial support to the 2 Scouts concerned as they have to raise many hundreds of ££s if they wished to take part.   Fundraising had bee carried out over many months and they were nearing the point where they had to have raised the necessary funds in order to confirm their places. They offered to come along and give us a presentation of the experiences and challenges they felt they would be facing and the personal and community benefits, they anticipated achieving.
Recognising the struggles of youth organisations in the current climate, the members felt that by 'giving them the floor' and listening to their presentation would in itself, provide an opportunity to extend their own development and so we enjoyed a well researched and presented hour which impressed us immensely.   Their efforts were rewarded when we gave each of the scouts a donation of £250 to help them obtain some of the vital clothing and accessories which they would need on the trip.  We are also looking forward to hearing how they got on when they return.
	Newport Pagnell Youth Club Not long after the Covid restrictions were lifted, we were approached by Newport Pagnell Youth Club who wanted to take a number of their members to an outward bound style event which was held at Caldecotte Lake.   We were happy to help but little did we know, the success of the event has spurred them on to make it an annual occurrence and this year, they are doubling the number they are taking so approached us for some further help.
Recognising the benefits of their past efforts, we were happy to pay for the additional numbers and hope that they have an equally good outcome this year.
	Syria/Turkey Earthquake The disastrous earthquake that struck both Syria and Turkey leaving many thousands dead, saw Lions International Foundation making a grant of $200,000 available to the clubs within Turkey, to help them provide the aid that they could. This photo shows a Lions 'tented' village which was erected within days of the disaster and since that initial response, Lions Clubs throughout the world have responded by making further donations via our LCIF charitable arm. Our own club has made a donation of £500 towards the fund and that will have already reached the stricken area by the time you are reading this article. Sadly, no Lions Clubs operate within Syria so  our main process of getting aid to that area not benefit
from the normal process, likely take longer and will not be administered by the local clubs.    For further information on how Lions International response works, click on this link to find out.
	Bonding Squares A number of the Women's Institute (WI) members in Olney embarked on a project to knit Bonding Squares which will be used in Maternity Hospitals/Units where premature babies often have to spend a significant part of their early weeks/months separated from their mother. The concept is simple, One Square being placed with a premature baby, the other is worn against the mothers skin.   The squares are swapped round every 12 hours or when the mum visits and this helps with the bonding process as both can smell the scent of the each other.
Many mums find that it really helps with expressing milk and keeping the scent of the baby close by, triggers the hormones which is so important in the breastfeeding process.    When the club heard of this initiative, we provide a small sum of £50 to help purchase the wool which is needed for these squares as unlike many knitting initiatives, these squares can't really use the end of balls and require the more expensive baby wool.
	Radcliffe Children's Hospital When our President learned of a young boy who lives in Olney and who was fundraising to thank the staff at Oxford's Radcliffe Children's Hospital who had given him a lengthy spell of treatment following him having sustained a broken femur, we decided to give his fundraising a boost by awarding him a donation of £100. Encouraging the youth to carry out community work is vital for the future in a world where it appears that thinking of others and saying thank you is rapidly becoming a thing of the past.
Our small donation, we hope, will help him to reach his target quicker than he would otherwise have done and show that others in the community appreciate his wish to help those who helped him.

February
	Turkey/Syria Earthquake The earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria devastated communities, homes and families. When a humanitarian crisis of this magnitude strikes, Lions and Lions International are among the first to respond. LCIF quickly awarded a US$200,000 grant to the Lions Clubs in Turkey, who are providing 16 prefab container buildings to the Hatay Province in southeastern Turkey to create a Lions Village for earthquake survivors.  As relief needs continue to emerge, additional grants may be awarded and clubs such as our own
will be making their decisions on whether to support this project and if so, how much they will be sending to Lions Clubs International Foundation.
	Woodland Trust Lions Clubs International encourage clubs to employ activities which help our environment at a time when the effects of Climate Change are being experienced throughout the world. With more than 1.4 million members, Lions have a powerful voice. And around the world, Lions are using that voice to raise awareness about climate change and mobilize. In 2011, then International President Wing-Kun Tam challenged Lions to plant one million trees. They responded by planting 15 million in every inhabited continent and have continued to plant millions more since.  Having already planted ovre 20 trees within Olney & Newport Pagnell and have made previous donations to the Woodland Trust in previous years, we decided to run our affiliation program once again.
We, once again, pledged a donation to the Trust for each 2023 calendar which we sold and this has resulted in us being able to send a further £150 to the Woodland Trust.

January
	Ukrainian Refugees receive another donation The continuing war in Ukraine has entered another stage which is seeing a further evacuation of refugees fleeing the country to the safety of neighbouring states. This has seen our Charity Foundation (LCIF) making further donations to the Lions clubs within the
countries bordering the conflict.  The total sent to Lions Clubs in the Countries receiving Refugees as at January 2023 was over $2.8m (£2.3m). Additional grants have been made to partner organisations where specific skills are needed of $1.08m (£883k). A further £500 donation from our club has been made which brings the total sent by us to £1800.
	Unseen UK Olney celebrated the 250th Anniversary of the composition of Amazing Grace, probably one of the most famous songs composed by the Revd. John Newton in the weeks leading up to his New Year’s Day service at the church of St Peter & St Paul in Olney. The hymn has gone on to inspire countless people and has become famous around the world as it tells the story of Newton himself, once a Slave Trader turned Abolitionist.  One of our friends group suggested that we should look to find a charity which works to eliminate slavery and its successor, Modern Slavery as that would be approriate cause for us to support at this particular time. Our research found Unseen Uk, a charity which has the aim of eliminating Modern Slavery and
Exploitation.    Although based in Bristol, it provides safehouses and support in the community for survivors of trafficking and modern slavery including the establishment  of the UK Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline.   Also working with individuals, communities, business, governments, other charities and statutory agencies it provides skills and consultation to many organisations to stamp out modern slavery and exploitation for good.
	Warm Rooms Scheme A network of warm rooms has been set up in response to concerns about people becoming isolated and to help many counter the impact of soaring heating bills. By offering free, warm spaces for people to spend time in, the scheme allows them to save money on their heating bills and also guard against loneliness
Locally we identified 9 such areas in the towns and surrounding villages and having had a large number of boxes of biscuits left over from our Christmas Gift project, decided to spread these out amongst the areas we had identified.
	Olney Community Allotments We received an appeal from the Olney Community Allotments Association cfor some financial support as they were raising funds to help them purchase a lawnmower for the general use of the allotment holders. .    We discussed the matter and the general consensus was to make a donation towards the equipment they wanted.   As they reach their target, they know that we have committed a sum to help them turn their dream into reality, hopefully in time for the spring bringing everything to life again.
	Senior Citizens Christmas Gift Each year, the club has purchased a small box of biscuits and hand delivered them to those who we know about. This year we found many of our old friends missing, thanks to a number having succumbed to Covid, flu or simply having moved into a care home which  is available  now moved dad into  with family

Why not become involved? 

The Lions club can only be as active as numbers allow and we will always welcome help - you don't need to become a member to help us make a difference in the community.    We are always on the scrounge for people who may be willing to give an hour or so at the events we are involved with as the old proverb "Many hands make light work" is never truer than when we are fully stretched in our service activities. 

Register with us as one of our "Friends" and we will keep you in touch with the plans we have and the social events we organise, there really is no better way to become part of the community we live in.  Registering is simple.   Just click on the link to our Contact Page , type "Can I help?" and someone will be in touch with details of how you can become involved - remember, your only commitment will be to come and help when you have both the time and inclination....not everything we do is suitable for everyone.