Click the button above to make a donation to the work of the Lions at any time
Our recent Quiz Night was a great success
Look out for next year's quiz so you don't miss out
And now for something completely different!
Lion Philip Barry MJF has achieved his goal of collecting 100,000 used spectacles for recycling in other countries where spectacles make the difference betweeen being able to work and provide for your family or not and where children can wear them to make the most of educational opportunities.
.jpg)
Congratulations Philip
SANTA AND HIS SLEIGH 2022
with grateful thanks to all his helpers, Select Car Leasing and the generosity of residents a record sum was raised which has enabled us to donate over £7,000 to the Woodley and Earley foodbanks.
FIREWORKS EVENT 2022 A HUGE SUCCESS
Thank you to all those who attended and to all those who helped. A fantastic evening was had by all and a wonderful £21,000 was raised for local good causes. Watch a video here https://youtube.com/shorts/XtsJtx43VMA?feature=share
.jpg)
Ordinary people coming together to do extraordinary things in the local community."
We are Woodley & Earley Lions: a group of diverse and friendly personalities with a common, like-minded desire to help local groups and individuals in need. We also have fun whilst we’re at it, forging meaningful friendships that may last a lifetime. You may have seen our Fire Work Extravaganza at Laurel Park, or our Santa’s Sleigh winding its way through the local streets every Christmas.
We are part of the wider national and international Lions Club organisation; the largest service club organisation in the world, with more than 1.4 million members in approximately 46,000 clubs in more than 200 countries around the world.
Our particular club, a registered charity, has been in existence for 42 years, and over that time we have raised over £1 million through fundraising events both large and small. Every penny of that money has then been distributed to worthy causes – the young, the elderly and the disadvantaged - not bad for a local charity club!
Our club has a strong membership of dedicated Lions who mostly live in or near the Woodley and Earley area, with some of us from further afield, but we are all united in pride to be members of a club that helps the local community. It's not all work, as we enjoy ourselves with a varied, fun and active social scene whilst doing great work that makes a difference.
Want to make a difference to those in your community less fortunate then yourself? Then joining the Woodley & Earley Lions could be for you!
Nothing we do would be possible without people like you, and we are always looking for new members to join us. We hold our meetings at 7.30pm on the 3rd Tuesday of each month at The Castle Inn, Hurst (Also over zoom!).
The recent months of the unprecedented lockdown have shown us that there is a vast amount of goodwill in our community and a willingness to volunteer, so please come and help us continue that good work and make a real difference!
If you wish to find out more about us (and hopefully, to join us) please feel free to come and sit in on one of our meetings to get a feel for it with no obligation or pressure to join; you’ll be most welcome!
|
If you are interested in finding out more, please contact Mike Tarling using the details below: Call: 0345 833 9863 or Email: mike.j.tarling@gmail.com |
Alternatively please message us via our Facebook page - a great way to keep up to date with all the great work we are doing in the community.
Woodley and Earley Lions Club (CIO)
A Brief Summary
Formed in 1980 by Reading Lions Club (our Mother Club) to serve the local area between Wokingham and Reading, which was seeing a huge expansion in development at the time.
All Lions Clubs are part of Lions International, the largest volunteer service organisation in the World, with Clubs in over 200 Countries, and with over 1,500,000 members.
All Lion members are volunteers who freely give their time to help the Local Community.
All Clubs whilst independently run by their own members, operate under the umbrella, principles and guidelines set out by Lions International, who cover all Clubs and members with Third Party and Public Liability Insurance during the course of their service, and can provide additional specialist legal and insurance advice when required.
All Lions Clubs fund their own Club overheads and running costs via their own Club membership fees (currently £75.00 per year, per member) with members also funding their own personal expenses (time, vehicle, fuel, telephone, postage, etc)
100% of all net money raised by the Club, from any Charity event, is set aside for Charitable use.
The only costs allowed to be set against the gross take from any event, would be for those services that members cannot/do not provide themselves:
Venue hire, storage costs for its own equipment, specialist equipment hire, event products used, Fireworks, food etc.
100% of all freely given donations go into our Charity account with no deductions at all.
Thus the Club has zero running/overhead costs to its Charity fund, as the Club is completely self funded by its own members, a rather unusual set up in todays World.
Many other Charitable organisations operate with very significant expenses, with office, management/overhead costs, including advertising, wages, salaries, commissions all being paid for out of their fundraising income/contributions.
Over 95% of all money we raise is spent within the local community, with a small balance spent on Lions International Humanitarian projects.
Find below an outline only of both local, and International causes that we have helped and contributed to over the years.
Local Projects Funded by Woodley and Earley Lions Club:
Local Community Readibus
MS Society, Mini Bus.
Woodley Specials, Mini Bus.
Addington Special School, Mini Bus.
First Responders, fully equipped emergency vehicle.
Royal Berks Hospital and Doctors surgeries, supported with diagnostic equipment.
Blood Bike purchased for urgent local transfer of Blood/Transplant organs.
Woodley Respite Care Centre, Sensory Room and Garden.
Age Concern, Fully Equipped Respite Care Room
Launchpad, Refurbished and Equipped Family Room.
Addington Special School, Funded a Hydrotherapy Pool and Building.
Earley Crescent Community Centre, Furnished and equipped the Cafe.
Earley Special needs Care Centre, Air conditioning equipment installed.
Naomi House Children’s Hospice, fully equipped family room.
Alexandra Devine Children’s Hospice, Funding towards the building cost.
Alexandra Devine Children’s Hospice, Funding towards Travelling Nurse salary.
Local Woman’s Refuge, Funding for Mattresses and bed linen
Local Churches, furniture for meeting rooms.
Many different Scout, Girl Guides, Sea Scouts, and Air Cadets groups, supplied and supported with a whole range of equipment/tents etc.
A number of Local Football, Netball and Gymnastic Clubs, supplied and supported with sports kits, equipment, etc.
Local Choirs, supported with Music sheets and tee shirts.
Local Youth Clubs/Groups, supported with equipment.
Local Schools, supplied with equipment.
Local Foodbanks, supported on an ongoing basis.
Vulnerable local victims of crime supported with family respite holidays.
Vulnerable local victims of crime supported with additional security equipment.
Local Special Needs Families, supported with respite day outings/holidays
Local areas in both Woodley and Earley supplied with Defibrillators.
Local Age concern type groups, funding for day outings.
Local Nursing Homes, funded with equipment.
Local Nursing Homes, help on Funding for residents Christmas Party’s.
RBH Hospital, help on Funding for Kiddies Christmas Party’s.
Local needy residents, supply of Christmas Food Hampers.
Local Special needs Children, help with attending National Special Olympics.
Very many vulnerable families supported with Cookers, Washing Machines, Fridges, etc, via Local Social Services requests.
Numerous Local Individuals supported with the purchase of specialist/motorised wheelchairs, stair lifts, and scooters.
Numerous Local individuals supported with a whole range of in house mobility aids and equipment.
Local Tree Planting Scheme, Funding for School project.
Message in a Bottle Project, funded and run to help Emergency Services.
In addition to all of the above the Club have also made contributions to many other Organisations which serve the Local Community:
Laurel Park Foundation.
Just around the Corner.
First Days.
Me2 Club.
Camp Mohawk
Local Citizens Advice Bureau
Red Cross
St Johns Ambulance
Volunteer Drivers Scheme
World Disasters/Projects which we have helped to fund via Lions International:
Asian Tsunami
Earthquakes in Napal, Haiti.
Refugees in Ukraine.
Sight First Campaign.
The Sight First Campaign/Spectrek initiative, where the Club collect old and no longer required spectacles, clean and box them up for ongoing transit to our dedicated UK collection point, where they are sorted, graded, repaired, labelled and repackaged, before being sent on Via Lions International to Third World Countries. They are then matched and distributed for free to local needy residents who have poor and deteriorating eyesight, so they can be helped back into more normal life and work.
To date our Club has provided over 95,000 pairs of such specs, changing and improving the lives of that many people and their families.
It should also be noted that any funds that are sent by our Club to Lions International, are passed on in full (without any deduction for overheads/expenses) to the appropriate Lions Clubs in the affected areas for direct local assistance.
Local Lions Clubs in the areas involved will always have better contacts than outsiders who are trying to help, as local knowledge and contacts are the key to speed, and often the most cost effective key for the purchasing and supply of much needed equipment and or specialist services.
Just by way of information Lions International are one of the prime Non Governmental Agencies (NGO) recognised by the United Nations with whom sometimes we work.
Over the years the Club has had five of its members presented with a Melvyn Jones Fellowship award (the highest award possible) from Lions International, for Dedicated Humanitarian Services. Picture is of Past President and current Secretary Mike Tarling receiving his award from District Governor Dave Ebsworth in 2022.
.jpg)
Three of those members are still serving in the Club to date.
Our Club have organised and run many Fundraising and Community events over the years, the largest being the Annual Public Firework display at Laurel Park, Lower Earley.
The most lengthy being the month long adventure by Santa and his Sleigh, touring the local streets, and with static displays at many Supermarket locations.
Santa’s present sleigh was built by the students and staff at Maiden Erleigh School as a Lions fully funded design and build project, and it has featured in a Charity Christmas pop song by a local musician, the proceeds of which went to Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital.
The Club would like to thank the many local businesses, organisations, friends of Lions and members of the public, who support the Club throughout the year, some of whom are listed below:
Woodley Town Centre Management.
Woodley Town Council
Earley Town Council
Wokingham Borough Council
Thames Valley Police
Local Councillors.
Laurel Park Football Club.
Volker Highways
Rapid Hire
Earley Neighbourhood Action Group (NAG)
Associated Asphalt
The Castle Inn (Hurst)
The Woodley and Earley Lions Club is an approved Charity, is Registered with the Charity Commission, and to date has raised over £1,000,000 for local needy causes.
Lions Clubs International is the world's largest service club organization with more than 1.4 million members in approximately 46,000 clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas around the world.
