Wokingham Lions Club has about 35 like-minded members, both male and female, dedicated to supporting the local community and having fun doing it!
We generally meet at 8pm on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of every month. The first meeting each month is held at Wokingham Cricket Club and is a business meeting where we agree the ways in which we can support the community. We organise many fund-raising events, some of which can be seen here. The money we raise is used to support local charities and individuals in need, some of which can be seen here. We also run ongoing projects to support those in need, as described here.
The second meeting each month is generally a social evening. You can see some of the fun we have by clicking here.
During the coronavirus pandemic we are unable to hold normal meetings so we instead meet on Zoom:
Wokingham Lions Club is part of Lions Club International, which is the largest charitable service organisation in the world. It was formed in 1917 to offer people the opportunity to give something back to their communities. Today it has more than 1.4 million members belonging to 46,000 clubs in over 200 countries.
Forthcoming Events
We are living through unprecedented times that have forced us to cancel virtually all future live events. We hope to resume our fund-raising efforts as soon as possible so we can continue to support local good causes. In the meantime please support us through our online quiz:
The Great #Woky Quiz
Thursday evenings, 29 October, 26 November, 17 December, 28 January
Following the success of the weekly quizzes run during lock-down (which raised over £5,000 for the Wokingham Hub) we are now running monthly quizzes, on the last Thursday of each month.
STOP-PRESS: We are now holding extra quizzes in the lead-up to Christmas to support those in need over the festive period. The first will be on Thursday 19th November, in aid of Link Visiting
There are no prizes – it’s all for fun. We do, however, invite you to make a small donation so we can support local charities. Click here to donate
Everyone is welcome to join in, so come yourself and invite friends and family to make teams. Create a Zoom meeting and you can get together with distant friends and family to socialise while competing. For instructions click here
To join the quiz at 8:00pm, follow this link: fb.com/wokinghamlions/live
Proceeds from the first five quizzes will be donated to charities conforming with the five Lions Global Causes:
24th Sept – Childhood Cancer: Ollie Young Foundation
29th Oct – Vision: Berkshire Vision
26th Nov – Diabetes: Diabetes UK Reading Local Group
17th Dec – Hunger: Wokingham Food Bank
28th Jan – Environment: Growing Places
Click here to donate
Recent Events
Monday 26 October 2020: Quiz proceeds donated to the Ollie Young Foundation
Proceeds from the Wokingham Lions Club virtual pub quiz in September have been donated to the Ollie Young Foundation (OYF), a local charity which funds targeted paediatric brain tumour research and support. Nigel Page, president of the Lions club, presented a cheque for £320 to Sarah Simpson, founder of OYF.
Sarah Simpson said: “We are extremely grateful to the Wokingham Lions Club for their support through this extraordinary time. Their efforts and selflessness are what gives charities like ours the little boost we need. Thank you to all those who took part in the virtual quiz. Thank you to Ian for hosting yet another great evening, and to all those who donated to our charity too. We very much appreciate it.”
Sunday 6 September 2020: The Wokingham Walk
“We are very pleased with the turnout, as well as the weather, for our annual Wokingham Walk on 6th September. Participating in the walk were 250 people, of all ages. They walked different routes of 5, 10 and 15 miles, starting and ending at Elms Field. It was a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the beautiful countryside around Wokingham and support a worthy cause,” said Andy Slay, organiser of the event.
He added: “We raised £2,715 for the event, and all of it has been donated to Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice Service. In addition, a number of walkers raised their own sponsorships for different charities. Two walkers set up team sponsorship pages for Alexander Devine and raised an additional £961, bringing the total to £3,676. The teams were the Moving Mamas (£385) and the Lloyd Family (£576).”
Alexander Devine’s CEO and Co-founder, Fiona Devine, said: “Our deepest thanks to the Wokingham Lions Club for all their hard work in organising such a wonderful and fun event. It is no mean feat to organise an event like this in such challenging times, and we really appreciate all the effort that went into making sure the event went ahead, and the amazing amount of money it raised for our charity. What a real difference this money will make to the seriously-ill children and their families that we support. Indeed, it could help fund over 100 hours of much-needed respite for our families.”
And the walk, coronavirus permitting, will be back as usual next year on the Sunday after the Wokingham May Fayre.
28 July 2020: Town Mayor Tony Lack inducted as an honorary member
Town Mayor Tony Lack was inducted as an honorary member of the Wokingham Lions Club outside the Town Hall, observing social distancing. President Nigel Page and Membership Director John Cleary welcomed him to the club.
“We are delighted to welcome Cllr Town Mayor Tony Lack as an honorary member of the Wokingham Lions Club. We have always been closely associated with supporting local charities and the local community. We greatly value working with both the Wokingham Town Council and the Wokingham Borough Council,” said Mr. Page.
The underlying principle of the Lions Club is to serve the community, and as a worldwide organization, it has been doing this for more than 100 years,” Mr. Cleary said. Mayor Tony Lack said: “It was such a privilege to be inducted into the Wokingham Lions by their President, Nigel Page, and Membership Director, John Cleary, today. Wokingham Town, not just the Council, really appreciates the work that the Lions do year in, year out, to support local charities, by running some of the best events around.”
He added: “It is very sad that we were not able to enjoy the May Fayre, and we know that many other events will be at risk, but the success of the Great Woky Pub Quiz just showed what the Lions can do when they need to. I look forward to keeping up with the Lions and supporting them in their future events, whatever those might look like.”
March – July: The Great Wokingham Virtual Pub Quiz
The Great Wokingham Virtual Pub Quiz was a Lion’s roaring success! For 14 weeks during the lock-down we ran a quiz every Thursday. Everyone was welcome to join in, with the request that they make a small voluntary donation. We typically had over 200 teams each week. Many teams were made up of friends and relatives getting together on Zoom, so the quiz gave them the opportunity to have a vitual social gathering to relieve the boredom of lock-down. The competition between teams was fierce, even though there were no prizes!
As well as providing a brain-testing exercise each week the object of the quiz was to raise money for the Wokingham Hub, which brings together Wokingham Borough Council, Involve Community Services, Citizens Advice, Wokingham Volunteer Centre, The Link Visiting Scheme, First Days, Wokingham Foodbank, Age UK Berkshire, Local Churches and others. Together they provided food and toiletries to residents suffering through the coronavirus crisis.
We raised an amazing total of £5,500 for the Wokingham Hub from the quiz.
Wokingham Lions Club is deeply indebted to one of our members, Ian Grange, for organising this event and acting as quizmaster. He was assisted by various other members who dreamt up challenging questions. We would also like to thank Wokingham Borough Council, Love Wokingham, the Wokingham Paper, Bracknell News and BBC Berkshire for their support in helping to publicise the event, and local band The FiLF for providing some of the music rounds.
25 June 2020: New president
T
raditionally we have an annual charter celebration and handover luncheon to welcome a new president at the beginning of July. That was not possible this year due to the Coronavirus epidemic, so outgoing President Lyn Baily and new President Nigel Page met outdoors for the handover ceremony. The chain of office was presented on a two-metre tape measure!
Lyn said: “My biggest challenge was obviously leading our response to the Coronavirus epidemic. Decisions had to be made regarding the cancellation of our May Fayre in this special year, which was scheduled for 8 May, the same day as the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe. Although I was personally disappointed, it was necessary to unite members in our response, and to ensure that we managed the financial risk, whilst at the same time maintaining our goodwill. Fortunately, the May Fayre team made sure that this was managed superbly.”
“With the support of Ian Grange and his now legendary virtual quizzes, plus a £1000 grant from Lions District, we have now donated £5500 to the Wokingham Borough Community Hub. The Hub and their volunteers distribute much needed food and essential supplies to those in need in our community,” she added.
“We are a happy club, and one of the main reasons I became a Lion was to extend our friendship group. We have enjoyed a great deal of social outings with fellow Lions, as well as balls, treasure hunts and themed evenings. We have also enjoyed parties, dinners, BBQs and drinks with good friends we have made through the club,” she said.
Nigel said: “Taking over the reins from Lyn is not easy. Lyn has been an excellent president over the last twelve months. Her enthusiasm for projects like supporting local scouts and youth, charities like School Days, and more recently the Wokingham Hub, have been an inspiration. Thank you, Lyn, you have been great to work with.”
“We now find ourselves in a different world, full of change. Raising funds will be our most challenging task, and Ian’s brilliant Woky Pub Quiz has shown the way that we can find different ways to raise money. The remaining months of 2020 are still unpredictable, but I know that we will adapt and succeed in our efforts. We have an amazingly experienced and dedicated team, and I for one, greatly value the friendship, humour and energy of my fellow Lions,” he added.
Easter 2020: Wokingham Lions Giant Easter Egg Raffle
However, due to the coronavirus all pubs and restaurants were closed over the Easter period. Some venues had already sold tickets, and gave us the takings. We have asked each venue to use the egg however they choose, and several donated their eggs to the children’s ward at the Royal Berks Hospital
Friday/Saturday 13/14 March 2020: Marie Curie Daffodil Collection
Wednesday 11 March 2020: Gerry Aggett Award to Lindsay Browne
This year the Club unanimously chose Lyndsay Browne as the recipient. Lyndsay created the charity School Days, which collects used school uniforms and equipment, renovates them then distributes them to families in need. They also buy new uniforms when necessary. Wokingham Lions have supported School Days since its inception in 2018. Our president, Lyn Baily, has established a particularly strong association with Lyndsay, who the Club decided was a very worthy winner of the award. Lyndsay chose to give the donation to School Days and Homestart.
In accepting the award Lyndsay noted that School Days have so far helped over 530 children. One recent initiative that was helped by various Lions members was refurbishing over 50 pairs of football boots that were kindly donated to them.
Wednesday 11 March 2020: Cheque Presentation to Citizen’s Advice
29 February 2020: Hoedown at the OK Corral
We had a meal prepared by some of the Lions ladies, then we were entertained by local band The Shelf Side. In between we made attempts at line dancing. Watch the videos here and here
As well as giving us all a good night out, the event raised about £2,400 for our Charity Account
17 February 2020: Street Cabinet Wrap
Wokingham Lions have sponsored a new plastic wrap around a BT OpenReach cabinet outside the town hall. This greatly improves the appearance of an otherwise unsightly piece of streetside furniture whilst at the same time publicising the club.
Wokingham Town Mayor, Cllr Lynn Forbes is grateful to the Wokingham Lions Club for sponsoring the wrap and Wokingham Borough Council for their support.
“The wrapped cabinet really brightens up this spot on Market Place” she said.
“I would like to encourage other charities to approach the Town Council’s Arts and Culture officer if they are interested in seeing their logo displayed on a street cabinet in the town centre.”
18 December 2019: Christmas Dinner
Friday 13 December 2019: The second #Woky Comedy Night
Following the amazing success of the last #Woky Comedy Night we decided to run another one!
As before it was held at WADE, which proved to be a perfect venue for events like this.
There were brilliant acts by Dan Evans, Andy Stedman and David Tsonos, introduced by the MC Jonathan Elston
All profits were split between the Wade Day Care Centre & Wokingham Lions Charity Account.
14 December 2019: Can-Can Appeal
Sunday, 30 November 2019: Bring-a-Dish evening
Bring-a-Dish is a popular event, where each member brings a contribution to a four-course meal. There is thus plenty of choice, and invariably there is more food than can be eaten! We held it a WADE (Wokingham and District Association for the Elderly), which is a local charity that we regularly support. They have a large dining room and a well-equippped kitchen, so it is an ideal venue.
Sunday, 24 November: Wokingham Winter Carnival
Wokingham Winter Carnival was a great family event and attracted thousands of local residents. There was a funfair in Broad Street and numerous stalls supporting local charities and crafts as well as commercial businesses and food vendors. Wokingham Lions participated by selling mulled wine, hot chocolate and mince pies. Andy Goffin played his regular role of Leo the Lion, much to the amusement of the many children who attended, as well as some of the adults!
Wednesday 13 November: Cheque Presentations to WADE and the Ollie Young Foundation
John Cleary was instrumental in organising the first #Woky Comedy Night, and at our business meeting we handed over the proceeds. President Lyn Baily presented a cheque for £1000 to Jackie Wilson from WADE, who explained that they provide a day centre for the elderly, but they were finding more and more of the people they help now suffer from dementia. She then presented a cheque for £500 to Sarah Simpson and Barbara Young from the Ollie Young Foundation.
Sunday 3 November: Wokingham Charity Firework Spectacular
The event therefore took place on Sunday, an hour earlier to allow for children going to school the next day. Attendance was somewhat lower, but there was a brilliant display enjoyed by several thousand people. The evening started with a torchlight procession from the town centre, led by a Scottish piper. As always, the sight of 500 flaming torches in Broad Street was memorable.
This event is organised by a consortium of local service clubs: Wokingham Lions Club, Wokingham Rotary Club, Easthampstead Rotary Club, Windsor Forest Unicorn Club and Thames West Unicorn Club. They each nominate a charity, so the funds raised will be shared between:
Friday 11 October: Quiz Night
Our annual quiz night was a roaring success, with 12 tables of 8 competing for the coveted prize.
The Quizmaster, Ian Grange, stretched everyone’s minds with a variety of simple and complex questions. A delicious chilli supper was prvided by Candy Kirkland, Jean Ibbottson and Lyn Baily. The venue, Wokingham Cricket Club, was ideal, and their bar kept us all lubricated.
Friday 6 September 2019: #Woky Comedy Night
We organised a brilliant night of comedy at WADE Day Centre, which raised £1,200 for two much-loved Wokingham charities, The Ollie Young Foundation and The WADE Day Centre.
The comedians included:
Eddy Brimson – One of the UK’s most in-demand headline acts, Eddy has performed around the world, from Norway to China. He has entertained audiences at Comedy Festivals in the French Alps, New Zealand, Melbourne and Perth, and is a regular at the Edinburgh Festival.
Naomi Cooper – Naomi has performed across the UK, from Plymouth to Edinburgh and Belfast. She has also had gigs in the Netherlands, Hungary, Austria, Romania, Switzerland, Ireland and America. Reviews have described her as “a comedy badass” and “one to keep an eye out for.” She is a regular blogger for the Huffington Post
Steve N Allen – Steve stars as a regular member of the news-desk team in “The Mash Report,” BBC2’s BAFTA-nominated topical/satirical comedy show, which launched in 2017. He has also been a panellist for “The Wright Stuff” and “Jeremy Vine” on Channel 5. A self-confessed news addict, he keeps his finger on the pulse of current affairs. He uses biting satire, gleeful mudslinging and skilled accents to entertain the audience.
Tom Webb (Compere) – Tom has also performed all over the world, and has been described as “ingenious and fresh,” as well as “cheeky and inventive.”
The organiser, John Cleary, said“The Wokingham Lions have been long-term supporters of The Ollie Young Foundation and the WADE Day Centre, so we were very pleased to have a full house. The audience loved the jokes, and we are looking forward to another successful evening of comedy on the 13th December”
Wednesday 11 September 2019: Donation to Sue Ryder
President Lyn Baily handed a cheque for £5,000 to Abi Hurst, community fundraiser for the Sue Ryder Wokingham Day Hospice. The funds will be used to purchase two new specialist chairs and a new IV drip to help patients with limited mobility. In accepting the cheque Abi said “We at Sue Ryder Wokingham Day Hospice are so grateful to the Wokingham Lions Club for their generous donation. It was lovely to have them come over to the hospice, and for them to see first-hand how their donation will be used. It also helps with understanding about our services in the hospice and the local community. We rely heavily on support from groups such as the Lions, and their support and amazing donation are so very much appreciated!” Lyn responded: “Lion Patrick Allen and I visited the Sue Ryder Hospice, and it was good to see the facility and meet the wonderful staff. We are very pleased to make this donation to such a worthy cause.” Founder Lady Sue Ryder was a humanitarian dedicated to the relief of suffering. The Wokingham Day Hospice provides expert palliative care and services for people who are living with life-limiting conditions, as well as supporting their families. Services are offered in the hospice or at home. Other health professionals include occupational therapists, physiotherapists and dieticians. About 20 of us spent an enjoyable evening at the Queens Head playing Aunt Sally. The game is played by throwing timber batons at a wooden skittle (known as a doll or dolly) on top of a post. It dates back to the 17th century, but is still played in a small number of pubs in the Thames Valley. After the game we had a fish and chip supper It is part of the tradition of Wokingham Lions Club that the Town Mayor is invited to become an Honorary Member during their period in office. We therefore invited the new Town Mayor, Lynn Forbes, to join us at our business meeting, where she was inducted into the club by president Lyn Baily.
Wednesday 28 August 2019: Aunt Sally
Wednesday 14 August 2019: Induction of Town Mayor
Friday 19 July 2019: President’s barbecue
Paul and Lyn Baily hosted a lovely night out for about 24 of us in their garden. We enjoyed a sumptious meal expertly barbecued by Paul and great sides and desserts prepared by Lyn (with the help of other ladies)
Sunday 30 June 2019: Charter Lunch
The Charter Lunch is our traditional annual event to mark the start of a new financial year, to celebrate the achievements of the previous year and to welcome the new president. This year’s lunch was held in the glorious surroundings of Wokingham Town Hall. After a nice meal the outgoing president, Debbie Slay, welcomed the new president, Lyn Baily:
Wednesday 12 June 2019: Charity performance of Bronte at Wokingham Theatre
This play ran for six days at Wokingham Theatre, but thanks to their generosity all proceeds from the final dress rehearsal were donated to our charity account. We raised a total of £768.
10 July 2019: Donations from the May Fayre
Profits from this year’s May Fayre event were donated to two local charities, Me2 Club and Home-Start Wokingham.
Vice President Lyn Baily said: “We are very pleased to be able to support Me2 Club and Home-Start, with a cheque for £3,000 to each organisation. This money will help vulnerable families with children in the Wokingham area, and enable them to continue their valuable work.”
June 2019: German Exchange
13 Lions and partners visited our twin German club, Offenbach in der Südpfalz. They planned a great program; including a tour of Heidelberg and boat trip with a meal in a village restaurant, a visit to a castle (Tim Hanton suggested that our Lions President Debbie should be put in the stocks) and lunch over the border in France followed by a meal at one of their members restaurant with views over the valley. Most of all it was the hospitality they extended and the friendship and laughter shared that made it so special.
Wednesday 8 May 2019: Cheque Presentations to Involve Community Services and Daisy’s Dream
President Debbie Slay explained to them that we invited all our members to nominate charities to be supported from the proceeds of the May Fayre, from which we chose two. We decided to donate £500 to each of the runners up, which included Involve and Daisy’s Dream. Debbie and Andy Slay (who managed the May Fayre) therefore presented cheques to them.
Philip and Ellen each gave a short presentation describing their respective organisations.
Monday 6 May 2019: May Fayre
May Fayre 2019 was a fabulous day out for all the family. Several thousand people came to enjoy the activities, which included a mini zoo, a kiddies funfair and over 100 stalls. Entertainment was provided throughout the day by Circus Scene, and included comedians Slap & Tickle, many local dancers and singers, and the fabulous Wokingham Rock Choir. There was dancing around the May Pole, Punch and Judy, a fire engine and Morris dancers. Many of the stalls were provided by local charities to earn them much-needed funds, but others were arts and crafts and local businesses. There were numerous food vendors offering a wide variety of menus.
The weather was perfect, if a little cold, making it a most enjoyable day out.
Wokingham Lions Club organise the event as a public service and to raise funds for their charity account, which supports many local charities. The main beneficiaries of this year’s event are the Me2 Club and Home-Start
Sunday 28 April 2019: Social Walk
A number of members and their partners and friends had an enjoyable 3 mile walk, ending at the Queen’s Oak pub where we had a leisurely Sunday lunch
Easter 2019: Wokingham Lions Giant Easter Egg Raffle
Numerous pubs and restaurants in Wokingham and the surrounding area each raffled a giant Easter Egg. All the proceeds went to our charity account, which is used to support local good causes
Wednesday 3 April: Buffet & Wine Presentation Evening
Winter Carnival Festive Dash (Bob Westerman):
£500 to Macmillan Cancer Support (represented by Mark Clements)
May Fayre 2019 Nominees (Ian Grange):
We asked all our members to propose charities they would like to be supported from the proceeds of this year’s May Fayre, and chose two ‘winners’ from the suggestions. We then decided that all nominees should receive £500 each from our charity account, and presented cheques to the following:
£500 to Daisy’s Dream
£500 to Berkshire Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre (represented by Yvonne Alder)
£500 to Headway Thames Valley (represented by Zoe Lane)
£500 to Involve Community Services
£500 to WADE (represented by Jackie Wilson)
£500 to Younger People with Dementia (represented by Mark Hainy)
May Fayre 2019 Beneficiaries (Ian Grange):
The ‘winners’ of our internal vote will each receive half of the proceeds of the forthcoming May Fayre:
Home-Start (represented by Tony Martin)
Me2 Club (represented by Liz McDaniel)
Wokingham Fireworks 2018 (Lyn Baily):
We are one of the consortium of five service clubs that run the fireworks, so we share the proceeds, which we donate to a nominated charity:
£2000 to School Days Wokingham (represented by Lindsey Browne)
Gerry Aggett Award (Patrick Allen)
One of our members, Gerry Aggett, started the annual May Fayre. He unfortunately died several years ago, and we decided to create an award in his name to be given to a local individual who makes an exceptional contribution to local good causes, which the recipient will in turn pass to a charity of their choice. This year we nominated Chris Pape, who has worked for many years to support individuals in need:
£1000 to Yeldall Manor (via Chris Pape)
£500 Donation to MacMillan Cancer Support
£500 Donation to Berkshire MS Therapy Centre
£500 Donation to Headway Thames Valley
£500 Donation to WADE
£500 Donation to Younger People with Dementia
May Fayre 2019 Beneficiary - Home-Start
May Fayre 2019 Beneficiary - Me2 Club
£2000 Donation from Wokingham Fireworks to School Days
£1000 Gerry Aggett Award to Chris Pape
——————————————————————
Wednesday 27 March: Skittles Evening
We had a fun night at the Frog and Wicket, playing bar skittles
1/2 March 2019: Marie Curie Collection
Every year Wokingham Lions Club help Marie Curie with their annual Great Daffodil Appeal. This year was no exception, and over the two days we participated we collected over £1,000
Saturday 9 February: Gangsters & Molls Night
As well as being a fun event, it raised over £2,300 for our charity account
Wednesday 20 December: Christmas Dinner
Our Christmas Dinner at Bearwood Golf Club was a fun evening with over 40 of our members, partners and friends. After a festive Christmas meal we enjoyed communal carol singing, followed by a very amusing rendition of the Twelve Days of Christmas customised by Lyn Baily to summarise Lions Club events.
1 – 7 December 2018: Can-Can Appeal
We ran our annual Can-Can appeal in December, where we collected food donations outside Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Tesco supermarkets. We collated the donations into more than 200 food parcels that we donated to numerous needy indiviuals and organisations in the locality. This event is always well supported, and the recipients are extremely grateful for the bit of Christmas Cheers that we bring them.
We are a very friendly club, with members from Wokingham and the surrounding area. We work hard to support the local community and raise funds for local charities, and have fun doing it!
New members are very welcome, so if you would like to be part of it, please contact us
___________________________________
Registered Charity No. 1180632 Founded April 1974