Who are Wokingham Lions?
- People who give their time freely to serve others.
- Dedicated to the welfare of others less fortunate.
- Ordinary people who belong to the world’s largest service organisation.
Wokingham Lions Club has over 40 members who share a desire to get involved in community projects and events, and help raise funds for local charities and individuals in need. Our membership includes Her Royal Highness Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, who is Patron of the Lions Clubs of the British Isles.
As one of over 60,000 Clubs around the world, we are part of Lions Clubs International (LCI) which has over 1.3 million members in over 200 countries. The Lions motto is “We Serve”. Individual Lions Clubs have a high degree of autonomy, so act independently of LCI while still supporting their objectives.
The Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF) provides support for international disasters using its network of clubs. When disaster strikes LCIF provides aid and assistance via the clubs local to the event, who ensure that essential help is provided efficiently.
What Do We Do?
This short video shows what we’ve been up to in the last Lions year – from large fundraising events and community projects to quiz nights and our music club, you’ll see that we are always busy and offer a variety of activities for members to get involved in.
Fundraising
Our biggest fundraising events of the year are the annual May Fayre, held on the first Bank Holiday Monday in May, and the Winter Carnival on the last Sunday of November.
We are one of four service clubs behind the Wokingham Charity Fireworks Spectacular every year. We also organise the Wokingham Walk, #Woky Comedy Nights at Wokingham Theatre, #Woky Quiz Nights, the Wokingham Classic Motor Show, Wokingham Music Club, the Wokingham Swimathon & more.
See some of our past events on the Past Fundraising Events page.
As a non-profit organisation, 100% of the money raised goes to good causes and the vast majority supports our local community in Wokingham. We occasionally support national charities, and regularly contribute to international relief efforts via the Lions Clubs International Foundation.
Community
We serve our local community of Wokingham with pride, compassion and kindness. Our aim is to help those in need and the most vulnerable in our community. In addition to donations to specific charities, we do this in a variety of ways:
- Message in a Bottle – A form containing personal and medical details is stored in a bottle, which is then kept in the fridge. A front door sticker notifies emergency services.
- Lions Share – We are working with Wokingham Foodbank to help collecting food donations. In December, we also collect food & other essentials outside local supermarkets. We then create and deliver festive parcels to care homes and those in need in the community.
- ReTec – Our ReTec (Recycling Technology) scheme reconditions used laptops for use by underprivileged children and refugees among others.
- SpecTrek – We collect unwanted spectacles through our SpecTrek scheme, which grades them before sending them to underprivileged people in third world countries. We also collect hearing aids.
- Individuals in Need – Our Community Services Committee receives requests for support for individuals in need and provides assistance to those in genuine hardship.
Where/When Do We Meet?
We generally meet twice a month, at 8pm on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of every month.
The first meeting of each month is held at Arborfield Royal British Legion Club, Eversley Road, Arborfield, RG2 9PR and is a business meeting where we agree the ways in which we can support the community.
The second meeting each month is generally a social evening. You can see some of the fun we’ve had in the past here.
History
We are part of Lions Club International (LCI), 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 over 49,000 clubs, in over 200 countries.
Wokingham Lions Club was formed in 1974.
This video, made for our 50th Anniversary, gives a history of both the Global Organisation and the Lions in Wokingham.
If you want to give something to the local community and have fun at the same time, then contact us for further information. Each member can do as much or as little as they want. They are all volunteers so there is no pressure to do anything.
