Community Service – Wokingham Lions Club

Wokingham Lions organise a number of services to support the local community.

Lions Share

We are working with Wokingham Foodbank to help collect food donations. The Foodbank already collect from the main supermarkets but we are increasing the coverage:

We are placing bins in convenience stores, cafes and residential addresses to encourage their customers, neigbours and passers-by to donate. We then collect the donations and deliver them to the Foodbank.

Click here for more details.

We also run the annual Wokingham Lions Christmas Food Collection, locally known as the Can Can, which started over 30 years ago, long before Foodbanks came into existence. The project’s original aim was to support the elderly in Wokingham over the festive period.

With the amazing loyalty and support we receive from local supermarkets, we set up a stall and ask shoppers if they could buy an extra item of non-perishable food and then donate it to us as they leave.

In more recent years we have been working with Wokingham based charities First Days, The Grub Club, Homestart and Wokingham Foodbank so in addition to the elderly we are also able to support local families. Last Christmas we distributed over 300 parcels to the needy of Wokingham.

Message in a Bottle

Message in a Bottle is a scheme organised by Lions Clubs throughout the country, aimed mainly at people who may be housebound.

Small plastic containers are distributed for free through doctor’s surgeries and pharmacies. The user completes a form with their medical details and contact names and phone numbers, places the form in the container, then puts the container in their fridge. There is a sticker for the front door so if emergency services are called they know the information is in the fridge.

Click here for more details.

Recycled For Sight

Recycled For Sight is a Lion’s project which collects unwanted spectacles and recycles them for re-distribution to people who would not otherwise have access to spectacles, Lions Clubs in the UK and from other European countries including France, Germany, Greece, Spain and Switzerland participate in this project.

Click here for more details.

ReTec

ReTec is a project we started in 2024 to collect unused laptop computers, restore them and then give them to families in need. So far we have recycled over 200 laptops.

Click here for more details.

Wild Tribe Books

The Wild Tribe Heroes books are a collection of gentle and engaging true stories about animals that find themselves in trouble when their lives are affected by plastic in the oceans or palm oil deforestation.

These books have been donated by the Lions to several local schools, as a useful resource that is relevant to schools curriculum, supporting children’s learning about the world around us.

If you’d be interested in some of these books for your school please contact us here.

Lions Child Sight UK

Wokingham Lions started this eye screening programme in 2026.

Lions Child Sight UK is a vision screening initiative led by trained Lions volunteers using advanced, non-invasive vision cameras. It helps detect eyesight issues in children aged 4-7, before they affect education and wellbeing. This matters because:

1 in 5 children have undiagnosed vision issues
80% of learning is visual
Over 75,000 UK children miss out on NHS screening each year
Screening can uncover conditions like amblyopia astigmatism and refractive errors – often before symptoms appear

These screenings have a proven impact in schools. In recent screenings of children carried out by trained Lions members we note that 10% of those children screened have a vision issue.

Screenings are quick, child-friendly, and conducted by DBS-checked fully trained Lions volunteers.

Click here for more details.

First Days Low Cost School Uniform Shop

Throughout the year First Days make school uniform available from their shop in Denmark Street – Wokingham Lions staff the shop every Thursday from 3-6pm.

School Uniform is one of the biggest expenses for parents with school aged children. It comes at a time, often all at once at the end of the summer holidays, when money is tight for a lot of people. Additionally, a huge amount of School Uniform ends up in landfill and this initiative gives good quality school uniform a second life.

Support to Individuals

We are happy to support individuals or families in need of help, but we need referrals from organisations such as social services or doctor’s surgeries. If you think we can help please contact us.

Community Stories

We also support local community events – some are run by charities and local community groups, others organised by some of our neighbouring Lions Clubs. Here are some stories about how we’ve helped in the community.

Wokingham Lions Club

Thu Aug 6th, 2026

Wokingham Lions Club will be at the Ollie Young Foundation Charity Summer Fun Day this Sunday 9th August!

The Fun Day is OYF's biggest annual event - bring along a picnic or enjoy some of our tasty food on offer including a BBQ, Cakes and more.

There's a licensed bar, music, inflatables, face painting, games, stalls, classic cars and much more.

Entrance is £1 per Family - free parking at Cantley Park!

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