We are a group of like minded people who come from all walks of life. We are united to give some of our free time to help those who are less fortunate than ourselves. Time that is given, and money which is raised ,is spent largely in Cheltenham. No money is deducted for Club administration. All administration expenses are paid for by the members themselves.
We meet once a month at the Victory Club in Lypiatt Road, Cheltenham to deal with business matters and we have various social events for members as well.
Information about some of our projects can be found on other pages of this website.
A Bit About Our History
In 2020, we celebrated our 60th anniversary.
Over sixty years and well over one million pounds raised and most of it spent within the town for the benefit of local people.
In the early days we ran a market called Petticoat Lane somewhere in the Waitrose area. It involved the sale of furniture and household goods, including fridges, cookers etc these were all checked by a member but we were allowed to sell them; on one occasion we had three pianos for sale. Takings were always in excess of £1000(£12000 today).
The event that established the Club in the town was the Donkey Derby held at Coxes Meadow and always attracting large crowds. About 1978 the council asked the Club to organise the Carnival. This was linked to the Donkey Derby and created a great fun weekend. The Carnival became so successful that the police asked us to restrict the numbers. Running from Pittville to Montpellier it was closing the town for over an hour. Over thirty floats and six bands.
Other fund raisers included Ladies Football at the Robins, including teams from local employers M&S, Spiro-Sarco etc played on a knockout basis on a Sunday. A very popular event was a Dinner Dance at the Pump Rooms, involving top class cabaret or a theme night, the most successful being a Romany Evening complete with fortune telling in a romany caravan and the sale of a love potion ( sold out to members before we opened the doors.
Book Sales have been run for over twenty years, Plant Sales for ten and more recently the successful Easter Egg Raffle. Concerts have been going for many years, before Treorchy we hosted Kenny Ball and the RAF Band amongst many others.
So much for raising the funds. Apart from a small reserve we have spent as we raised. In early years the President had a major project. The first big item was for £5000 to buy equipment for the new Cobalt Unit that was in 1974 and I imagine that would be equivalent to about £30000 now. Other major events included a mini bus for the Star Centre, helping to launch the Talking Newspaper for the Blind and, I believe in Mikes year a special Microscope for the Eye Hospital, a few months after this presentation we had a visit from Bob Hughes a Tetbury Lion who informed us that following a car accident he would have lost the sight of one eye but for that equipment. In 1983 during my presidency we purchased the Holiday Home at Burnham on Sea and replaced it in 1991 and 2010, hard to believe it is still in use.
Not all the money raised was spent on large items. Members looked after elderly people living on their own, giving them a Christmas present and taking them out in the Clubs Wheelchair Bus, we also held a party for them. A coach was booked to take forty or so for a weeks holiday in Torquay
The Wheelchair Bus was used to take people to various clubs, such as the Stroke Club at Delancy and the Blind Club it was also used to take guests for their holiday at Burnham. It was operated by members on a rota basis. Unfortunately we had to part with it in 2006 when four members reached 70 and could no longer drive it, putting a strain on remaining members.
The most amazing day, New Years Eve 2004, a street collection raised over £14000 for tsunami victims this increased to £22000 within the week. The money was sent direct to three of the disaster areas.
Another major achievement was the formation in 1978 of the Leo Club. Consisting of young people aged 17-27 the club ran for several years and undertook many projects, at one time they had over 40 members. unfortunately like the other twenty clubs in the District they eventually folded. The Easter Egg Raffle idea originated from that club.
In 1977 we hosted the District Conference. It was originally intended to hold the whole event at the Golden Valley Hotel but numbers were so large we had to move the conference to the Town Hall, over 300 attended the Dinner and Dance. We repeated the event 1988.
