Woodley & Earley Lions Club

Reading, England - United Kingdom

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 3^rd Tuesday of each month at The Castle Inn, Hurst

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 send an email to: enquiries@WELions.org.uk

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.  Just click here.

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Please click here to learn more about the Lions Clubs UK

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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.

100% of all net money raised by the Club, from any Charity event, is set aside for Charitable use.

100% of all freely given donations go into our Charity account with no deductions.

Over 95% of all money we raise is spent within the local community, with a small balance spent on Lions International Humanitarian projects.

To learn more about Lions Clubs International please click here. 

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.
• 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. (Learn more here)

 

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.

Three of those members are still serving in the Club to date.

Our Club has 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.