The
International Association of Lions Clubs was founded in 1917 in
Chicago by Melvin Jones. With a membership of about 1.3 million in
44 500 clubs and 200 countries, Lions now form the largest service
organisation of its kind in the world.
Lions came to the U.K. in 1950 and has grown to include almost
900 clubs with 18000 members in Britain and Ireland.
Our local club was formed in 1985 and currently has about 30
members. We are a service organisation dedicated to improving the
quality of life in our community, be it local, national or
international. But equally we aim to provide a local club whose
members, both men and women, can gain enjoyment in the events and
social activities we organise.
At an early stage in our activities we formed a close link with
the Ashbourne Highland
Gathering. As a service we have manned the entrances enabling
the Gathering organisers to concentrate on providing a first class
show.
In 1996, when it was proposed that Ashbourne should seek a new
sports and community hall, Lions committed themselves to taking a
lead in fund raising with a pledge of £10 000 to be raised by 2000.
Together with the Ashbourne Running Club we took over the
organisation of the Ashbourne Half Marathon and Fun Run. This
enabled us to contribute £32K towards the completion of the
Ashbourne Community Centre and Sports Hall in 2004 and continues to
be a valuable source of funds.
Income is generated by many events: Christmas Pig Roast; Easter
Eggs; Trolley Dash; Welsh Choir Night; Race Nights; manning the
gates at the Highland Gathering and the car park at Ashbourne Show;
etc. All of the proceeds go into our charity account. No charitable
funds are used to run the Lions Organisation.
We donate from our charity funds and also give our time where we
are able. Since our formation we have raised approximately £285
000
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