December 2022 update
Fairytale time for our Ukrainian guests
On 17th December, we took a party of 17 children and 14 adults to White Post Farm, near Farnsfield, to enjoy a Christmas treat at the 'Once Upon a Fairytale Christmas' Experience. This Christmas will not be easy for the families, knowing that brothers, fathers, husbands and other family members are fighting for their lives back home so we hope that this and other initiatives we have put in place over the last nine months to help both the families here and help provide some relief for those still in Ukraine, brought some relief and enjoyment to our guests. We also thank the management and staff at White Post Farm and the staff and customers at the Final Whistle in Southwell for their support and very kind generosity in helping the trip to take place.
We were very pleased to receive the following from one of the Ukrainian mothers on the trip:
"On behalf of all Ukrainian mothers who attended the event yesterday, I would like to thank you for such a magical day. We had a great time together, talked a lot. Our children met and had fun playing. Thank you for the thematic event with Father Christmas, Ukrainian children learned a lot about your customs and adults rejoiced like children.
"Thanks to "Lions" for support and care for Ukrainians. In such a difficult time for us, you made a holiday for us and our children were happy."
We were very pleased to receive the following from one of the Ukrainian mothers on the trip:
"On behalf of all Ukrainian mothers who attended the event yesterday, I would like to thank you for such a magical day. We had a great time together, talked a lot. Our children met and had fun playing. Thank you for the thematic event with Father Christmas, Ukrainian children learned a lot about your customs and adults rejoiced like children.
"Thanks to "Lions" for support and care for Ukrainians. In such a difficult time for us, you made a holiday for us and our children were happy."
Lowe's Wong Juniors ROAR to success
The ROAR competition - designed to work as part of the school curriculum and inspire children to think big and to create world changing ideas - at Lowe's Wong Junior School took place in mid-November and the children in Years 3 to 6 certainly lived up to the competition's aims. The standard was, once again, very high, with the pupils demonstrating their interest and concern for a wide range of issues, from mental health and the environment to the problems of growing old.
The school's winner, 9 year-old Noah Shaw, won with a novel idea to address mental health, loneliness and a sense of isolation among schoolchildren. The strapline he came up with - "Happiness in your pocket" - said it all! "The children, their presentations and their ideas were all inspiring and they give us great confidence for the future." Noah competed in the Regional final on 8th December against 27 other schools and was judged the the overall winner with a magnificent video presentation to showcase his idea to the judges. Well done, Noah!
The school's winner, 9 year-old Noah Shaw, won with a novel idea to address mental health, loneliness and a sense of isolation among schoolchildren. The strapline he came up with - "Happiness in your pocket" - said it all! "The children, their presentations and their ideas were all inspiring and they give us great confidence for the future." Noah competed in the Regional final on 8th December against 27 other schools and was judged the the overall winner with a magnificent video presentation to showcase his idea to the judges. Well done, Noah!
We donated
- £1,000 to the Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance service as part of their Big Give appeal
- £1,000 to Reach as part of its Big Give appeal
- £1,000 to Beaumond House hospice
- £200 to Libra, the Lions International Blood Research appeal, which is raising funds for the refurbishment of the Derek Mitchell Unit at King's College Hospital in London to benefit in-patients with a range of blood disorders.
Hedgehogs are safe in Farnsfield thanks to St Michael's schoolchildren!
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Following workshops at St Michael's Primary School in Farnsfield, the children set about creating safe habitats for hedges across the town. The children made hedgehog houses and posters and even Powerpoint presentations to create awareness of the problems facing hedgehogs and tell people how to keep them safe. Southwell Lions donated prizes - mostly age and subject appropriate books - for the best projects in each year group and presented the prizes at a school assembly in early December. All the entrants put in a huge amount of excellent, creative work - well done to the four winners and seven runners-up! Farnsfield School's prize-winning children are joined by head teacher, Mrs Carpenter, Joyce Shakeshaft and Lesley Healey from the Farnsfield Hedgehog project and Lions Peter Bird, Ian Robinson and Peter Brooker |
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Partying the night away with Westgate Group
We held our traditional Christmas party for members of the local Westgate Group, a self help group giving friendship and support to families with disabled children. Some 35 guests, including carers, enjoyed a lovely tea, very kindly provided by Rama from The Reindeer Inn, lots of singing, including a few solos from Westgate Group members, and a visit from Santa Claus and his lifelike Lion, who gave all the members a Christmas present. Thanks to all who took part, including Marion Turner, who played the piano.
November 2022 update
Supporting Missing People at G4 gig at Southwell MInster
The Lions combined Community Service with entertainment on 23rd November when several of us had a great time at the G4 gig in The Minster, when - in fetching pink sashes - we took on stewarding duties and helped out with the closing collection. The collection was in aid of a great charity, Missing People, which provides specialist support to the 180,000 people who run away and go missing each year and to the families and friends left behind. G4 are a four-piece British vocal troupe who first came to prominence when they finished second in Series 1 of The X Factor in 2004, and are known for their operatic delivery of modern pop songs.
On duty on Remembrance Sunday
On road closure duty for Remembrance Sunday, making sure the parade arrives at The Minster safely. Always an honour to be part of this day.
Feeding the 5,000!
We were very pleased to join with Lions from throughout the country today to help Lincoln Lions 'Feed the 5,000'. The aim of this event is, hopefully, to educate people on the problem of food waste and enhance food sustainability by preparing and cooking food dishes using locally gleaned food produce, like pumpkins, which were given away, free, to the public. As the name says, thousands enjoyed the delicious food.
October 2022 update
Southwell Lions give £500 to Relate Nottinghamshire
We were delighted to host John Fryer from Relate Nottinghamshire at our social meeting in October, to present him with a cheque for £500. Relate Nottinghamshire is a registered charity with qualified and experienced staff who are trained to provide individuals and couples with counselling, support and information in all aspects of their relationships, including how they affect children and young people. The charity does fabulous work, with its volunteers providing much-needed services to couples and families in our region.
Purchase of Early Years reading books for Lowdham School
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At our October meeting, we agreed to fund a new collection of early stage reading books for the Reception class pupils at Lowdham C of E Primary School and, a few weeks later, we went to see what they had bought and meet some of the children who are benefitting from the new books. Thank you to the youngsters for showing us their reading skills and to the teachers for organising the visit.
Lion Peter Brooker and Deputy Headteacher, Andrea Burrows, with some of the Reception class pupils. |
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More gleaning - apples galore!
A bumper crop of delicious Sunburst apples (yes, we did sample a few!) at Starkeys fruit farm meant that we were able to pick over 800 kilos of apples in just a couple of hours, all to be distributed to charities and food banks by Fareshare. Thanks again to Starkeys for letting us collect their excess fruit.
September 2022 update
Park your car and keep safe at Dragon Boat racing
We had a great day at the Dragon Boat racing on the River Trent on 18th September in Newark, organised by and in aid of the Newark Childrens Bereavement Centre and Beaumond House hospice, two really deserving causes. Lions were on hand to control the competitors/exhibitors/volunteers car park and patrolled the riverside to make sure none of the spectators fell in the river. Delighted to help!
Reaching out to people with learning disabilities
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At the end of August, Lion President Alastair Murray and Lion Peter Brooker visited the offices of Reach in Southwell to announce the Lions' pledge of £1,000 towards the 2022 Big Give Appeal, and to meet some of the future residents of Reach's new residential accommodation project.
Then, in mid-September, a group of Lions visited the building site in Southwell that is well on its way to becoming an amazing new home for 12 of Reach's long-term clients. Huge credit to Steve Shatwell and his colleagues for persevering with this project over so many years, now so close to becoming a reality. You can donate to Reach at https://reachuk.org/fundraising/make-a-donation/. |
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Cycling's Tour of Britain returns to Southwell
The fifth stage of the 18th Tour of Britain cycle race came through Southwell on 8th September, en route from West Bridgford to Mansfield. Several Lions were on hand to ensure the route was kept safe and clear for the riders, their many support vehicles and the largest number of police outriders you'll ever see in one place. Large crowds built up with mounting excitement along Westgate, King Street (with the riders doing what we'd all love to do - drive up the street the wrong way!), Burgage and out of town along Station Road. There was a real party atmosphere, especially around the 'Hub' on the Burgage, with refreshments, a band and a great viewing point for the schoolchildren, who loved it every time a police motorcyclist went past, saluting them with a quick wail of their siren. Southwell Lions were really pleased to be part of it, helping STC with the marshaling.
August 2022 Update
Gleaning Activities Return
Did you know that around 40% of all food produced is wasted. This equates to around 1.3 billion tonnes. Almost 50% of the food wasted in the UK comes from our own homes. The Lions of the British Isles are committed to help tackle this waste. As a result, they have formed the Lions Gleaning Hub. This group works with farms to help remove the unpicked produce from the fields and then forward it to food banks and other outlets that can use what would otherwise be waste.
Regular visitors to our website will know that each year for the past two years, Southwell & District Lions Club has carried out gleaning activities. In our first year, 2020, we gleaned over 5 tonnes of fruit kindly donated by Starkey's Fruit Farm and this was distributed by FareShare to food banks throughout the UK.
Last year, Gleaning activities were somewhat curtailed by COVID and a lack of available fruit; however, we have started Gleaning again and a group of Lions from four different Clubs joined forces at FarmEco in Screveton. FarmEco is a Community Farm in rural Nottinghamshire which aims to reconnect people to the land and environment. Regular volunteers get in involved in everything; from the day to day running of the farm, looking after the trees and pressing apples, as well as projects such as hedge planting and creation of the wetland areas.
With over 2000 fruit trees, the Lions Clubs joined forces and managed to glean over 600kg of apples, plums and elderflowers, which have now been distributed to food banks across the East Midlands. Well done to all involved.
Regular visitors to our website will know that each year for the past two years, Southwell & District Lions Club has carried out gleaning activities. In our first year, 2020, we gleaned over 5 tonnes of fruit kindly donated by Starkey's Fruit Farm and this was distributed by FareShare to food banks throughout the UK.
Last year, Gleaning activities were somewhat curtailed by COVID and a lack of available fruit; however, we have started Gleaning again and a group of Lions from four different Clubs joined forces at FarmEco in Screveton. FarmEco is a Community Farm in rural Nottinghamshire which aims to reconnect people to the land and environment. Regular volunteers get in involved in everything; from the day to day running of the farm, looking after the trees and pressing apples, as well as projects such as hedge planting and creation of the wetland areas.
With over 2000 fruit trees, the Lions Clubs joined forces and managed to glean over 600kg of apples, plums and elderflowers, which have now been distributed to food banks across the East Midlands. Well done to all involved.
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June 2022 update
SIM cards for Ukrainian refugees
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We applied for and were generously given 100 SIM cards by Vodafone to give to Ukrainian families arriving in Southwell and the surrounding villages (see previous posts for area covered). The SIMs, which are free, are for 20GB of data and unlimited calls and texts per month for six months, enabling the families to stay in touch with friends and family still in Ukraine. The free SIMs can be collected from the Southwell Town Council office on Burgage upon evidence of identity such as the Home Home Office letter or a visa. |
Helping Farnsfield Guides hedgehog conservation
Southwell Guides have been learning all about hedgehogs from Lauren Moore of Nottingham Trent University, who told them about threats to hedgehogs and how to help them. The guides then visited Hogs of Winterfel, after which they created informative posters to show people how they can best help and protect the creatures in our gardens and villages. Southwell Lions held a competition for the best poster and presented prizes to the winners and runners up.
Winning Hedgehog poster; Hedgehog Poster winner Lily (2nd from right) & runners up Poppy, Bella & Lucy, with Lion Keith Hobbs;
Winning Hedgehog poster; Hedgehog Poster winner Lily (2nd from right) & runners up Poppy, Bella & Lucy, with Lion Keith Hobbs;
Celebrating the Platinum Jubilee
Despite the rainy weather, several hundred people enjoyed picnics, music, games and spectacle in Southwell Minster to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee on Sunday, 5th June. The Lions were there, of course, with our annual Duck Pluck, supported by the Human Fruit Machine. The Duck Pluck raised £544 for Norwood Park Golf Club's Junior Section, to help pay for clubs and other equipment for youngsters who would otherwise be unable to afford to take up and learn to play the game. We also gave £150 to Pulp Friction to bring along its human juice maker, Pulp Friction is a social enterprise that works with people who have learning disabilities and/or Autism to develop their social independence and work-readiness skills.
May 2022 update
Help for Scouts to achieve their dreams
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Southwell Lions have supported two local scouts who are among 36 young people chosen to represent Nottinghamshire Scouts at the 25th World Scout Jamboree in South Korea in August 2023. Jayen Patel of the 1st Coddington Scout group and Grace Fieldwick of the 1st Farnsfield Scout group are busy fundraising to pay for the trip of a lifetime and Southwell Lions President Nick Parr was delighted to present them each with a cheque for £200 to help them on their way.
The World Scout Jamboree takes place every four years and in 2019 was in West Virginia, USA. Likened to the Olympics of Scouting, in 2023 the event will be hosted by the Korean Scout Association. The two week event is attended by over 50,000 people where the focus is on a sustainable world where everyone’s welcome. To attend the World Scout Jamboree, each of the 3,000 UK participants must raise £3,600. This not only pays for their attendance but contributes towards helping young people from less developed countries. President Nick Parr presents cheques to Grace and Jayan |
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Support for Ukrainian families arriving in our area
Southwell & District Lions Club has teamed up with Southwell Town Council to establish a dedicated fund to help support Ukrainian families arriving in Southwell and the surrounding villages, including Farnsfield, Fiskerton, Rolleston, Morton, Upton, Bleasby, Thurgarton, Lowdham, Edingley, Kirklington, Halam, Hoveringham and Kirklington. The fund is to be used to purchase essential school related items such as uniform, shoes, trainers, sportswear, school bags, football boots and calculators etc.
The Town Council asked the Lions if they could manage the applications and payments to the arriving families or their sponsors as they are not allowed to make payments to individuals. The Lions readily agreed to help and, because the Council funds are for families settling in Southwell, added a further £1,500 from own its charitable funds so the scheme could be extended to all the villages in Southwell Lions' area, whether the children are going to the local village school or to Southwell Minster School.
Southwell Lions President, Nick Parr, said: "We have already donated £1,000 to the Lions International Fund for Ukraine, which is channeled to Lions Clubs in Ukraine and the surrounding countries to provide aid to Ukrainian refugees, and several of our members have been helping out at the Kirkby-in-Ashfield sorting warehouse, organised by Magda Wasiewicz of B-Sweet in Southwell, sending huge donations of food, medication and many other items so generously donated by our community.
"We can't imagine what these families have been through over the last couple of months and our hearts go out to every one of them. This new fund is a great way to support the families who have left their homeland and are being welcomed into our community. We were very keen to find a way to help them here, so were very happy when Southwell Town Council approached us to manage the fund on their behalf, and to add our own contribution so we can help even more of the youngsters when they start at their new schools."
Initially, Ukrainian families or their sponsors will be able to apply for up to £100 per child. See below for full details and how to apply.
The Town Council asked the Lions if they could manage the applications and payments to the arriving families or their sponsors as they are not allowed to make payments to individuals. The Lions readily agreed to help and, because the Council funds are for families settling in Southwell, added a further £1,500 from own its charitable funds so the scheme could be extended to all the villages in Southwell Lions' area, whether the children are going to the local village school or to Southwell Minster School.
Southwell Lions President, Nick Parr, said: "We have already donated £1,000 to the Lions International Fund for Ukraine, which is channeled to Lions Clubs in Ukraine and the surrounding countries to provide aid to Ukrainian refugees, and several of our members have been helping out at the Kirkby-in-Ashfield sorting warehouse, organised by Magda Wasiewicz of B-Sweet in Southwell, sending huge donations of food, medication and many other items so generously donated by our community.
"We can't imagine what these families have been through over the last couple of months and our hearts go out to every one of them. This new fund is a great way to support the families who have left their homeland and are being welcomed into our community. We were very keen to find a way to help them here, so were very happy when Southwell Town Council approached us to manage the fund on their behalf, and to add our own contribution so we can help even more of the youngsters when they start at their new schools."
Initially, Ukrainian families or their sponsors will be able to apply for up to £100 per child. See below for full details and how to apply.
Supporting young people's mental health
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Southwell Lions are delighted to support Enabling Hope, a not-for-profit community interest company based in Southwell, that provides mental health support to young people and those who care for them. Our donation has helped Enabling Hope to purchase a range of arts and crafts, therapeutic cards and sensory toys, all of which support the therapies offered by the team at Enabling Hope.
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Pictured: President Nick Parr with Sally Falkner of Enabling Hope, with some of the therapeutic aids donated by the Lions.
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April 2022 update
Surfing to success!
In February, we gave an aspiring champion IQFoil class windsurfer, Duncan Monaghan, £250 to wards new kit to help him train for his goal of competing in the Paris 2024 Olympic games. 17 year old Duncan, who is also studying for his A-levels at the Minster School in Southwell, already has some serious achievements under his belt - Vice European Champion (U19) September 2021 youth and junior IQFoil European championships, Bol, Croatia; 4th at the World Championships (U19) July 2021 youth and junior IQFoil world championships, Lake Garda, Italy; 1st place at the UK IQFoil class event in Weymouth, July 2021; selected for the RYA Youth Performance squad 21/22 - and gave us a demonstration of his skills on the water when we met him at his sailing club to present him with his new 'long john' wet suit and a new harness. Duncan makes it look so easy but it frightened us!
Southwell Lions wish this exceptional young man every success as he strives to become a sporting hero!
Southwell Lions wish this exceptional young man every success as he strives to become a sporting hero!
We donated to
- the fund raising efforts of two local Scouts, who have the distinction of being selected to attend the 2023 World Scout Jamboree in South Korea.
- The Lions Club International appeal to provide aid for refugees from the war in Ukraine, adding to the donation we made last month.
Activity packs for children with cancer
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Pasic is a wonderful charity that supports families dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of a child with cancer. Earlier this year, we donated £500 to pay for 'Art Activity Packs' and activities to brighten up the hospital stay and make life a little more fun by offering respite and distraction for children with cancer who face very long stays in hospital. The packs are also given to children when recuperating at home. Louise Whittle from Pasic came along to show us the packs and the wide variety of activities they contain to help entertain the children.
You can find out about the great work that Pasic does by going to their website here. President Nick Parr (left) with Louise and Lion Peter Brooker |
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March 2022 update
Collecting for Marie Curie
On Friday 18th and Saturday 19th March, a group of Lions were to found wearing silly hats in Morrisons in Newark and holding collecting tins in aid of Marie Curie.
Learning books to Newark's Holy Trinity R.C. Adademy
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In November 2021, we donated £250 to Holy Trinity R.C. Academy parent/teacher association in Newark, which raises funds for items that the school budget doesn’t run to. Due to Covid restrictions, their fundraising had been very limited over the previous 18 months so, as the school was desperately in need of some good quality non-fiction books for the school library, the PTA appealed to Southwell Lions. Although the pupils have now been back in school for several months, the educational impact of the lockdown, particularly in poorer readers, is quite marked, so our donation has gone towards the purchase of 46 new, age appropriate non-fiction books to enthuse and engage them. Not only do these books help with improving reading skills but they also dovetail into the educational curriculum. An added bonus is that the children really do enjoy them - the combination of facts and illustrations excite the children and makes them want to pick up a book.
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(Parental consent was obtained for this photo)
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Help for Ukraine
Linda from the Bramley Apple and Magdalena from B Sweet have organised one of the many local initiatives to provide support to the refugees in Ukraine. Southwell residents have been amazingly generous with their donations and some of the Lions lent a hand to the many volunteers in sorting through the items for shipment to Ukraine and neighbouring countries. |
Many of our members have also been helping out the Romo warehouse in Kirkby-in-Ashfield, organised by Magdalena Wasiewicz, a resident and business owner in Southwell, who has been inundated with donations of goods for the Ukrainian people since starting her appeal following the invasion of Ukraine. Magda has family in Poland, who own a logistics and transport company, Gigamix Broker. They are located 10 miles from the Ukrainain border, and have extensive experience in transporting goods directly in to the Ukraine. Huge thanks also to Romo for its support, with use of the warehouse, supply of boxes, equipment and manpower.
We made donations to:
- Enabling Hope, which provides mental health support to young people in Southwell
- The Lions Club International appeal to provide aid for refugees from the war in Ukraine
- A local resident for mobility aids to their home
- The Lions Club International appeal to provide aid for the people of Madagascar following Cyclone Batsirai
- Sightsavers, Medic Alert and Water Aid
February 2022 update
Southwell Scouts build nesting boxes for birds and bats
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Combining our commitment to the environment and supporting youth groups, we created a competition to make and decorate bat and bird boxes. The judges - Craig from Southwell Handicentre and Gareth Jones - Lead Ranger at Clumber Park - picked two winners to be installed at Clumber Park, while all the other boxes will be put up in the refurbished Squires Pond area when it's completed. First up were Southwell Scouts, who built and decorated some brilliant boxes for birds and bats to nest in. Our thanks go to Gareth, Karen Roberts of Southwell Town Council for enabling the boxes to be installed at Squires Pond, Lion Keith Hobbs for organising it all, Southwell Handicentre for providing the wood, Lions Nick Parr and Verdun Webley for preparing the kits for the Scouts to build and to the Scout leaders and Scouts themselves for taking part so enthusiastically. Next step will be to install the boxes at Clumber Park and Squires Pond area.
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L-R: Lion Verdun, Scout leader (Kaa) Chris Barnes, Craig, Karen, Lion Keith, Gareth, Lion Nick
Members of Southwell Scouts Woden and Thor Troops (Parental consent was obtained for this photo) |
New play equipment at Minster Junior School
In early 2021, Southwell Lions made a donation towards a new play facility for the 40 pupils at The Minster Junior School, which was established over 1000 years ago to educate the choristers of the nearby Southwell Minster and which acted as a community hub for keyworker children for the surrounding villages of Southwell during the first Covid lockdown. After supplier delays as a result of material shortages and Covid backlogs, the equipment has now been installed and was ready to be used after the half term break. Prior to the new equipment being installed, the only facility available to the pupils, aged from seven to 11, was a small open space with no play equipment. Rob Burns, head of the junior school (pictured with Lions and children), told Southwell Lions that the new equipment has arrived just in time for the weather to improve and the children are able to play outside. As the picture shows, it's already proving highly popular with the children.
(Parental consent was obtained for this photo)
(Parental consent was obtained for this photo)
Latest donations
At our February 'business' meeting, we agreed to make donations to:
At our February 'business' meeting, we agreed to make donations to:
- Duncan Monaghan, a Southwell Minster School student, to help towards the cost of competing internationally at IQFoil windsurfing, including at the world championship in August;
- Holy Trinity Infant School towards a forest school type area;
- Beaumond House hospice for new equipment;
- First aid training for Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme participants at the Minster School;
- Lions Club International appeal to help relieve the suffering in Tonga, following the volcano eruption, tsunami and earthquake.
January 2022 update
Carols for Everyone donation to Refugees in Southwell
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We have totted up all the ticket money, donations, closing collection and Gift Aid that were so generously given by the residents of Southwell and the surrounding area at the joyous Carols for Everyone community concert in Southwell Minster at Christmas 2021 and have reached a fabulous total of £3,500! On a bright morning in January, we presented a cheque to Support Refugees in Southwell, a local charity that supports Syrian and Afghan refugees who have escaped war and persecution in their own countries and settled in Southwell.
Lion President Nick Parr, with fellow Lion Steve Foster, presents the cheque to SRiS Chairman, Ian Bunting |