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Knaresborough
Lions Club
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Background and Ethos Activities Fundraising and Events
Town Trail Meetings and
how to join
The Knaresborough Lions
are part of Lions Clubs International,
the largest voluntary organisation in the world. More than 40,000 Lions Clubs
are found in over 180 countries and include every race, colour and creed. The
club was chartered in 1987 and at present has 22 members. We meet twice a
month in the evenings at the Borough Bailiff in Knaresborough High Street. We are a group of like
minded men from all walks of life who undertake welfare activities and raise
money to provide help to those people in the community who are less fortunate
than ourselves. We believe in good fellowship and that a sense of humour is
an essential ingredient when helping others. Upcoming Events The Great
Knaresborough Bed Race To be held in 2010 on 12 June, this will be the 45th occasion
on which this great event has been staged. Up to 90 teams will take part,
dressing their beds and entering into the competitive spirit. This year’s
theme is ‘Occupations’. More details and entry details can be obtained on www.knaresborough.co.uk/bedrace/ The Lions are looking for
volunteers to help out in preparing, marshalling and running the event on the
day. All profits from the Bed Race go to support charities and other good
causes. In addition to money raised by the Knaresborough Lions, teams and
other organisations also collect funs for charities from one of the North of
England’s most popular The FEVA & Knaresbrough Lions Beer Festival
All profits from the Beer
Festival go to support the FEVA Picnic
In The Park on Saturday 22nd August and other local good causes.
Responsible drinking with a social benefit to the local community! Knaresborough Lions are
now part of the organising team for the Christmas Edwardian Market, having
been active participants for many years. Our Mulled Wine always goes down a
treat on a cold December's day. Our activities fall into
two main groups, welfare and fundraising. The former is very much a hands-on
approach, whilst the latter is essential if we wish to satisfy the requests
which we regularly receive for assistance. Welfare activities include
days out for elderly men and women and we organise concerts and social
evenings for people in Knaresborough and the villages in Nidderdale. For a number of years we
have been able to send handicapped youngsters on holiday in a specially
equipped barge run by the 'Sobriety' project in Goole. Some of our members go
with them to assist and other Lions Clubs in We regularly help child
and youth organisations in Knaresborough with funds for specific projects
such as play equipment. Needy families are also
given holidays on the East coast, the Lions in Bridlington and Filey have
accommodation which we are able to use. For many years we have
joined with other clubs in the area to send disabled young people to |
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Planting daffodils |
The Fire and Rescue
Service in Knaresborough was given portable cutting equipment which is used
to free accident victims who are trapped inside vehicles. The town's close
proximity to the busy A1(M) making the equipment particularly useful. Our latest large donation
was to the Harrogate Hospital MRI Scanner Appeal. Other smaller activities
include helping an elderly lady with furniture removal, planting daffodils at
the entrances to Knaresborough, and helping support the Knaresborough FEVA
Festival. Financial assistance is
given to worthy causes, particularly to those which benefit people and
organisations in our local area. As a general rule we do not give donations
to national organisations which have their own fundraising structure. An example is our help
with the cost of the Christmas parcels for the lonely and needy who are over
75. The purchase and distribution of the parcels is organised by the Old
Peoples Welfare in Knaresborough. We also help with the running costs of
vehicles for the disabled and for youth activities in Knaresborough. |
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Some monies go to projects
run by the Lions International Organisation, such as Drug Awareness in
schools, Eye Camps in Fundraising to pay for
this help is of course very important and events to raise money are held at
regular intervals throughout the year. The biggest and best known is the 'Great Knaresborough Bed Race',
always held on the 2nd Saturday in June, when specially adapted 'Beds' race
around the town and cross the River Nidd. This now attracts thousands of
people to the town including a team from Bebra, our twin town in |
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The Bed Race |
The Bed Race |
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During FEVA we run a two
day Beer Festival, with 20 or more Real Ales and live music. |
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Santa's sleigh |
Christmas time is a very
busy time for the members. Most evenings in December, Santa’s Sleigh can be
seen out on the streets of Knaresborough, raising a smile while supporting
the Lions Christmas Collection. It can also be seen and heard, in the
Marketplace during December. Funds raised by Santa’s Sleigh
goes towards the cost of Christmas parcels for the elderly people of the
town living alone. |
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The Lions are often to be
found in Knaresborough supporting events in Knaresborough; for more
information visit Knaresborough
Online What's On The Lions Club of
Knaresborough celebrated the new millennium in style by establishing a
historical trail around the town centre. The trail has been specifically
designed to be wheel chair friendly and follows a mostly level route that is
marked out with bronze plaques set into the pavements and footpaths. Many
points of interest along the way are described in an illustrated booklet
available from the Tourist Office and local shops. Local people and visitors are
attracted to the trail and benefit from learning more about the history and
buildings of the ancient town of The then-Lion Club
President Terry Rumsey said: "I am delighted with the new trail which is
the result of a lot of hard work by the Club members. I believe that the
trail will be a lasting attraction to the town and help promote the
importance of local history as well as increasing the profile of the town as
an attractive place to visit. The fact that it is accessible to those with
wheelchairs and pushchairs is extremely important to a service organisation
such as ours." We meet on the 2nd and 4th
Wednesday of every month in the evenings at the The Borough Bailiff on the
High Street. We always find time to
enjoy ourselves, the meetings are interesting and full of humour. The members
and their families often arrange walks, trips out, and the "Burn's Night
Supper" is always looked forward to. If anyone is interested in
joining the Lions please get in touch with those Lions mention at the head of
this page. Lion Richard email: richard.hall@fsmail.net
or Lion Gordon email: gordonrenton@yahoo.co.uk Tel 01423
867835. But BEWARE it's addictive as
well as rewarding! |
Web page courtesy of Jackson Web Services and Knaresborough Online