Monthly News from the Lion President

Handover July 2023

May 2023 - July 2023

The members of the Lions Club agreed funding for the following: -

January 2023 - April 2023

The members of the Lions Club agreed funding for the following: -

August 2022 - December 2022

Handover July 2022

On 4th July 2022, Lion Alan Ranger (on the right in the picture) took over from Lion Ken Saunders as President. Lion Ken had been President for two years due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

May 2022 - July 2022

January 2022 - May 2022

December 2021/January 2022

• The Christmas Hampers project was again a success and the Club donated £2100 towards this.
• Following the Club's Static Collections, it was agreed to donate £1000 to the charity "Riding for the Disabled".

October/November 2021

August/September 2021

The Club voted the support the following:

• £500 in response to a request from the Lions Club International Foundation (LCIF) for specially adapted balls for visually impaired and blind children and young people. The aim is to purchase 100 balls in MD105 (Great Britain and Ireland).
• An initial £200 to the Town Council for the purchase of cartons for the distribution of Christmas Hampers.
• £500 to 4Sight to help them give support to local residents who need vision support.
• £750 to St Peter and St James' Hospice to sponsor the Hospice's Volunteer of the Year award.
• £1000 to the Inkwell project which supports youngsters at school who suffer from anxiety and need one-to-one support.
• As usual, we agreed to provide a number of tickets for Young Carers to the Burgess Hill Theatre's pantomime.

July/August 2021

The Book Den is now open 6 days a week and we are now having our normal monthly Dinner and Business meetings at Singing Hills Golf Centre.

The Club voted to provide the following:

• £400 to a local Community group for a Fun Day
• Financial support for the BMX Rock Up and Ride Day.

 

May/June 2021

We have had the following applications accepted by the Club: 

• £100 to sponsor T-shirts for a local Youth Group
• £578 to Dicker House Pre-School to pay for new equipment, 
• £2000 to Lions Club International's India Appeal to help with the Coronavirus crisis, 
• £1500 to The Shed for fire alarm updates 
• £527 to the Burgess Hill Bonfire Society for a new gazebo.
• £600 to Burgess Hill Community Radio for air filters and 
• £5,000 to Community Transport Sussex to honour a previous sponsorship agreement.

March/April 2021

The Book Den has finally re-opened again on 14th April on a four days a week basis and we hope to return to the usual 6 days a week as soon as possible.

A defibrillator has been purchased for the Sussex Heart Charity.

January/February 2021

The Book Den has been closed again under lockdown rules due to the increasing number of coronavirus cases.

As schools have been closed also, the Club voted to donate £2,000 each to 6 schools in our area to help provide laptops for children in need. The pictures shows Lion President Ken Saunders outside the Book Den with Lions John Carter and Chris Muschamp of the Welfare Committee.

We have also donated £500 to 4Sight as we have been unable to hold the usual fundraising dinners for them.

November/December 2020

The Club continued to vote on Welfare issues and the members agreed the following donations:

• A £500 donation to the Poppy Appeal from our popular Tombola
• A £470 donation to Burgess Hill Youth for boxes for the Christmas Hampers project
• A £170 donation to Hope 4 All for jigsaws
• A £2140 donation to the Burgess Hill Pantry project for the cost of flooring
• A £1500 donation towards Christmas food hampers
• Lion Roger Stevens has been awarded a Certificate from Lions International for his 50 years of service. This was presented to him by Lion President Ken Saunders

August/September/October 2020

The Book Den opened again on 9th July to the pleasure of local residents under strict Covid-19 regulations but the Lions Club is not able to resume monthly meetings yet. However, the members have agreed to provide the following help:

• A £2,500 donation to Chailey Heritage
• Up to £3,000 to allow the organisers of the Xmas Food Parcel project to purchase food
• A £850 donation to "Forward Facing" to help children with a short life expectancy
• A £3,000 donation to the St Andrews Pre-School group to help them buy equipment to replace that destroyed by rodent infestation during the Lock-Down period.
• A £250 donation to the Hurstpierpoint Girls Brigade to Buy craft materials 
• A £110 donation to buy small gifts for some Young Carers
• A £200 donation to the Poppy Appeal

Handover July 2020

The Handover of the Presidency of Burgess Hill District Lions Club, to incoming President Lion Ken Saunders, took place on Wednesday 1^st July 2020 at the home of Lions Tony & Val Parris but because of the Coronavirus pandemic, numbers were limited so it was by invitation only.

"It has been a great privilege and honour to serve as your President for the 2019/2020 Lions year, although very strange to have nearly a third of my year as President spent in isolation and lockdown caused by the deadly Covid-19 virus. 

I thank the members of the board of directors who have been so helpful during my term of office and every one of you for being kind and understanding when I frequently made mistakes.

The Book Den has thrived under the guidance of The Book Den Committee led by Lion Alan Ranger, going some considerable way towards enabling the club, in its 65^th year, to donate over an astounding £75,000 to good causes and needy individuals.  How brilliant is that?

Thank you all for allowing me to be your President.

Long may the club continue to succeed in its endeavours – We Serve."

Lion President John Rankin.

April/May/June/July 2020

Since early March, the Club and the Book Den have been closed for safety due to coronavirus. Despite the closure the members of the Lions Club have continued to respond to requests for help and donations have been made to support the following causes/projects:

• A £10,000 donation towards the Burgess Hill Coronavirus Community Fund to match the £10,000 provided by Burgess Hill Town Council. A member of the Lions Club has been attending "Zoom" Community Group Committee meetings to decide on the best ways to use this fund for the benefit of the community.
• A £10,000 donation to the Kent, Sussex & Surrey Air Ambulance Coronavirus Emergency Appeal. Lynne Harris, the Executive Director of Income Generation at the Kent, Sussex & Surrey Air Ambulance said "We are extremely grateful to the Burgess Hill District Lions for their continued support at this difficult time"
• A £1,258 donation to Burgess Hill Community Radio to allow them to purchase new computer equipment.

January/February/March 2020

During the first quarter of this year, the members of Burgess Hill District Lions Club have agreed to provide support for the following causes/projects: -

• A £500 donation towards the cost of flood relief in Yorkshire and Derbyshire
• Sponsorship of a climbing wall to be erected in Church Walk at Easter
• Sponsorship of several Burgess Hill Summer Festival events that include the "Wild Event", the Teddy Bears Picnic and a play by the Lord Chamberlains Men
• A £5,000 donation to the "Respect" Youth Club to cover operational costs for the next 3 years - "Respect" is one of three Youth Groups supported by the Lions Club
• A £3,500 donation to Chailey Heritage towards the cost of an accessible garden swing in the grounds of the residential bungalows
• £750 donation towards the cost of a "Cream Tea" Bluebell Railway outing for the Parkinson's Group
• The purchase of a box of 575 small teddies for the South East Coast Ambulance Service. This will allow the paramedics to give each child using an ambulance a teddy. The teddies will hopefully cover a 3 year period.
• A donation towards a VE Day event in Hassocks
• The purchase of 12 pairs of gardening scissors for the Cherry Tree Centre

October/November/December 2019

Since September, the members of Burgess Hill District Lions Club have agreed to provide support for the following causes/projects: -

• A donation to Sussex Oakleaf to help fund their Christmas meal.
• A donation to Summerhaven to help fund their Christmas meal.
• A donation to the Cherry Tree Centre to help fund their Christmas party.
• A donation to St Wilfrids Church to pay for an entertainer for their Christmas Day lunch.
• Donations to two local Guides towards their fundraising efforts to raise money to pay for their respective 2020 overseas community service trips.
• A donation to the Forget-me Not Dementia Club.
• A donation to Cycling Without Age to fund the 1st year's insurance of the trishaw that we recently purchased for the group.
• A donation to the Burgess Hill Academy "After School Group" for the purchase of materials.
• A donation towards the cost of the Dumbrills Resident Association summer family day out in 2020.
• A donation to help fund the 2020 Burgess Hill BMX event .
• Payment for the hire of the 7th Burgess Hill Scouts Marquee for the Summer Festival.
• Sponsorship of the 2020 School Art Competition.

July/August/September 2019

Working full time and at the same time, caring for a teenaged relative, tends to put a bit of a brake on my ability to fully operate in the function of President for the 2019/2020 Lions Year.  However, I have taken this honour on board and hopefully will be able to give support to all the wonderful fund raising and support events to the best of my ability.

This is the 65^th year of the Burgess Hill District Lions Club and I am delighted that in my year as President, our budget for Welfare proposals has been increased to an astounding £65,000!

So, since 1^st July, we as a club have approved the following donations:

•  £5,000 to Community Transport Sussex, to be repeated in the next two years (total £15,000).
• £273.84 to pay for an activities day for 12 young carers at Blacklands Farm.
• £1,250 for Christmas hampers for the needy in the area.
• £100 to support a Girl Guide on her charitable trip to South Africa.
• £2,500 shared between Hassocks Late Night & Burgess Hill Radio's Santa's Grotto.
• £100 to support a Hassocks Ranger's humanitarian trip to South Africa.
• £100 to support another Girl Guide's trip to an as yet undecided destination.
• £110 to fund 11 pantomime tickets for 10 young carers and 1 adult worker.
• £2,595 to fund a Quingo mobility scooter for a severely disabled lady.
• £900 to fund IT upgrades for Windmills Opportunity Playgroup.
• £150 to support SE District's Youth Programme.
• £100 to Lions multiple district charity.
• £500 to Time 4 Children.
• £2,500 to Friends of Burgess Hill Green Circle for anti-dumping fencing.
• £350 for 35 pantomime tickets for Burgess Hill Youth Club.
• £100 to Lions District 105SE LIBRA Appeal.
• £1,400 to fund 72 balls for Burgess Hill Cricket Club.
• £500 to pay for Burgess Hill Radio's advertising banners.
• £2,000 towards Bahamas Hurricane relief.
• £850 to 7^th Burgess Hill Scout Troop.
• £1,100 for pantomime tickets to be distributed to various local schools.
• £250 for Burgess Hill Theatre Club's programmes.

An amazing total of over £22,728 in just three months!

In addition, the club has held several fund-raising evening meal events in support of various Lions supported charitable organisations.

All the above makes me very proud to be a member of the Burgess Hill District Lions Club and more so to be President for this Lions year.

Lion President John G Rankin

Handover July 2019

June 2019

The Lions end of year will shortly be upon us and on the 30^th June I will hand over to President Elect John Rankin. 

Whilst I am sad to go, it gives me great pleasure to be able to inform you that over the past 12 months your generosity in providing book donations has enabled us to assist various local charities to the tune of £40,000.

You can all be proud of what you have help us to achieve.

Being the end of the Lions year will not mean an end to the Book Den: it will carry on as usual and, with your continued goodwill, maybe we can beat this years total.

Lion President John Gee.

April/May 2019

The Book Den continues to thrive and we are very thankful for your support and continued custom. Over the Easter period we have worked to expand our storage capacity at the rear of the shop making life a little easier for all concerned

We have during the last 4 weeks made a number of financial donations to various causes, amongst which have been:

• Relief funds through Lions International to countries hit by Cyclone Idai.
• Cost of provision of a standby ambulance for a children's Teddy Bear Picnic.
• Sponsoring a forthcoming BMX Event and two further youth projects.

Now did your child scale our climbing wall, the one erected by the Help Point? If so we hope they enjoyed the experience our Lion Mascot did - see the picture here!

March/April 2019

A busy month in which we have been able to donate funds to the young and old and other good causes. Two projects are for Scouting and Rides for the Elderly.

You may have seen in the press that a local scout troop had their equipment stolen. We have along with other organisations pledged funds for them to replace stock.

How many elderly people need transport for a relaxing local half day out. Fancy a quite short bike ride driven on a Trishaw by your own experienced PILOT or a run out to the pub with your own chauffeur. This worldwide scheme is happening near you. We have just agreed our biggest project of the year and will shortly be providing a new Trishaw to enable more elderly or infirm citizens the opportunity to get mobile in style.

Look up Cycling without Age Hurst-Hassocks on a computer to discover more or click here.

Thank you for your continued book donations which enable us to do more.

Feb/March 2019

This month we have made numerous donations to worthy local causes. The local radio will be attending Burgess Hill Youth's Birthday Party celebrations in respect of Paul Myles. 

We have agreed to part fund a long term major restoration project of Hurst Players Theatre.

Assist with the funding of the Maple Drive Community Group's Summer Fayre.

Provide specialised headphones and music licences for individuals experiencing memory loss in the Mid Sussex area.

Give better equipment to Sheddingdean Strummers for their performances to the residents at local retirement homes.

Make a donation to Burgess Hill Town Council to run an event for children during the Easter holidays.

Dec 2018/Jan 2019 

Shop-wise: Our closure over the Christmas/New Year period allowed us to undertake some much-needed shop maintenance and shelf re-stocking. We also sent our Bears on their annual 11 month holiday and, thank you for the Christmas Cards and your continued support.

Club-wise: This month we have agreed to donate towards some Lions International Projects, one in conjunction with UNICEF to provide access to water, food and healthcare in the Yemen, and, also, a project for eye screening in Indian schools

At home we presented a cheque from the 2018 Bike Ride to Chailey Heritage, agreed to assist with stonework repairs to a local grade II listed structure, fund - along with other local Lions Clubs - the annual "It's a Knockout Competition" for young adults with learning difficulties, and donate £1,000 to Breast Cancer Research at Brighton.

LASTLY: If you have taken the time to read this, you may also have read the notice relating to new members welcome. Why not give us a try? A little bit of your spare time could help improve somebody's life locally.

Oct/Nov 2018

Another good month in the Book Den has enabled the club to once again commit funds to local worthy charities.

This month with the festive season on the horizon we have agreed to contribute towards the cost of helping three organisations provide a Christmas meal and entertainment for the elderly/lonely.

In addition we have agreed to improve the quality of life for a single parent family by installing basic furnishings in their accommodation. 

Looking ahead to next year's Summer Fayre, we will again be working in partnership with your Town Council to provide facilities in St John's Park for youngsters during town week.

Following the tragic loss of a local youth earlier this year we are assisting graduates from a local training centre raise money for the charity, Young Minds.

LASTLY: Did I see SANTA down by the Radio Station, somebody told me he's there every Saturday and Sunday. Have you seen him yet?

It has been a great privilege and honour to serve as your President for the 2019/2020 Lions year, although very strange to have nearly a third of my year as President spent in isolation and lockdown caused by the deadly Covid-19 virus. I thank the members of the board of directors who have been so helpful during my term of office and every one of you for being kind and understanding when I frequently made mistakes. The Book Den has thrived under the guidance of The Book Den Committee led by Lion Alan Ranger, going some considerable way towards enabling the club, in its 65th year, to donate over an astounding £75,000 to good causes and needy individuals.  How brilliant is that? Thank you all for allowing me to be your President.

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