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This page is where we go into a little more detail about things we have done in the past and hope to be doing in the future to help people in need. Because we are part of Lions Clubs International, as well as providing practical and financial help to the people who live in the Swansea Valley we can proudly contribute to the efforts of Lions Clubs worldwide providing help for the victims of natural disasters such as the recent earthquake in China and the effects of man-made pain and suffering, for example the people of Bosnia who, after all this time, are still in need of help. Lions CLubs International will continue to provide help where ever it is needed irrespective of nationality, colour or creed.
Not least amongst theses projects is 'Campaign Sight First II'; this campaign has the object of eliminating curable and preventable blindness throughout the World. Not even the wealthiest nations of the world are brave enough to take on that challenge but Lions are not only taking it on - we are succeeding! Wouldn't you like to be part of that?
However, like every other Lions Club throughout the world, our 'home turf' is where we do most of our work. Quite obviously, we cannot go into details about a lot of the help that we have provided because we are honour bound to respect the privacy of the many individuals who we assist but the following individuals are happy for this information to appear here.
Glantawe Lions Club uses the support of the community to help Lucy Wiemers. Every year Glantawe Lions hold an Easter Raffle and several Friends of Glantawe Lions sell Easter Eggs for the club. This year they were helped by the Sleeping Giant Foundation, Abercraf; Forever Young Club, Clydach; The INCO VALE Social Club, Clydach; The Dragon Burns Club, Morriston Hospital; The Llansamlet and Birchgrove Old Age Pensioners Clubs; The Bridge End Inn, Birchgrove, The West Cross Air Cadets; Morriston Rugby Club Youth team; The Pontardawe Stroke Club; The Cefn Hengoed Comprehensive School.
Over 2 dozen eggs were raffled and over £500 was raised. No sooner had the monies been counted, when a very worthwhile cause was found through the auspices of the South Wales Evening Post and the Birchgrove Community Association. Being a club that supports the Swansea Valley, Glantawe Lions were very keen to spend the monies back in the Swansea Valley community. Little Lucy Wiemers from Llansamlet is ill with leukaemia, and a fund has been started to raise over £8000 by June to send her and her 5 brothers and sisters to Spain for a holiday together.
After meeting Lucy’s grandmother Paula and Lucy herself at the Birchgrove Rugby Club Fun Day that was being held to boost the fund, one of the Lions was so moved that he persuaded the club to donate £500 from the proceeds of the Easter Egg Raffle. This donation was made at a Fancy Dress Darts Marathon that was held at the Mill House in Cwmbath Road, Morriston on Saturday April 17th.
Glantawe Lions Club has hosted a Comprehensive School, Key Stage 3 Quiz, at Graig Felin Community Centre, Clydach. Three teams entered the first of what is hoped to become an annual ‘Comprehensive School Quiz.’ Teachers and parents watched with great enjoyment, as Quiz Master Lion Brendan Sweeney put the questions, written by himself, to the teams and shouts of “Yes,” were sounded by the really enthusiastic pupils, as they learned they could help with that particular answer. The quiz therefore both helped pupils with their revision and also allowed them to enjoy a very pleasant evening in the company of their fellow pupils. It also showed the pupils the subject areas where they might need a bit more revision.
The Winners! The Cwmtawe Comprehensive team with Lion President Chris Sheldon and Quizmaster Lion Brendan Sweeney.
The Cefn Hengoed Gladiators.
Lion Quiz Master Brendan Sweeney hard at work!
One of the teachers on seeing how much the students enjoyed themselves expressed the hope that it would become a regular event. The schools that provided this year's entry teams said they would gladly attend again next year. It is also hoped that the competition will grow in the future and will see more comprehensive schools in the Swansea valley area get involved. Cwmtawe Comprehensive School who won, will keep the shield presented by Glantawe Lions Club this year. Miniature winners and runners-up shields were presented to members of the respective teams.
Glantawe Lions with the help of Swansea Valley Scout Group assemble and distribute Christmas Hampers to the less fortunate within our Community. We arrange with the local Scout Group to drop leaflets to the local housing estates and ask for parcels of non perishable items, we then collect and sort the food and shop for items that are missing.
This year Birchgrove Junior School made a donation of £120 from their Harvest Festival towards our hamper project.
Nominations for the recipients come via the local health centre or doctors' surgeries where the Health Visitor or District Nurse advises how many hampers they require and the size of the family. We never know the recipients of the hamper, but the feed back we get from the Health Visitor and Nurses is always positive. This year we made up 92 hampers, 34 of those to very large families, so over the festive season we feed approximately 350-400 people.
This project takes three days to complete 1st day collection and shopping for the contents, 2nd day assembling and labelling the hampers, 3rd day delivering to the Doctors surgeries and Health Centres from Morriston to Abercrave.
A time consuming task, but very worthwhile. This is what makes Christmas special.
When Lion David Wilkinson heard that the Ystalyfera Cricket Club's Under 12 Team was in need of new whites but was having difficulty in finding the necessary finance he proposed that Glantawe Lions should help out. The Club agreed and presented a cheque for the purchase of new shirts. The photograph shows Lion President Alan Davies with the Team in June 2008.
Jack Thomas of Morriston, Swansea was selected to represent Great Britain in the European Swimming Championship for handicapped people. Glantawe Lions were proud and delighted to provide him with some help to meet his travelling costs. Vice President Phil Taylor is seen here presenting a cheque to Jack in March 2008:
We would like to point out that the Glantawe Lions Club incorporates the Glantawe Lions Club Charitable Trust Fund (Registered Charity No. 1079936); a significant proportion of the above donations were made through the Charitable Trust Fund.
