Message from the President of Glantawe Lions Club

As President of Glantawe Lions Club, I would just like to tell you that we are a small part of the largest service organisation in the World with over 4,600 Clubs in over 200 countries. As a service organisation we try to help people in trouble wherever they may be. Needless to say, Clubs are very focussed on their own communities and Glantawe is no exception in this respect supporting local youth in a variety of practical ways, making grants to clubs for the elderly and many, many others, but we also support Lions’ International Programmes that range from Campaign Sight First, the Lions’ own project to eliminate ALL curable and preventable blindness throughout the World, to the Lions Clubs International Foundation that has provided money for all sorts of humanitarian projects (including many in the United Kingdom) and emergency help when natural disasters strike. All of this costs money that we raise in many ways, from local events to raffles. Lions Clubs are unique in that the members meet all the administration costs of their Clubs from their membership subscriptions; not one penny is taken from the money raised for these charitable purposes.

So if you are interested in meeting new people, providing help for people less fortunate than ourselves whilst having a great deal of fun, then why not come along and see what we are all about. We meet at the Ynystawe Cricket Club (see below) at 7.30pm on the second Wednesday of each month where we will be very pleased to welcome you.

I very much look forward to meeting you.

Lion Christine Sheldon, President Glantawe Lions Club, 2009-10

Glantawe Lions Club was formed in 1973 when it received its Charter from Lions Clubs International. So Glantawe Lions has been providing practical and financial aid to individuals and groups in the Swansea Valley and further afield for over thirty five years.

Although Glantawe Lions, in common with Lions throughout the World, like to enjoy themselves and not become too bogged down with stuffy meetings, we are only too aware that the business of raising money, receiving and assessing requests for help and the disbursement of money raised has to be taken seriously.

The Club therefore meets once a month at a formal 'Business Meeting' when these topics are deliberated upon by the members and decisions are made. In order to cover the necessary business in a reasonable time, Glantawe Lions Club appoints a number of sub-Committees that also meet monthly to deal with such topics as Community Service, Youth and Fund Raising activities in some detail. They then report back to the Business meetings with recommendations. The Business Meetings are held at Ynystawe Cricket Club, Park Road, Ynystawe, Swansea, SA6 5AP on the second Wednesday of the month at 7.30pm.

Every year Lions Clubs elect a President and one or two Vice Presidents; the First Vice President deputises for the President in his/her absence. The President chairs the Club's Business Meetings and provides guidance to the Club when necessary. The President appoints a Club Secretary, Hon Treasurer and the chairpersons of the various sub-Committees. However, it is usually the case that the President's appointments are strongly influenced by Club opinions and, of course by the preferences of individual Lions.

As we noted above, Lions do like to have a good time so every month there is a 'Dinner Meeting' which is also attended by partners and friends or, indeed, anybody who has an interest in what we do. Dinner Meetings are most definitely not formal affairs and need not necessarily involve a dinner in the usual sense of the word although food is usually involved!