Lions Spectacle recycling scheme a brilliant success

Over the last number of years Newcastle Lions have ran a spectacles recycling programme, where glasses are left in local opticians and the library. In September 2022 , the programme was expanded when Newcastle Lions Club began a recycling project with Belfast City Council. The aim to collect glasses left at the four recycling centres in Belfast and despatch these to Lions Medico France where the glasses would be distributed all over the world to people in need . The Belfast Project could not have been achieved with out the help and support of the Mourne Grange Village Community ,Kilkeel. As part of the collection which is completed four times each year to the four Belfast recycling centres, today helpers Neill and James from Mourne Grange achieved the best collection from Belfast and returned to Newcastle with five large boxes of spectacles and cases. The Belfast glasses will be added to the Newcastle collection and boxed and despatched to France. Over the next months these glasses will be requested by Lion Clubs all over the world to help people in need. Newcastle Lions President Liz Murphy, paid tribute to the work of Mourne Grange who help fifty residents with a learning difficulties . Mourne Grange through managing their farm and craft workshop , work hard at being self sufficient.

Mourne grange Village community helpers Neill Randall & James Ferguson assist Lion Dan O'Reilly with spectacle collection .

Lions volunteers in Turkey and Syria, helped by recent Lions Fund Raising efforts.

Photograph, Newcastle Lions members, Virginia Hughes, President Liz Murphy and Marian McGreevy present a cheque for the Lions International Turkey /Syria Appeal for £1,250.00 to Past Lion District governor Bernard Black .

Having earlier organised a weekend on 11th & 12th February, of fund raising and defibrillator awareness at Base Coffee, through the generous help of owner Charlie Magennis, Newcastle Lions and T Gem defib guardians had to quickly alter their agenda with the terrible news of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria. Over the week end, the public very generously donated £1,128.15 to the Lions T Gem appeal.

Today the death toll has reached more than 38,000 people with a huge population homeless and in severe winter conditions.

Already many Lions Clubs in Ireland have made generous donations to the Lions District Treasurer. This has now been added to by Newcastle Lions who have donated £1,250.00 in response to the appeal on Monday last. Since last week, the Lions Club International Foundation has already donated $200,000 through their Major Catastrophe Funds. With the recent donations ,more funds will now follow.

Newcastle Lions Club continues great work in Sri Lanka

Lion Emma presenting a scholarship donation to student Tebith, also in the photograph, President Lion Prash, Lion Amali, Lion Emma, Tebith, Lion Muthu & Lion Kanis

As well as being an associate member of Newcastle Lions Club, Lion Emma Chestnutt is also a full member of the Lions Club of Colombo Alexandrite Sri Lanka . Over the past couple of years Emma has spent a lot of time in Sri Lanka where she has worked hard to fund raise and also raise awareness of the plight of the people of Colombo and the work of the local Lions Club in helping them.

Recently Emma returned to Sri Lanka, while there Emma visited an orphanage and a plantation and while attending the Lions Club , meeting a young boy who has just started university, we gifted him a scholarship which will enable him to continue with his studies.

One project that really struck a cord with Emma was the idea of a breakfast club. Today in the UK due to the current economic hardship, the most often used sentence is, heat or eat . Because of this many schools have introduced a free breakfast club to help children maybe get only one meal per day. In Sri Lanka because education is so important, parents have to make a choice pay school fees or eat. With the intention of minimising child hunger and to feed the needy the Lions Club International and Lions Clubs in Sri Lanka have joined with the Ministry of Education to launch a special project called ‘Fight child hunger’. Thousands of children go to school hungry so it is the intention to serve a meal to school children across the country.

Newcastle Lions thank Emma also President Prash and the Lions of Alexandrite for the great work which they do and hopes, our club can continue to help when possible. You can find more information about the Alexandrite Club at https://www.facebook.com/LionsClubofColomboAlexandrite