The year started with our annual New Years Day Fun Run in Beverley which attracted 198 runners for either the 3k for the young ones , the 6k for the more athletic and the more competitive 10k for the various athletic club runners. This fun run is not a race but just a chance to shake off the Christmas excesses and many of the runners raise funds from sponsorship for their own particular charity. All of the finishers receive a memento medal for their efforts.
The Beverley Lions hold many fund raising activities throughout the year and one of them is the very popular monthly Car Boot Sales that run between March and November at Beverley Grammar School. These have now been held for over 25 years and were originally held at the Cattle Market in Morton Lane
Another of the fund raising activities is the Casino Nights that the Lions provide for a fixed fee for various organisations and this comprises of Roulette, Blackjack and various dice and card games. One of these was at the Norwood Recreation Ground which formed part a three day event which marked the Norwood Recreation Grounds Centenary Year.
The Beverley Lions teamed up with the Haltemprice Lions and at the Tesco Store in Beverley collected donations from the shoppers raising £1,800 for the Marie Curie Cancer appeal. This is the second year that the Lions have done this and is part of a national fund raising activity by Marie Curie where the Lions throughout the UK collect money at their local Tesco supermarket
Continuing their good work in the community the Beverley Lions held three concerts at the Beverley Memorial, this years Beverley Lions Christmas concert was the last event to be held at the Beverley Memorial Hall and was very well attended with the audience being provided with light refreshments and entertainment.
The annual Charity Am-Am Golf Day is a major fund raiser when 132 golfers took part playing for over £2000 worth of prizes. This is now in its 12th year and has raised over £30,000 for donation to local worthy causes such as Dove House, McMillan Nurses, Castle Hill Breast Screening unit and this year it proved to be a terrific success which raised £3,500 of which £2,500 was donated to the Hull and East Riding Institute for the Blind.
Each year a group of Beverley Lions assist with the organisation of the disabled sports at the Doncaster Race Course. This is an event where all of the Lions Clubs in the District which cover Yorkshire and North Derbyshire are in involved and disabled people from all over take part.
The Beverley Lions organise the annual Family Day at the Beverley Race Course at the August Bank Holiday where children are able to enjoy a number of stalls and games. At the end of the day’s races the Lions are allowed to carry out a bucket collection from the departing punters. Keeping with tradition the President of the Beverley Lions also present a cut glass rose bowl to the trainer of the best turned out horse on the day.
The Grant-a-Wish scheme proved to be popular as young people write in and make a special request which the Beverley Lions do their best to fulfill. This year someone from Beaver Road in Beverley got her wish granted, a signed photograph of Jamie Oliver. There were many requests as usual with most of them being very simple things such as seeing a fire engine close up.
The Beverley Church Boys Brigade and Church Girls Brigade also benefited from the Beverley Lions generosity as they received camping equipment and musical instruments. The group which is made up of children ages between 8 and 18 practise weekly and also compete as a group on a national scale.
Millers Day Centre in Beverley also benefited as they were gifted an interactive pressure mat that is used to stimulate the senses. The mat allows children with disabilities react or produce sounds and has been a real hit.
The Beverley Leisure Centre was given hoist by the Beverley Lions costing £3,500 which will make it safer and easier for people with disabilities to access the swimming pool. This is the second chair lift the Beverley Lions have provide as the previous one used in the Mill Lane pool was not suitable for the Leisure Centre.
In November the Beverley Lions Annual Fireworks Display on the Westwood attracted close to 6000 people which is provided free of charge as a service activity to the public where the Lions not only organise the bonfire and pay for the fireworks but clear up all of the rubbish on the following day. The Army from Leconfield helped to set up the bonfire and safety zones and they decided it was better for them to attend this event than have their own. They provided two coaches for the soldiers, wives and children and donated £1000 to the Beverley Lions towards the cost of the fireworks
Christmas is always a busy time for the Beverley Lions which include erection of the Christmas Lights on the Market Cross and the Christmas Tree, the Light-a-Candle-for-a-Loved-One and Carol Singing at Tesco as well as the very popular win a Christmas Hamper competition.
A number of social event are held each year and the two main formal ones are the Annual Charter Dinner to celebrate the forming of the Club when it was Chartered 50th years ago and the Handover Dinner which is held at the end of June when the new President takes over at the end of the Lionistic year.
In addition to all of these Lions functions, the Lions Ladies Committee also hold various fund raising activities and social functions and also provide an important active supporting role to many of the Lions Club’s major events.
