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Caterham Oxted and Godstone Lions are here to
serve the community. We thought you would like to read about some of the things we do
| Lion Ken presents the cheque to Victoria |
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£500 for St Catherine's Hospice
Lion President Ken Reissland presented Victoria Lawrence, who is a fundraiser for St Catherine's, with
a cheque for £500. The money was raised during the Club's very successful and enjoyable garden party at which
three of the Young Musicians (sponsored by COGS for the European Competition) played classical music while those attending
ate homemade sandwiches, cakes, scones followed by strawberries and cream. It was a very good afternoon. The cheque was
presented at a Club supper during which Victoria spoke about the Hospice.
GARDEN PARTY
Caterham, Oxted & Godstone Lions (COGS) held a fundraising garden
party at the home of one of its members on a Saturday in June and prepared for every kind of weather – just in case.
But the sun shone all afternoon and guests, nearly 80 in all, enjoyed a pleasant afternoon in lovely surroundings. The money
raised was mainly for the local St Catherine’s Hospice and because the event was so well attended it meant that the
Club will present a cheque for about £500 to the Hospice. All through the sunny afternoon as the tea, sandwiches, cakes, strawberries
and cream and glasses of Pimms were all enjoyed music was played by the three lovely Young Musicians that have been sponsored
in the past by COGS. Laura Snowden, the most recent European finalist who came second in the competition
played her guitar, Julie Groves who was a finalist in Bournemouth a few years ago was still enchanting on her flute and the
brilliant Fiona Myall joined them on the oboe. It was good of them to play for COGS and for the Hospice and great to see them
playing together. It was also a good way to keep in touch with them and advertise the fact that Lions sponsor young musicians.
Everyone enjoyed the music.
ANOTHER KNOCKOUT EVENT
COGS with the help of other Lions Clubs organised and ran the annual It's a Knockout Competition for youngsters
and a few older people with physical or learning difficulties. It is one of the most popular and joyful events in COGS
diary and this year was well attended with enthusiastic participants giving it their all. This year it was held in East Grinstead
on 18th May.
Helping with the games were Lions Clubs from the neigbouring districts including Horley, Biggin Hill, Bromley,
East Grinstead and of course COGS.
The Zone Chairman Denise Balcombe came along with the Deputy Mayor of East Grinstead,
Cllr Liz Bennett who was on her first engagement and who thoroughly enjoyed the day. The Chairman of Tandridge District Council,
Cllr Brian Perkins also turned up and took part in some of the games.
There were two teams from the National Centre for
Young People with Epilepsy (NCYPE) they were the Blockbusters and Louisa's Bulls. Other teams were the Bletchingley Skill
Centre, Colebrook Day Centre and East Grinstead Gateway.
It is a day that is packed with fun, laug:hter and a great deal
of enthusiasm and competition. But there can only be one overall winner which this year was NCYPE's Louisa's Bulls.
The best Joker was played by Bletchingley Skill Centre.
All those taking part were given a certificate in recognition
of their individual achievements.
| Peter Moxley receives the cheque |
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CHEQUE FOR ST PIERS
Lion
President John Quincey presented Peter Moxley of Horley Lions Club with a cheque for £500 to go towards a pirate ship
for the grounds of the National Centre for Young People with Epilepsy (NCYPE), sometimes known as St Piers. Peter, who also
works at the Centre, received the cheque at a COGS supper on Saturday 21 May. In the past COGS have visited the Centre and
have also welcomed a team from there each year when they hold the It's a Knockout competition in East Grinstead.
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| Two tartan clad diners |
| Happy haggis helpers |
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A HAGGIS AND TARTAN THANK YOU
In spite of the consequent cancellation of some of our fund raising Christmas activities volunteers had still
come forward to help either with towing the Father Christmas float, doing the door to door collections or by
standing in freezing temperatures shaking tins outside supermarkets and a garden centre. Without their help the
club would not be able to carry out the many fundraising events it organises for this time of the year. By way of saying
'thank you' and showing our appreciation for their many efforts the club hosted a Haggis and Tartan dinner. The
theme was chosen because it was so close to Burns Night and lots of guests and members entered into the spirit of the occasion
by donning tartans, either in tradditional style, or in fancy dress mode. The menu was haggis with whiskey, beef
stew and cranchan, a traditional Scottish desert. The haggis was piped in by 13 year old Sally Morritt whose grandparents
are members of the club.
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Donations
With your help, we raised just over
£10,000 in the twelve months leading to 1st July 2009 and have been able to make donations to the following people and
organisations:
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Building Brighter Futures |
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Bletchingley School Friends |
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Bletchingley Skills Centre |
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| COGs Lions Minibus |
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| Planters at St Stephen's School South Godstone |
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| Laura Snowden Dec 2009 |
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| Lion President Alan presents a cheque at Lingfield |
COG's Visit NYPCE
at Lingfield
As part of COG's social calendar a visit was made to the National Young Persons
Centre of Excellence for those suffering from epilepsy (NYPCE) This is a wonderful charity in its own right and members of
the Club were inspired by a group of older students who shared with us just what it was like to suffer from epilepsy. These
young people are now managing to cope with and manage their condition thanks to the skill and dedication of the team at Lingfield.
Peter Moxley, a fellow Lion from Horley Club, was on hand to tell us exactly what it takes to run a place that caters for
200 students. This is a tiny fraction of the 75,000 young people in this country who suffer from epilepsy.
Members
of COG's enjoyed a splendid meal while learning about the centre and before the students left Lion President presented
a cheque for £500 to go towards some much needed IT equipment.
If you would like to learn more about this worthwhile
cause please get in touch using our contact page.
COG Lions helping out nationally and internationally
As well as helping local people COG Lions respond to national and international calls for help.
See "Latest News" for international help with the earthquake in Haiti through Lions Clubs International Foundation
(LCIF) COG's has already made an intial donation with more to follow. In recent years, COG Lions sponsored families in Sri Lanka following the Tsunami and sent donations
for families affected by floods in the UK. COG Lions also take part in the the SE Shoebox Appeal, in partnership with the Lions Belarus Trust, which
supports the families and children of Belarus affected by the Chernobyl nuclear power station disaster 22 years ago.
Other Lions Work
As part of its membership of Lions Clubs International, COG Lions participate
in the work of the programmes associated with Lions Clubs International. These programmes are many and varied.
In 1925, Helen Keller addressed the Lions
International Convention. She challenged Lions to become "knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness."
From this time, Lions clubs have been actively involved in service to the blind and visually impaired and from this the "white
stick" system of recognised partially or unsighted people became the norm. Lions Clubs have been recycling unwanted
spectacles for many years, sending them to third world countries where they can be put to good use. Look our for our
collection bins in Eothen Health Centre.
Lions are closely connected to Medic Alert, the life saving identification
system which protects and saves lives. In the South East Lions are actively working with the LIBRA project. LIBRA
is the "Lions International Blood Research Appeal". Its aim is to provide laboratory space and equipment at King's
College Hospital in London, for research into, diagnosis and treatment of Haemophilia, Leukaemia, Thalassaemia and Sickle
Cell Disease.
COG Lions also support Dentaid, Message in a Bottle, the Lions Eye Health Programme and Diabetes Awareness.
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