At our monthly business meeting of 3 Feb 2020 Henley Lions presented a £500 cheque to Ernie Povey and his daughter Debs Boughey for the 1st Shiplake Scouts. Lion President David Skinner and Lion Pam Phillips thanked both Ernie and Debs for all their help with Santa’s Sleigh. Pam said that we couldn’t make the sleigh happen without their untiring help. The funds will be used to help kit out their scout hut which recently suffered fire damage.
Henley Lions presented cheques for £2,000 each to the children’s charities First Days and Footsteps. The £4,000 was the proceeds from Santa’s Grotto at Toad Hall Garden Centre where the club helped Santa see 1187 children over the four weekends leading up to Christmas Day 2019. Club member and PRO John Moore explained, “this is a terrific opportunity to help these two organisations who we hope can benefit from the money donated. Toad Hall’s Martin Sheldrake and Lynn Burgess have been integral to the success of the Henley Lions fundraising and set a new record of 1,187 children visiting their Christmas Grotto last month.” First Days Children’s Charity aims to reduce long term effect of poverty on children by equipping them with the essential items they need for their early years and at school. Footsteps Foundation provide financial support to improve the quality of life for children with cerebral palsy and other neurological disorders. This was the club’s 11th year of supporting Santa at Toad Hall and we’re already looking forward to Christmas 2020!! Our thanks to the Henley Herald for the photo.
