Lara Lions Club 'We Serve'

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Other Community Support

International Bushfire Award

(International award for members of the Lions Club of Lara who volunteered at the Kinglake Bushfires.)

The Lara Lions Club provides a range of other support to our community, such as:

supporting the St John Ambulance appeal
selling Legacy badges in the Lara Centreway shopping centre
helped a young man suffering from terminal cancer achieve his wish and desire to meet or speak to his idols in the country music industry, we were able to get Adam Brand, Lee Kernigan and Adam Harvey to make contact with him, many thanks go to Lion John Mitchell for his assistance in helping this young man.
helping the Lara Lake Primary School move furniture during their rebuilding programme
assisting the City of Greater Geelong at the National Youth Day held at Lara Secondary College
helping a lady with four children, a youth with leukaemia to enjoy a trip of a life time, and another family having a rough time with serious health problems
helping at the Relay for Life on both days, raising over $320,000
providing input into the City of Greater Geelong's Lara Structure Plan. This was important as a community organisation input, since the demise of the Lara Progress Association.
pursuing the issue with the City of Greater Geelong of the Library Bus being moved to a safer place when parked in Waverley Road
receiving three special requests for assistance:
- From Gateways, an umbrella organisation for disability and aged care services in Geelong. It is a not-for-profit organisation and was formed by an amalgamation of a number of other services.
  The Interchange section of Gateways has been established to 'match' volunteer families with disabled children and young people (0-25 years) whereby the disabled child stays with the host family for one weekend a month. All of the host families are volunteers.
  In our case, there was a Lara family prepared to host a Lara child - a wheelchair bound girl suffering from cerebral palsy. The host home is not wheelchair accessible; thereby the request for assistance to fund the purchase of a ramp was made. The ramp is fully portable and can be re-used if necessary.
- The Club donated the sum of $1,200 to Gateways, to enable the purchase of a Tri-fold 8-ft. ramp to assist the Interchange programme.
- From Christian Ali, a child suffering from a severe congenital problem called 'Arthrogryposis' which almost completely debilitates him. After some research and a visit to the family to sum up the situation first hand, the Club has donated $2,000 to Chris and his family to further assist them in with the purchase of a suitable vehicle.
- Also, $2,000 to a stroke victim who required some assistance to improve his quality of life and helping ensure a secure future
holding a monthly raffle at the Lara Centreway Shopping Centre raising over $1,000 each year to assist Club projects.
Receiving a donation of $1,500 from the Lara Baptist Church which was dispersed as $500 to the Citizen of the Year Award and $1,000 to the Lara Beautification project
donating $1,000 to the V2 District Charitable Trust Fund for East Timor, and $500 was donated to the Lions Mobility Foundation which manages the Hart-Walker programme
a close involvement with a number of community issues, such as staffing levels at the Lara Police Station, and the Lara Traffic Plan
assisting both Lara CFA and Little River CFA with donations of $1,500
donating $500 to each of the Australian Lions Foundation, Victorian Lions Foundation, Lions Mobility Foundation, and for assistance to a hospital in Bali. Other financial assistance has been given to Bluey Day; a Werribee Secondary College student; Cottage by the Sea; Lions Drug Awareness Foundation; Lions Hearing Dogs programme; Operation Teddy Bear; Lions Village Licola; a local disabled child; Special Olympics; Moriac Lions Murray to Moyne bike event; Peter Smith appeal; Geelong School Chaplaincy Appeal and to Elcho Park Golf Club Open event.
engaging in a joint venture with the local Neighbourhood Watch team on 1 November 2003, being a Valuables and Bike Marking day which was a success with 25 Bicycles, a mobile phone and other valuables being marked. Local Police supported the day and attended periodically along with the Lara Community Centre who gave a $200 donation to community projects. During the day, a young Lara citizen surprised everyone by coming forward and personally donating $100 to the Lions Club for community projects.
Lions again joined with NHW and the newly chartered Leo Club of Lara with Bike Marking.