March and April certainly flew by for our Club, as it was another busy couple of months. We had members cooking BBQs for charity events and on film sets, club officer training, feeding the homeless and sponsoring puppies.
The month of March started with another great meal at Rydges South Park. We inducted two (2) new members, David and Kristy, and were inspired by our guest speakers from Citizen Advocacy SA.
On March 17th, a group of members fed the homeless and hungry at Fred’s Van, and on March 19th, we made a delivery of care packs, cushions and port pillows to the Breast Care Centre at St Andrew’s Hospital.
We had a very excited group of Lion Cubs when a group of our Lions joined them at the Australian Lions Hearing Dogs (ALHD) training centre at Verdun. We met with the CEO, David Horne, and a trainer for a demonstration and lesson on the training process. We then had a tour of the facilities and had a play with a couple of puppies who were about to start their journey to becoming a hearing dog. The President of our Club, together with the President of the Little Roarers Cubs Club, presented ALHD with a donation for $1,000 to go towards their programs.
Soon after our visit to ALHD, it was decided that our Lions Club would make an additional $2,000 donation to ALHD which would allow our Lions and Cubs to sponsor a hearing foster puppy. Of course, our Cubs were especially excited about this, even more so when they found out they were going to pick the name and get updates on the puppy’s journey. The name that received the most votes, by a mile, is ‘Spud’. And our puppy is a black labradoodle. He is adorable.
On March 24th, our members supported the Roady 4 Roadies event at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. This event was all about supporting the entertainment industry, primarily the roadies, but also struggling artists and support crews etc. who are among the highest to face mental health issues in Australia. It was great to be invited to support such a great cause.
The final event/activity for March involved our President, Andrew Stacey, attending the Governor’s Multicultural Awards at Government House. It was a lovely day, a large crowd, fantastic entertainment and simply a great atmosphere in which a number of South Australians were honoured.
After ‘Mad March’ it was time for a rest … but not for our club. On April 1st, April Fools Day, we had our club dinner meeting. Another great turn out for a fun evening which involved inducting a new member, welcome Dipson, a game of speed charades which had some hilarious results, and an inspiring presentation from Second Chances SA. We were proud to make a $250 donation to assist in the incredible work this organisation does.
It was going to be a quiet month, and then the requests started rolling in. We supported the South Australian film corporation by providing a BBQ for the extras and fillers on the set of the film ‘Never Too Late’ starring Shane Jacobsen, Rob Billing and Jacqui Weaver, just to name a few.
We then supported Parkinson’s SA at their annual Walk-a-thon, helping them with their fundraising efforts; an organisation we have supported for many years now. And the following day we cooked up a storm for the many hungry athletes and their parents at a local primary school sports day.
On April 11th, we were back at Pinky Flat supporting the SA Film Corp again, and Lions Ray & Andrew were treated to a meet and greet with actor Shane Jacobson.
Vice District Governor Tony, Lions Marilyn and Petrea, visited the Mawson Lakes Lions Branch Club dinner at a restaurant in Mawson Lakes on April 18th. It was great to visit another club, be a part of the club’s first dinner meeting (something new they are trialing) and hear from their guest speaker, Lyn, from Dementia Australia.
To round out the month of April, we had a very busy Sunday. We had a few members attend the Club Officer Development Training at Elizabeth for the day, and our Cubs Club President, Indiana, also made a presentation at the forum, while a number of our other members were on the BBQ again at the North Adelaide Rare & Classic Car Show event.
Our Lions and partners have been busy, but so have our Cubs. The Little Roarers Cubs Club have spent their first term collecting glasses for the Lions Recycle for Sight Project, learning about people living with different disabilities and the challenges they face, learning to finger spell in Auslan (Australian Sign Language), and started working on their own project which involves making items and activities for sick children. Items include pom poms, beaded key chains, board games, writing stories, making bookmarks and more. Not to mention, their visit to ALHD, naming the puppy and running their weekly after school meetings. They are all to be commended for their hard work.
We have had a couple of busy months, and everyone’s time and efforts have been greatly appreciated. We are fortunate to have such a fantastic group of members. Thank You!



