2019 has been another productive year for the Frome Lions Club who have been busy fundraising and carrying out their charity work in Frome.
Highlights included:
January – Annual Sportsman’s dinner at Orchardleigh House with guest speaker, football pundit and former Aston Villa and Man Utd manager, Ron Atkinson. The event raised £9,250 for the Dorothy House children and young people’s service, who give valuable support to young people who have lost a loved one early in life.
March – saw one of the club’s longest standing fundraisers, the sponsored swim take place. 22 teams took part at the Frome Leisure Centre. The event raised £3,000 for the local branch of CRY, the Julian Wort Memorial Fund, to hold a heart screening in Frome.
May – Charity golf day took place at Orchardleigh Golf Course. 26 teams took part. This year’s charity was Nova Sports and Coaching – a non-profit organisation which delivers high quality inclusive sport to disabled and non-disabled individuals of all abilities, who received £5,000
June – Summer fete was held in Victoria Park. The event was opened jointly by Frome Mayor cllr Mark Dorrington and Frome Town Cryer and Lion, Mike Bishop. Visitors to the fete were treated to an afternoon of fun and pursuits, the highlight of which was a display by the Frome dog training club.
September – Ride Kids Ride a new event this year saw 125 riders take part at the old showground. Children were invited to see how many laps they could complete in 30 minutes riding their bicycles, scooters or skateboards. Every participant received a medal and for every lap completed, they received a raffle ticket. The prize for the winning ticket was a new bike and helmet
This year, two schools in Frome accepted the invitation to participate in the Lions International Peace poster contest. This art contest for children encourages children worldwide to express their visions of peace. Students from The Steiner Academy and Selwood Academy submitted their ideas on this year’s theme Journey of Peace. Three judges judged the posters. The winner was Amaya from the Steiner Academy, whose poster goes forward to the district final.
December – The Tree of Remembrance, erected at Rook Lane Chapel, was blessed by the Rev. Colin Horn in a carol service attended by members of the public, with music provided by Frome Town Band. The tree enables the people of Frome to donate to the Lions in memory of a loved one or cause at this special time of year.
The Lions, along with their colleagues from the Rotary clubs, are currently assisting Father Christmas on his travels around Frome.
The Lions wish all their supporters a happy Christmas and prosperous new year and thank everybody who helped them in 2019.
