Throughout the pandemic, although our shop remained closed for an extended period, Southport Lions Club maintained an average spend of £1,000 a month supporting local people in need. Now that our shop is back in profit, we are in a position to increase our spend and here is a summary of the current position:
We will maintain, or increase, our £1,000 a month average on support for local people in need.
We are making a donation of £250 to The Soup Kitchen on London Street in Southport and supplying hats, gloves, and other items from our shop.
We are making an initial donation of £1,000 of food to “Compassion Acts” who are responsible for all the major food banks and associated support services in Southport (take a look at www.compassionacts.uk to see the amazing work they do for our community). We will be looking into making further contributions to their work.
Ukraine: We are making an immediate donation of £1,000 to the LCIF (Lions Clubs International Foundation) “Refugees and Displaced Persons” fund and will be following this up with further donations (including matching donations from some 3rd party collections). This route of funding will ensure the funds are targeted at the most essential needs of refugees. Lions’ clubs in Poland and Romania are providing advice and will ensure the best value is achieved. If refugees ultimately arrive in the Southport area we will be looking to provide them support. We have a cash donations box in the shop specifically for Ukraine. You can also make a direct donation – just get in touch for more information (see below). (Donations for Ukraine will go directly to the LCIF fund).
We have already funded three defibrillators (Churchtown, Birkdale, and Ainsdale) and are about to install another in our shop in Ainsdale – this will be available for public use during shop opening hours.
THANKS! None of this would be possible without the support of the amazing individuals who volunteer at our shop and give freely of their time to help us help others. We also depend on the generosity of the people of Ainsdale and Southport in making donations and shopping with us. Thank you!
How can you help? By shopping at “The Lions Shop” and/or donating your unwanted items (anything in a good saleable condition - clothing, jewellery, bric-a-brac, furniture, books, electrical items, etc. etc.) to the shop you are helping us with all our endeavours. Donations of goods can be made at our furniture store at 20B Station Road, Ainsdale on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays between 10:00am and 3:00pm where you can drive in to drop off (between CPL Solicitors and Waterfields bakery). If you have a large donation of goods or furniture, we may be able to collect in our van.
Want to volunteer? We always need volunteers to help in our shop and at our furniture store – call the shop during opening hours and ask to speak to Helen, the manager.
Value for money? Our charity shop is a business and we have to pay bills like everyone else. The profit from the shop is paid into the Southport Lions Charity funds after which no further expenses or deductions are made. All the costs of running the club are covered by membership fees (currently £10 a month for Southport Lions Club members). If you are interested in joining Lions email us at TheLionsShop@outlook.com.