Oatley Leo Club
In an interview, Ms. Jessica Veit, Director of the Oatley's Leo Club, Australia talks about its fundraising and charity activities.
The Club became a part of the International Lions Club in November 2001. The Leo Club is sponsored as well as is a sub-division of the International Lions Club. It is a youth group that seeks to engage young men and women between the age of 13 and 25 in charity activities as well as fundraising to help finance local community projects. The current membership of the Club includes members between the age group of 17 to 21 years.
The Club organizes various activities all of which are researched planned and organized by Jessica. Its regular monthly activities include visits to a shelter for the homeless run by the local Church members. During the previous Oatley Lions Festival, the Oatley Leo's Club had helped raise funds for the shelter home by managing fun rides for kids as well as by running Barbeque food stalls. Besides this, the Club also organizes monthly musical programmes where people can participate in singing and piano playing.
Oatley Lions has been actively supporting the Red Cross and the Starlight Foundation as well as the UNICEF in fundraising activities in Australia. It has only recently aligned with RESPECT International. Through its alliance with RESPECT, the Oatley Lions Club has now become part of the pen pal club existing as part of the various programs run by RESPECT. Oatley Lions pen pals are based in Guinea, West Africa. One of the first activities that the Oatley Lions is planning as part of its alliance with RESPECT is to fundraise and arrange for a generator for the students in schools in Guinea to run their computers.
The fundraising activities of Oatley Lions are carried out in various ways. For example, to help fundraise for the generator in Guinea, the Oatley Lions has engaged in selling Cadbury chocolates. It is also planning to organize fun rides and food stalls at the coming Oatley Lions festival to raise funds for the generator.
Jessica informed RESPECT that contact with school had not been established as yet as the letters from Oatley Leos were yet to reach the school. Plus, the club is also looking forward to provide the kids in Guinea with books and other school related stationery.