Community Projects

Christmas Lights switch on (Wigston)

On Saturday 25th November 2023, the Oadby & Wigston Lions Club members volunteered again at the Bell Street Christmas event. Thank you to everyone who stopped by to chat to us, or to make a purchase from our stall, helping to raise some funds for local charities.

Memorial Garden

The Oadby & Wigston Lions Club's 2021 project was to turn the front landscape area of the Wigston Police & Fire Stations into a Memorial Garden, for those officers who served their community and dedicated their lives to the service. We placed a stone to remember Simon Cole, the late Chief Constable who promoted the Lions 'Message in a bottle' project across the county.

It is intended that this area be enjoyed by all; a place to rest during a busy working day/night, a place of quiet for staff and students to meet, or just somewhere to rest and soak up the sun or take in the evening air. The project co-ordinators are Lion Cllr. Kevin Loydall and Police Inspector Mike Cawley (who is also a Lions Member). The planters are a place where the names of all emergency services personnel who have died in service can be remembered with plaques fixed to the planters.

The Mayor of Oadby & Wigston, Cllr. Lynda Eaton, is interested in watching the project evolve over the seasons, seen here planting a cherry tree to enhance the first phase of the project.

Also in attendance were Lord Bach, Leicestershire Police and Crime Commissioner, Inspector Mike Cawley, Leicestershire Police, Cllr. Kevin Loydall, Oadby & Wigston Lions Club, and Sunita Aggarwal, Queens Drive Stores in Wigston.

The project was sponsored by Sunita and Raj Aggarwal of Queens Drive Stores in Wigston. Raj was always ready to help sponsor several projects in the area. Sadly, Raj did not see the completion of the project as he died in April 2020.

Tree Planting

Members of Oadby & Wigston Lions Club taking part in National Tree Planting week by planting 70 trees for the Queen's 70th Jubilee. Guidance was given by Eleanor, the Brocks Hill Ranger.

Lions Kevin Loydall and Kelvin Kempster plant trees with staff, friends and pupils at Abington Academy as one of the first ASDAN projects as well as supporting Lions International President Wing-Kun Tam's project of planting 1 million trees in his year of office (2012).

Christmas Tin Appeal

Even the snow and cold could not stop Oadby & Wigston Lions Club from collecting bags of food to help families over Christmas. Thanks to everyone who donated.

The Big Lunch

South Leicester Police Cadets came out in force to help the smooth running of 'The Big Lunch' held in Bell Street, Wigston in June 2019. They came over to the Oadby & Wigston Lions Club display to show off their new 'hi-vis' safety jackets supplied by our Lions Club. The Lions look forward to the cadets helping at future events during their training and showing how today's youth do care about their community.

Recycling Spectacles for developing countries

Lions Clubs have been collecting and sorting used spectacles for over 35 years. We have worked with Vision Aid Overseas, Boots the Chemist and Help The Aged in a national campaign which produced 460,000 pairs of specs in six months. Once sorted they went to places such as Cameroon, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Sri Lanka, India, Zanzibar, Jamaica, Bolivia and Brazil.

Lions Clubs around the country collect used spectacles and members of your local Lions club are pleased to be working with: Henry Smith & Hamylton (Wigston), Edmonds & Slatter (Blaby), Blaby Eyecare, Narborough Eyecare Opticians, and Absolute Health (Braunstone) to collect thousands of pairs of glasses for recycling.

Medico France have the necessary equipment to clean and grade the spectacles ready for use in eye camps in Africa, India and Eastern Europe. The Lions Clubs have developed contacts with individuals and charities based in the UK who are carrying out eye-camp projects overseas, who are able to use the spectacles that we are recycling. We support volunteers travelling on Unite For Sight projects, supplying them with the spectacles they require for their individual projects.