Lions in the UK
Lions Groups in the UK collectively form MD105 British Isles, which in turn is part of Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF). MD105 British Isles is divided into regions. Ponteland Lions is part of MD105N (i.e. North)
Lions in MD105 oversee a number of national Lions UK Projects and local Lions clubs select which ones they feel able to support. You can find more information at Lions Clubs International – British Isles
Ponteland Lions Club currently supports the following MD105 British Isles projects. The Club can provide you with details of how we actively participate.
Spectacles Recycling
Lions Clubs throughout the UK collect unwanted and damaged spectacles. We then send these to Chichester Lions Club which processes tens of thousands of recycled spectacles each year. A team of Lions and other volunteers examine all the spectacle donations in the recycling workshop. They then send some sorted pairs of glasses for grading and distribution by Medico France in Le Havre.
Glasses are also sent directly to contacts running eye clinics in Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Ghana, Nigeria, and Nepal. In addition, volunteers from the ‘Unite for Sight’ charity are supplied with spectacles to take with them on missions to countries across the world.
Message in a Bottle
Lions Clubs Message in a Bottle is a simple but effective way for people to keep their basic personal and medical details where they can be found in an emergency on a standard form and in a common location – the fridge.
Message in a Bottle (known within Lions as MIAB) helps emergency services personnel to save valuable time in identifying an individual very quickly and knowing if they have any allergies or take special medication.
Paramedics, police, fire-fighters and social services support this Lions life-saving initiative and know to look in the fridge when they see the Message in a Bottle stickers, supplied. The initiative provides peace of mind that prompt and appropriate medical assistance can be provided, and next of kin / emergency contacts can be notified.