So who are we? First, we are not alone. The Mexborough club is one of over 40,000 Lions Clubs in almost every country of the world, with a total membership of some 1.4 million. There are almost 1,000 Lions clubs in Britain and Ireland, with around 21,000 members.

All Lions are affiliated members of Lions Clubs International. Each club agrees to the constitution and basic principles of voluntary service, we pay subs to the parent body and to the UK administration but apart from that each club is self-governing. All running costs come out of our own pockets - nothing raised for charity is spent on admin.

The Mexborough club was founded in 1972 by Doncaster Lions Club. We, in turn, founded the Lions Club at Maltby in 1978. We currently have 20 members, men and women, working voluntarily to improve the lot of the needy in this community.

We all meet twice a month for a club business meeting, and generally meet monthly in smaller committee groups to progress welfare, fund-raising or social events in the pipe-line. At busy times of the year, like Christmas, we are out more often ...

The Mexborough area has very high unemployment, many families and organisations needing help. Money is scarce, but we always find our public ready to help someone worse off than themselves.

We owe a deal of gratitude to the clubs and pubs around our area, to local businesses and to the people who attend our events. They make our welfare possible.