Mid-Summer Ball and May Day cycle help Lions Club help others

Mullingar Lions Club hosted their fourth Annual Mid-Summer Ball on Friday 11 July. It was a wonderful success, where once again a full house were treated to an excellent evening in the Village Barn, Tyrrellspass, courtesy of the tremendous hospitality and generosity of David Smyth Catering and his excellent staff.

The great kindness and goodwill of the guests and donors on the night ensured that an interesting auction and raffle, expertly handled by Padraic Murtagh and Michael Farrelly, contributed to the success of the fundraiser.

A magnificent venue, in beautiful setting, made for a special occasion to raise funds to provide support and respite care for families of children with additional needs and autism.

Frank Dillon, event coordinator, on behalf of Mullingar Lions Club, welcomed everyone and expressed how delighted Mullingar Lions Club were to share the evening with many friends and supporters and to say a huge thank-you for their wonderful generosity and kindness.

The work of Mullingar Lions Club is a complete team effort and without the goodwill and support of so many people in the wider Westmeath community, Mullingar Lions Club would not function to its potential. As Frank noted, “you allow us to reach out to many vulnerable people in ways that can ease their struggles/challenges and somehow give them a better quality of life”.

The significance and importance of the Lions Club Special Project for 2025 is to provide direct and immediate support to families and young people coping with autism and additional needs where services are broken down or delayed, making available respite, day trips and time out for parents. Funding for assessments and counselling services is also being provided as the need arises.

Currently this is of enormous benefit to several families on a weekly basis and continues to evolve. For example, as part of the Special Project of 2025, Mullingar Lions Club donated €6,000 to St Kenny National School, Ballinea to complete their sensory room.

Frank, on behalf of Mullingar Lions Club, expressed a sincere word of thanks and appreciation to all the guests who attended and to all who gave so generously to the auction and raffle.

Mullingar Lions Club are immensely appreciative of the kindness and generosity of the many donors, supporters and sponsors towards both the Mid-Summers Ball and the Annual Summer Cycle, which took place on May 5. Together, the events should now realise a total of €45,150 for the Lions Club Special Project 2025.

Míle Buíochas le gach duine.

Lions Club building dreams and supporting young people and their families in our community

Over the last two years, the Lions club have extended their funding to support many initiatives and provide extra care to individuals in the community. The funding has allowed educational and psychological assessments be carried out where state funding has been absent. That, in turn, opens doors to services to provide extra care.

The funding has supported up to 40 families in school settings offering individual outreach support to young people with autism and special education need, also providing assistance where school refusal as a result of anxiety and difficult experiences have excluded students from the normal school setting.

There, the Lions club has been to the forefront in providing solution and expertise to meet demands. Students have received support to develop social skills and vocational training that has allowed them enter the work environment and build skills alongside their training.

Participation in social farming experiences have enabled young people to enhance their social skills while gaining a deeper understanding of the responsibilities when caring for animals allowing them to connect to nature and providing them with a valuable opportunity to self-regulate.

Families have received hands-on support to help them in their daily lives where respite has been provided that allows them to enjoy days away with other members of their families that would not have been possible without intervention support. Those are events such as weddings, graduations and even simple trips to conduct the weekly shopping.

Often parents and siblings become prisoners in their own homes, and the Lions club steps in to open doors. One such family receives support where their son is taken out so as his mother can get to do her shopping and it also allows other family to visit when he is out. For that parent, the Lions Club stepped in and it has allowed his mother the necessary support and solution to a problem most people could not easily comprehend.

For the young person, it offers a solution to his extreme anxiety condition that brings harmony to all in the home.

The Lions Club recognises the key role of carers and the need to support their wellbeing; it has provided emotional support, short breaks and respite for carers delivering 24-hour care.

For other young people in the school setting, the Lions Club has provided food, clothes, heat, educational and psychological support that many of us take for granted as necessary needs for everyday living. It also has supported extra tuition and care for many students that has allowed them achieve their Leaving Cert and given them access to employment.

In today’s society, alcohol abuse has been superseded by drug abuse and again the Lions Club has helped provide counselling and support too many young people and their families affected by this scourge. For some, it can be as simple as going in and tidying up a home after the chaos of a drug infused episode. There, the Lions Club is restoring human dignity and being non-judgemental, allowing people be heard and ensuring self-esteem, self-worth and lives are rebuilt out of brokenness.

It is your help that has provided much needed support to our community and we ask for your help again in the coming year.

Thanks and appreciation to you all from the many unheard voices and unrecognised faces where your contributions have made enormous difference. Buiochas le gach duine agaibh.

(Details outlined on the night by Tomas Sheerin, project coordinator and team leader.)