Newcastle Lions concerned about high numbers of defibrillator use in Newcastle.

In Newcastle there are ten defibrillators located in yellow boxes, that are maintained by the charity Newcastle Lions Club.

An unknown fact is that bar one, every single defibrillator since 2018 has been used on at least one occasion to try or actually save someone's life, and in some cases , during the period of a year, on three different people.

Once the defibrillator has been used, then battery, life saving sticky pads and hygiene pack must be replaced.

To help with this the Lions and T Gem are running a defibrillator awareness and fund raising campaign. On Saturday and Sunday 11th & 12th February at Base Coffee Main Street Newcastle through Charlie Magennis’s support, you can make a donation towards maintaining the defibrillators. The Lions and T Gem will be present to take names and mobile no. if you would like minimal CPR training, to be arranged at a later date . There will be a mannequin on display which is used for CPR training. Also on the 17th March in the Harbour Inn, there will be a pub quiz also in aid of defibrillator funds.

T Gem and Base unite to raise awareness of defibrillator use, in the photograph:

Lions Marian Mc Greevy, Tom Hughes, Linda Edgar TGem, Lion Dan O'Reilly , Paul Tumelty Base Coffee, Jennifer Speers T Gem and Lion Robin Mc Caren and Lion President Liz Murphy.

Newcastle Lions asks for community help.

In 2022 with the Pandemic easing Newcastle Lions are ending the year on a high, but are appealing for help from the community to increase their membership and look for fresh ideas to help those in need. Through the great work of Lion president Liz Murphy, the club are now more transparent , through the club's open meeting Thursday coffee mornings and have been very busy in their community raising funds for charity.

As well as promoting the club in the local papers, Liz will also use social media such as Facebook and Instagram. Having taken donations, 100% will go to a nominated charity , which this year included, The Children's cancer Fund , St Vincent De Paul , The Pantry Food Bank and Women's Aid , donations were also made to Lions International World Appeal for disasters in Pakistan, India and Croatia.

In the field of service activities, the club continues to managed and maintain ten defibrillators that were installed through out the town five years ago and have made international friends through their work in helping school children in Sri Lanka

The club's most successful appeal has been their annual charity recycling appeal in March, when this year they collected eighty five adult bicycles to help people in Madagascar , forty five five sewing machine for Malawi and Tanzania , as well as tools and zimmer frames helping people in the developing world.

The biggest response in the town was for donations of spectacles which was further enhanced when, in August the Newcastle Club began collecting donations of glasses on a quarterly basis from the four recycling centres managed by Belfast City Council. This involved a round trip of 65 miles. In December 1,600 pairs were collected from BCC and added to the Newcastle donations President Liz helped pack glasses in some of the eleven boxes. Since August just over 6,000 pairs of glasses have been collected from BCC by Newcastle Lions . These were despatched to Lions Medico France which is helping those in need . While Newcastle Lions does sterling work, the club needs more new members, asking for a commitment of two hours in a month appealing through the local papers and contacting the club through our Facebook Page Newcastle Lions (County Down) or email lionsnewcastlecodown@yahoo.co.uk

Newcastle Lions President Liz Murphy helps pack the last of eleven boxes of spectacles bound for Lions France.

Newcastle Lions Club promote issue of Tourette's Syndrome

Recently, Newcastle Lions promoted World Disability Day. This day is an opportunity for each of us to stop and think about our family members; neighbours, or friends who could be blind or have a physical or a mental disability. It also presents us with the opportunity to raise awareness of conditions that we may have been previously unaware of. Neurodiverse Needs is such a condition.

For the parents of children who have Neurodiverse Needs, such as Tourette’s Syndrome, they face the challenge of helping their child, and trying to cope with social misunderstandings around the condition. Another word for this issue is Tics. Tics are sudden non-rhythmic repetitive movements or vocalizations. Tics are not purposeful and are generally experienced as involuntary.

The issue of Tics and Tourette's Syndrome was investigated previously in a programme on Channel 4 by Scarlett Moffat and was also highlighted by BBC on their morning news programme when they interviewed a ten-year-old child, Lucy Marie Phillips from Wales. Lucy produced a book I can't make it stop, my diary on living with Tourette's Syndrome. In looking for a way to highlight World Disability Day and raise awareness of Tourette’s Syndrome, Newcastle Lions Club will distribute free copies of this book to local schools.

The book was reviewed by local teachers who felt it was suitable and an appropriate way to raise awareness among children. The Lion’s Cub approached Super Valu Newcastle regarding funding and asked would the Musgrave Group sponsor the purchase of fifty copies of the book.

Through the help and support of Super Valu's manager Gareth Grew, the club were successful, and invitations are being sent to the SEN teachers at all local schools to come to the Newcastle Library on Saturday 3rd December. An invitation was also extended to the Northern Ireland support group, Tourette's Support NI (TSNI), to come to Newcastle and talk to the SEN teachers who will receive a copy of the book for their school library. In talking to the support group, one of their goals is to raise awareness in both primary and post primary schools of how children and teachers react to a child who experiences Tics in the classroom. Through the support group's Facebook page, Tourette's Support NI, their message can be summed up in one sentence from the Facebook, reassure them that it's ok.

Lions John Mc Donagh, Jeanine Knight, with Marion Crawford Super Valu, Lion President Liz Murphy receiving a cheque for £400.00 from Super Valu's manager Gareth Grew and Lion Dan O'Reilly