<div>Following his appointment as the Town’s Mayor, Councillor Martin Brookes and his fellow Oakham Town Councillors have announced The Lions Club of Rutland as the Mayor’s Chosen Charity for the 2026–2027 civic year.
</div>
<div>Throughout the year, the Mayor and Town Council will host and support various charitable events to raise vital funds for this long-standing local organisation, ensuring that all money raised goes directly toward supporting residents and community groups. 
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>A Brief History of the Charity The Lions Club of Rutland is a proud local branch of Lions Clubs International, which was founded in 1917 by Melvin Jones under the guiding principle: "You won't get very far in this world until you start doing something for somebody else." Today, it stands as the largest humanitarian service organisation in the world.  
</div>
<div>The Lions Club of Rutland was officially created in 1975. For over half a century, this small but highly dedicated group of local volunteers has embraced the international motto, "We Serve." Operating as a registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), the Rutland branch focuses almost all of its resources locally, channelling thousands of pounds every year back into the Rutland community to help individuals, local groups, and independent charities.  
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>What the Charity Does for the Community, The Rutland Lions operate entirely on volunteer power meaning no trustees or members receive payment, and every penny raised from the public goes directly toward community support. 
</div>
<div>Their work primarily impacts children and young people, the elderly, people with disabilities, and fellow voluntary groups.  The charity supports the Oakham and wider Rutland community through two main avenues: Community Projects &amp; Presence and Financial Grants.  
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>1. Community Events &amp; Fundraising The Lions are the driving force behind some of the county's most cherished annual traditions. The funds they raise during these events are what allow them to support local causes: 
</div>
<div>The Santa Sleigh: A Christmas staple, bringing festive joy to local children while collecting vital winter donations.  November Firework Display: Organising and running large-scale community bonfire and firework events.  
</div>
<div>Event Marshalling &amp; Catering: Providing hands-on logistics, marshalling, and catering support for major local events, such as the annual Rutland County Show.  Community Health Support: Actively volunteering time to assist the community during critical public health drives, including managing logistics at local vaccination clinics.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>2. Grants and Local WelfareWhere there is an individual or local group in a tough spot, the Rutland Lions step in. They use their funds to provide direct grants to people in need, support local food banks, and supply resources to smaller charities (such as Peppers-A Safe Place for mental health, or local children's hospices).  Additionally, they run the Rutland Community Service Awards, which celebrate and financially reward local school and college students who show an outstanding commitment to volunteering and helping others.  Where There’s a Need, There’s a Lion: By choosing the Lions Club of Rutland as the Mayor's Charity for 2026–2027, Oakham Town Council is backing a group that has spent over 50 years ensuring that vulnerable "Rutlanders" are never left behind.
</div>

Hugh Lewis

Anonymous

Oakham Mayor Raising Funds For the Lions Club of Rutland.

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

currencyCode

Money Box Donation List Prompt Experiment Audience

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

Eligible for Profile Share Badge

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

Support Comments Allowlist

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

NPO upsell education category

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

NPO recommendations prod

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

checkout headers audience

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

isEligibleForProfileBadge

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

categoryGroup

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.3.0 and above

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

NPO upsell animals category

NPO upsell disaster relief category

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

NPO upsell essential needs category

NPO upsell medical category

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

NPO upsell cancer category

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Oakham Mayor Raising Funds For the Lions Club of Rutland.

Still £1,380 to go. Help us build momentum.