Richmond and Riverstone Lions Clubs raise money for school bus
by Lions Roving Reporter Scott Hinks
Asking a Lions club member if they can help is like waving a red flag at a bull . So , when a parent of a student at South Creek School sent a letter to Lions Australia it was promptly forwarded to the former Lions District Zone Chairman David Brown and current member of the Lions Club of Richmond to ask if his district could help to raise funds for a much-needed school bus .
It didn ’ t take long for the Lions Club members of both Richmond and Riverstone to rally to the call and begin raising funds for the multi district school bus project .
South Creek School provides educational programs for students who have been diagnosed with an intellectual disability . The school currently has 61 special care students enrolled , aged from
5 to 12 , with forecast enrolments expected to exceed 70 students in the coming years .
Without a school bus , parents and carers have been using their private vehicles to transport students to various community facilities to allow them to participate in a range of diverse learning programs , sporting activities and therapy sessions . This has meant that several of these students are not able to attend these essential life skills programs on a regular basis given the lack of availability of transport .
The NSW Government provided the school with a $ 15,000 grant to help purchase a bus . With the estimated cost of school bus and fit-out expected to exceed $ 80,000 this meant the Lions had their work cut out for them .
This did not deter members of Richmond Lions from raising the additional money required . BBQs , raffles , and community members donating saw them edging towards their goal . Knowing that they needed help , the club applied for an additional financial grant with Lions Club International who generously agreed to match the funds raised by the club ’ s dollar for dollar .
The Lions Club of Richmond
President Scott Hinks said ,
“ It was massive task undertaken by our Lions Clubs when I reflect on the past year coming out of COVID , two major floods , increase in the general cost of living topped off with rising interest rates . It is a real testament to our Lions Clubs and the greater community ’ s tenacity to overcome so many hardships and achieve this great result .
“ I cannot thank Lions Club International enough for providing the much-needed extra funding . This great organisation understood the enormity of our project and backed us the entire way .”
The school bus was delivered to South Creek School on Wednesday , 30 November 2022 where the keys where officially handed over to the principal Michelle Said in the presence of Kevin Connelly MP .
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THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT theindependentmagazine . com . au ISSUE 151 // DECEMBER 2022 33