Postcard Project for Terminally Ill Children

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Report to The Lions Clubs International Convention Denver 2003 by Lion Bob Stanley (a10rws@aol.com) Lions On Line Lions Club and Exeter Lions Club MD105SW England

The object of the Project is to lighten the lives of severely ill children and others who may benefit, by the continuing receipt of Picture Postcards from all over the world.           The project was started in March of 1999 and has now run for more than four years. There has been much enthusiasm shown by Lions, Lionesses and Leo's world wide, covering all continents.           To date, 83 names have been accepted for the project and a total in excess of 6,000 cards have been sent. The total of Christmas cards sent is unknown, but every child less than 8 years had a letter from Santa at the North Pole. Of the 83 Children, 36 remain on the list. 2 were withdrawn by request, some have since died and a few have been withdrawn because the sponsoring Lion has lost contact with the family. One of the Names who has now fully recovered, has now joined the list of those who send cards.           At the time of my report last year there were about 250 Lions who had written in support of the project. Now I have a list of over 500 Lions and Leo's who have taken the trouble to write. World-wide, there are at least 10 Leo Clubs, countless Lions Clubs, a number of Zones and 6 Lions Districts who have formally adopted this project as a Service project in which they participate. In addition to the above, the list of names is published to the distribution list of LionNet-NEWS which is in excess of 600 subscribers.           It is my pleasure to report that there has been considerable increase, interest and participation by Leo Clubs around the world. The younger generation members do us all proud.           It must be stressed that the nominating Lion of a child is known to me as the Sponsoring Lion. It is imperative that that Lion stays in contact with the family of the child, as I must be informed of any deterioration that takes place. I also require an update at least twice a year, so that my records can be made up of the approximate number of cards that have been received, as well as progress of health.           All names added, are in numerical order, and also show the date that the name was first released to the net. The list, as published to date, only includes those who are still living and whom we still have contact with.           An addition to the project, has been the Birthday list for those children whose dates I have.  The list of birthdays is normally sent out at the end of a month for birthdays falling in the following month. Please don't worry if the date is past, the cards will be welcome in any event.           I would ask all who participate in sending cards, to give consideration to sending to all, in turn on the list, over a period of time. And when all have had a card, please consider starting the list again, - say - one card every week to some one. The cost is a little time, the price of a card and the price of a stamp: in total, less than a dollar a week, to give so much happiness and support to a family.           The post card project is valued very highly throughout the world, and it is promoting Lions in a way that is difficult to explain the joy that the cards bring, to the sick children, their parents and friends. Keep up the good work. We, the Lions are making a difference. _________________________________________________________ To close this report, printed below is an update from a sponsoring Lion: - Update May '01: Michael is still hanging in there. Treatment under review. The family has appreciated the cards "beyond words." Update 5th July 02. Has now had operation to remove most of brain tumour. Having Chemo. Results awaited. Due to operation now has leg brace and stutters. The family is very happy with all of the letters and cards that have been sent from the Lion's Clubs. They wanted me to let you know that they thought it was incredibly nice that you all have been so supportive. They save everything that has been sent with the hope that someday he will be old enough to read and appreciate these items. Using their words, they 'are impressed with our organisation and all of the nice things that we do'. ____________________________________________________________