Monthly Mailing May 2026
Lions Europa Forum Karlsruhe 2026 
All Lions of Europe
Official Convening of the Lions Europa Forum 2026 in Karlsruhe
Dear Fellow Lions,
In accordance with the traditions and responsibilities entrusted to the President of the Lions Europa Forum, it is my honour and privilege to formally convene the Lions Europa Forum 2026, to be held in Karlsruhe, Germany, from October 22 to 25, 2026.
Under the theme "Water = Life", this year's Forum will bring together Lions from across Europe to share knowledge, celebrate our achievements, and collaboratively shape the future of our service. Hosted in the city of Karlsruhe - with its distinctive fan-shaped architecture, 18th-century Baroque palace, and location on the Rhine - the Forum will offer engaging plenary sessions, focused workshops, youth-oriented programs, and opportunities for fellowship and cultural exchange.
I warmly invite you all to take part in this inspiring gathering. Your presence, your voice, and your contribution are vital to the continued strength and unity of our Lions community across Europe.
Further information regarding registration, accommodation, and the full program will be available via the Forum website and official Lions communication channels.
Let us come together in Karlsruhe to reaffirm our commitment to service, leadership, and the enduring values of Lionism.
Warm regards
PID Barbara Grewe
President Lions Europa Forum Karlsruhe 2026
Winter is Coming to the Ukraine 4
With the support and approval of Council, I am pleased to share the attached report formally launching Winter is Coming to Ukraine 4 (WICTU4). PID Lion Phil serves as the MD105 Country Coordinator for this appeal.
The report outlines the aims of WICTU4 and details plans for funding generators to support the people of Ukraine. As with previous WICTU appeals, all donations should be made through your District Treasurers and clearly marked WICTU4.
We are delighted that more than 26 countries have already committed to joining this latest effort and the number is growing -all to help those in need across Ukraine. The accompanying image illustrates how the appeal is already making an impact.
Thank you
PID Phil Nathan MBE
Life Chartered FCSI. FIoD
Freeman of the City of London.
DBS
There is still a high percentage of errors being made on the DBS forms that are being sent to me.. This means extra cost to the District plus the additional time involved when lions are waiting for their certificates. The DBS will not accept any mistakes on the form so can I ask that both the member applying and the club Vulnerable Persons Officer please check very carefully before returning the form to me.
There are two main areas where mistakes are being made. The first involves questions 7, 14 and 37.
Question 14 has 8 boxes requiring DD/MM/YYYY. However, Questions 7 and 37 have 6 boxes just requiring MM/YYYY. If you look closely you can see the details printed very faintly in the box. Please note also that the date given at Question 37 has to include addresses lived at for at least 5 years
The second problem area is on the back page. Please only answer questions 58, 59 and 67. Leave the rest blank for me to fill in. Once these three questions have been filled in return the form to me and I will complete the rest. Please do not sign the Signature of Registered Person box at the bottom of the page as I will do that..
And finally please use BLACK ink throughout. If you inadvertently use a blue pen please DO NOT go over it with a black one. This will not be accepted by the DBS.
Thank you,
Lion Marilyn Skennerton, District 105sc Vulnerable Persons Officer
Copyright Infringement Warning
Once again a Lions Club within our Multiple District faces a financial penalty for using a photograph taken by a professional photographer for use on their website to promote a charitable cause. On this occasion the image was taken from another website associated with Lions.
To get the full flavour of the risks involved it is recommended that you click on the link below which is an article providing a lot of background information
If you have read the article you will now be aware that there is no defence to copyright infringement even if done innocently and without knowledge. If your website contains images not created by you or one of your members with permission then you are at risk of being required to pay a significant sum in compensation or risk costly litigation. You may, however, use copyright free images as suggested in the article.
You should also be aware that whilst another website might give you permission to use one of their images you might still find yourself in trouble. This can happen (and I have dealt with a case where this arose) even though the professional photographer gave permission to the original website to use the image but that permission did not extend to allowing anyone else to do so.
What should you do to avoid problems?
- Carefully go through your website and discard all images that may have been copied from other websites, especially those that may have been created professionally
- Resist the temptation to "cut and paste" images from other websites unless you have written permission to use that image and further if they had the permission of a professional photographer to use the image that their licence allows others to use it.
Some of these images may be quite old but copyright infringement is not like a patent so look through your entire website.
Many instances of copyright infringement have arisen when supporting a humanitarian event where the temptation to "cut and paste" is at it's greatest so be very careful.
Just so you are aware copyright infringement is not covered by Lions insurance.
James Mathers PMJF
Multiple District Compliance Officer
Volunteering at the Special Olympics National Summer Games 2026
This summer, more than 1,200 athletes with intellectual disabilities will compete across 21 days of competition.
Our single-sport competitions taking place across Great Britain this summer include:
• Badminton – Nottingham
13–14 June
David Ross Sports Village
• Table Tennis – Crewe
27–28 June
Sir William Stanier Leisure Centre
• Indoor Bowls – Plymouth
10–12 July
Plymouth Life Centre
• Golf – Glasgow
15–16 July
Cowglen Golf Club
• Tennis – Wrexham
1–2 August
Wrexham Tennis Centre
• Equestrian – Merseyside
2–4 August
Wirral Riding Centre
• Basketball – Manchester
7–9 August
Belle Vue Leisure Centre
Alongside these events, Birmingham will host our flagship multi-sport National Summer Games from 27–30 August, featuring Athletics, Boccia, Football, Artistic Gymnastics, Rhythmic Gymnastics, MATP and Swimming.
Volunteers will play a vital role in creating an inclusive, welcoming and memorable experience for our athletes, families and communities – whether that's helping behind the scenes, supporting ceremonies and logistics, welcoming guests or assisting with competition delivery.
Please find attached:
• A full volunteer guide and role overview
• Information on the different events and opportunities available
SOGB NSG 26 Volunteering Info - Lions.pdf
To register, volunteers will need:
• A headshot photo ready to upload
• To have chosen the dates and activities they'd like to support
• A note of their Club and District ready to input into the 'Corporate Volunteer' box in the following format: 'Lion – [Club] – [District]'
Registration link: https://sogbevents.org.uk/
Our credentialling deadline is 7th June 2026, so we'd encourage anyone interested to register in the next few weeks.
Please do feel free to circulate this information more widely across the Lions network.
And of course, if any clubs would simply like to come along, cheer athletes on and experience the Games atmosphere for themselves, we'd absolutely love to welcome them. The ticketing link for this will go live c2 months prior to the event (approx. 1st July). We'll share this too when the time comes.
Thanks again for your support and hospitality in Newcastle.
Best wishes,
Alison Tarry
Director of Development
Special Olympics Great Britain
Highworth Charter
President Norman Little cordially invites you to join us in celebrating our 52 years of the Highworth and District Lions Club in our beautiful part of Wiltshire.
The Charter Dinner and Dance evening will be held:
On Saturday 27th of June 2026
At Wrag Barn Golf Club Highworth SN6 7QQ
At 6.30 PM – carriages at 11.30 PM
Dress is Party Clothes or Lounge suit:
Cost is £30.00 each
Advisory date for response is 7th June 2026
Attached is a club poster and menu should you accept this invitation, please indicate your choice of food, and enter it on the form provided, along with any guests who may be accompanying you. Completed forms can be returned via email to kerenza@highworthlions.co.uk.
We look forward to an enjoyable evening in wonderful company.
We await your reply.
Kind Regards
Norman Little - President
Highworth and District Lions
Highworth & District Lions Charter Menu
Mains
Option 1
Salmon Fillet
Baked Salmon fillet served with asparagus and new potatoes with a lemon and dill sauce
Option 2
Creamy Mushroom and Tarragon Chicken
Baked free range chicken breast, Mini roasties with a creamy wild mushroom and tarragon sauce
Option 3
Red Wine Beef
Slow cooked braised beef with chantenay carrots and silver skin onions on a bed of creamy mash potato with a red wine gravy
Option 4
Vegetarian option
All Options served with a selection of seasonal vegetables
Deserts
Option 1
Raspberry and White Chocolate Cheesecake
Option 2
Sticky Toffee Pudding
with a butterscotch Sauce
Option 3
Chocolate Fondant
Warm chocolate fondant served with clotted cream and passion fruit puree
| Guest Name | Lions Club/ Title | Lion | Main Meal | Desert | Allergies | Song Requests (something you will get up and dance too) |
Please send completed RSVP forms to: Kerenza@highworthlions.co.uk by Sunday 7th June
Thank you 😊
Youth Exchange
Urgent Appeal for Host families
Do you or a family your club knows have a spare room and would be willing to host a young international student before they attend our MD105 Lions Youth Camp?
We urgently require host families between 5th and 10th August 2026.
All of the international students will be at least 18 years old, fully vetted, and may not have visited our Country before. We have 18 attendees aged 18-21 from 14 different countries - Serbia, Poland, Brazil, Moldova, Turkey, Finland, Germany, USA, Romania, Taiwan, Hungary, Czech Slovak, Japan and Spain. All will be mature, fully vetted and grateful for the experience and warm welcome from District SC.
In addition to your Club and Zone helping out with excursions and costs you can obtain a grant from the District Youth Fund of up to £125 for each student hosted.
It's an incredibly rewarding experience to welcome a young person to our country and to help them experience our life, our landmarks and our culture. It can be great fun. Below are a small selection of photos from those hosted recently:-
If you know of a family who can help please contact our Youth Exchange District Officer,
Stephen Sherring, on 07341275176 or via email at youthexchange@lions105sc.org.uk
