Two children stumble on skates

The Lions Club of Grand Cayman (LCGC), the Lions Club of Tropical Gardens (LCTG) and the Leos Club of Grand Cayman treated 50 students to a back-to-school party at the Kings Sports Centre in George Town.

As a joint annual programme by the Lions family, the primary and middle school level students enjoyed an afternoon of fun and trivia games on Saturday, 23 August.

The activities began with a welcome and prayers from Lion Jondo Obi, LCTG’s Chairperson for Early Childhood and Youth, and Lion Melrose Gooding, Second Vice President of the LCTG, respectively.

The students were then divided in their age-groups, given skates and accompanied on the skating rink by Lions, parents and other invited guests, including members of the “Big Brothers and Sisters” organisation.

The clubs said this was the highlight of the afternoon because a number of the students had never skated before, but under the expert tuition of several Lions and guests, many of them were skating like professionals within an hour.

In the words of the clubs, it was also heart-warming to see the students assisting each other and to see the determination on their faces as they picked themselves up after falling and continuing instead of leaving the rink. Some Lions and guests who had never skated before used this as their motivator to put on skates as well and “suffered” the many spills that came after making this maybe “somewhat heroic” decision.

This energetic activity left the students ravenous and they were treated to food and drinks which included hot dogs, chicken wings, fruits and fruit juice, the Lions said.

To end the fun-filled event, the students participated in “Cayman Trivia”, a game centred on their knowledge of the Cayman Islands. This was a very lively session and students knew their “Cayman Islands” well, according to the clubs. The winners were rewarded with gift vouchers, courtesy of Kirk Office Equipment. Lions Ann Hunte, President of LCTG, and Lion Anthony Ritch, President of LCGC, made the presentations.

After the party, each student was given school supplies courtesy of Foster’s Food Fair-IGA and Cost-U-Less. The Chairperson of the Back-to-School Project Lion Charmaine Watt said that working with kids brings to light a true spirit of Lionism.

“When Lions are able to come together to make such a positive impact on these young lives, we are without a doubt, putting into play our purposes as Lions. I am sure I speak for the rest when I say, we are looking forward to doing it again,” she said.

The Lions Club of Tropical Gardens and the Lions Club of Grand Cayman meet the first and third Tuesday of each month at 7:30 pm and the first and third Thursday of each month, respectively. The Leo Club of Grand Cayman meets the first and third Wednesday at 6:30 pm. All meetings take place in the Lions Den located at the Lions Centre.

Lions clubs are a group of men and women who identify needs within the community and work together to fulfil them. For more information about Lions Clubs International, visit the Web site at www.lionsclubs.org and www.lionscluboftropicalgardens.com