THE Amersham & Chesham Lions has been one of the 'mane' fundraisers in the Chilterns for the last 32 years.

During that time, it has raised more than £150,000 for worthy causes, relying on a team of 32 men who do it for the love of helping others.

Besides providing much needed funds for charities and centres, the group has also set up initiatives like the Chiltern Victim Support Scheme to help people affected by crime.

Peter Thomas started the Amersham & Chesham Lions in 1969 after being involved in a Lions club in Portsmouth.

When he moved to Amersham he found that the nearest clubs to him were in Harrow and Windsor so he decided to set one up.

Mr Thomas, a retired bank manager, said the main aim of the Lions is to help less fortunate people. He said: "We have all been fortunate in business and so we are helping others.

"When we first founded the club it was just called the Amersham Lions. Ten years later we made it the Amersham & Chesham Lions. We had a majority of the members in Amersham and a number of them came from Chesham, and we served them as well. Joining the two together has helped."

The group has gone on to build other Lions clubs in the area, including the High Wycombe and Beaconsfield Lions.

President of the Amersham & Chesham Lions, Stuart Foster, said it is the biggest service organisation in the world. He said: "We look to get involved in the community and set out helping people in their situations.

"We have raised about £150,000 in total over the years and we try to raise £10,000 a year. We have never done anything wacky to raise money. We are all pretty staid old fellows. It is all very straight forward, like doing donkey derbys."

The group holds various events over the year including auctions, race nights, quizzes and firework displays. And the money raised has gone to charities including the Heritage House School in Chesham, Dogs for the Deaf and the British Red Cross Society.

The club has an activities committee to decide which events to hold and a welfare committee who decide which causes get the money.

Mr Foster, who is retired and lives in Amersham, added: "We cannot obviously support every one we get. Some people contact us if they want a chair for the disabled or if they have a debilitating disease. Our motto is 'we serve'.

"We also do a lot of driving for the blind club and collecting specs to send to India. We have helped out about 1,800 people with poor eyesight over the past 32 years."

The Lions have different groups to help including the Leo clubs for youngsters and Lionesses for women.

He said: "We are very pleased to help out in the community. We also have juniors which are from 16 to 21-year-olds and there are 140,000 of them. The problem is that youngsters need to get involved in studying and education. We had a Leo club for five or six years in Amersham & Chesham and every other year we got totally new members in. We couldn't manage to keep that going. That is the only disappointment we have had."

He added: "We could have women in our group and some towns have Lioness clubs. But the wives help us a lot. We have never had an application from a lady."

Members are chosen by the group after they are invited to go to their meetings, which are held in Amersham Community Centre, in Chiltern Avenue and at Lions' houses. They take place every other Tuesday and if they like the new recruit and they want to join, they swear them in.

Mr Foster said: "It is quite difficult to find new people. People these days who work seem to be 'heads down'.

"It is a commitment and is a way of life. Your life takes on this commitment and of course we have to go to the various fetes and functions. Some of us are also involved in driving people around. But no one is pushed into it. Also the best thing is that every penny is used for charity. We don't put expenses in."

The club organise about 700 food parcels two weeks before Christmas to send out to the elderly and for people with big families.

Mr Foster said: "It is all worthwhile. More than once we have given out a Christmas parcel and they have been in floods of tears. It works both ways. You get a good kick-back from it.

He added: "We would like to have a few more members. We are an ageing club. Some have been members for 32 years and 22 years."

To join call 01494 724069