Lions enjoy a big turnout at Buddy Day

Various Lions Clubs on the West Rand hosted yet another successful Buddy Day at West Ridge High School on Saturday 12 April.

This year the Buddy Day drew bigger crowds, more volunteers, “and better weather”, said Denise Easton of the Clearwater Cyber Lions Club.

The Clearwater Cyber, Helderkruin, Krugersdorp, Roodepoort Host, Weltevreden, TheWild, Johannesburg South, Magaliesburg and Northcliff Lions Clubs all helped to organise the event.

“Buddy Day is an annual event that we host to marry the fortunate society with the disabled society for a day. During this day, each volunteer (usually a high school pupil) is buddied up with a disabled pupil from a specialised school for food, entertainment and other fun activities,” explains Helderkruin Lion member Carl Bands who is President of the Buddy Day Committee.

West Ridge High School sponsored the venue and their children got involved as volunteers. Other volunteers came from schools such as St Catherine’s Convent, Boys Town, St Ursula’s Convent and the new UJ Campus Lions. The volunteers were buddied off with children from Gateway School, Bellrona Academy and Sizweli School for the Deaf as well as West Rand School for the Cerebral Palsied, Forest Farm and Woodside Sanctuary. For entertainment they had Jabulani the puppeteer and Ken Linsey from Dream Time Entertainment who walked on stilts and did balloon moulding.

ER24 Road Rangers also gave disabled Buddies a ride on their motorcycles. The Road Rangers serve as safety marshals and are volunteers, explains Road Ranger Shaun Hannie. Each Lions Club also hosted a stall for the day where activities such as face painting, temporary tattooing, memory games and colouring-in could be enjoyed. The Helderkruin Lions were involved in providing the lunch and cold drinks, as well as special Buddy Day t-shirts in either orange or green for the day. All activities were sponsored and volunteers and Buddies participated free of charge.

“It is all about seeing children’s faces as they interacts with either their fortunate or disabled Buddy – how they play and laugh and help one another. That is what makes this day one to look forward to each year,” says Easton.

Thanks to the sponsors

Denise Easton of the Clearwater Cyber Lions Club on behalf of the Buddy Day Committee thanks the sponsors in making Buddy Day 2014 a successful event. She appreciates the R1 000 that every Lions Club involved contributed to the event.

“Thank you to each and every sponsor, from the bottom of our hearts. This event would not have been possible to manage without your assistance.”

Easton thanks the Dubar Crushers, BP petrol stations and the Wild Bean Café, Coca-Cola, True Style Landscapers, ER24 and by extension the ER24 Road Rangers, ADT Security and Sir Juice.

“Also, I extend a special thanks to Hightide Printing that printed the Buddy Day t-shirts, all 400 of them, for only R450.”