WOULD YOU LIKE TO BECOME AN AGENT FOR LOTUS LIVES? WE ARE LOOKING FOR PEOPLE TO JOIN US, TO COMMIT TO ORGANISING (OR TAKING PART IN), JUST ONE FUNDRAISING EVENT A YEAR FOR LOTUS, AND A LOCAL CHARITY OF CHOICE. OUR AIM IS SIMPLE – WE WANT TO RAISE MORE, TO SUPPORT MORE. IF JUST [...]
2012 is Olympics year, so why not take part in a sporting event and raise funds for a good cause? Here at Lotus Lives, we are looking for sporting individuals to get involved and carry the torch for us, by taking part in a sporting event in 2012. This can be any kind of sporting event; from a local fun run or leisurely walk, to a swim, a bike ride, a road race, …or even a full blown marathon. The challenge is up to you. The main thing is to get involved, and help raise funds for Lotus, and a local charity of your choice. We would supply you with sponsorship cards, and as much support as you need. What better incentive could you have this New Year to get out there and get training?! Interested? Please get in touch!
2011 draws to a close and Lotus Lives would like to thank everybody who has supported us this past 12 months. Fundraising is, understandably, especially difficult these days, and we are extremely grateful for all your hard work, support, and donations.
Please keep an eye on us throughout 2012, and remember; your input, ideas, and suggestions are always welcome.
Enjoy the festive season, and all the very best for the New Year!
Thank you.
Lotus Lives.
May has been and gone, and it is fair to say that thanks to some hard work, inventive thinking, and much generosity of spirit, our ‘One Day in May’ campaign was a success!
As well as fundraising, ‘One Day in May’ was launched in an effort to gain a wider audience for Lotus Lives, and to hopefully forge more links with people around the world.
Proceedings got underway on the 1st, with the opening of our online ‘arts and crafts’ auction on Facebook – the brainchild of Jess Beeley, aka Bettyoctopus (www.bettyoctopus.com), of Limerick, Ireland. Jess set up the auction and invited people from the arts and crafts world to take part. A colourful collection of items were donated and much ‘bidding’ took place. A big thank you to all who bid on the items, and to the following for their kind donations; Nice Day Designs, Sparkle and Glitter with Rachel, Simone Frick of Greeneyedspirit Photography, Ann Byrne of Bad Dream Dolls, Eve Beeley, Charlie Hopgood of Hopgood Home Crafts, Sunshine and Snowdrops, Ger O’Dowd of Ger-Knits, Aisling Davis, Linda Allen, Photography for Little People Glasgow, and Cliona Quigley of PrintIsDead. And of course a big thanks to Jess for organising it all!
A little way across the pond in England, Michael and Bernadette Barrett spent a day at the famous, Banks car boot sale in Southport. They managed to sell most of their old junk… I mean, ahem, quality items… and made a small profit, as well as avoiding the rain. No mean feat that in the North West. In Vienna, Austria, their elder sister, Bridget, spent her first day of May fasting. She took the money she would’ve spent on food that day, and donated it to Lotus Lives, along with the accumulation of all her loose change from the entire month.
On the other side of the world, in Melbourne, Australia, Beth Goodwin and Marie Robineau put their book-trade experience and artistic talents to good use. They handmade a variety of special Lotus Lives bookmarks, and then sold these throughout the month to friends, colleagues, and to anyone else they could persuade. Such was the quality of these bookmarks I heard, that little persuasion was needed! A novel idea indeed (sorry).
Back in Europe, in the village of La Houssaye en Brie, just outside of Paris, Julia Poirier set up a stall at the local market. She spent hours baking up a veritable feast of sweet treats, and making jars of homemade jams to tempt the customers. Helped on the day by her mother Nicole Poirier, and her friend Lindsey Gibson from London, they managed to sell everything! Lucky Lotus Lives, and lucky customers!
In the south of France, in the wonderful city of Toulouse, Elaine O’Dea and Martin Charpy took up the challenge. Elaine asked her boss Trevor Brennan of the De Danú pub, if they could do something, and he kindly agreed. They put up posters advertising ‘One Day’ and then raffled off two rugby balls that Trevor had collected - signed and donated by the Toulouse Rugby team! They also had a collection point (in the shape of a Cambodian elephant, made by Martin) on the bar for Elaine and Martin’s ‘Carrot Challenge’. This is a little complicated to explain right now, but let’s just say that I hope for their sakes they didn’t collect too much money in the elephant! As if that wasn’t enough, Martin also made a special lunch for his work colleagues one day, which they all paid for instead of their usual lunches, with the money going to Lotus Lives. No carrots were present in the lunches.
And so, that is it for our first ever ‘One Day in May’ campaign. We hope you have enjoyed being involved as much as we have enjoyed your input. A lot of work has been put in by everyone, and it is greatly appreciated. A massive thank you to everybody mentioned here, and to all those that have supported the events! Also, thank you to those that have supported ‘One Day in May’ by making private donations through our website! Please stay in touch with us for news of future events, and remember we are always open to any fundraising suggestions, help, or ideas throughout the year.
Thank you all very much!
Lotus Lives
May is here, and we are delighted to launch our One Day in May campaign!
Firstly, a big thank you in advance to all who are getting involved! If you are unable to attend any of the ‘events’ but would still like to support us, you may make a secure donation by clicking on the button opposite. Events will be listed throughout the month as they happen.
Thank you!
One Day in May is now an event on Facebook so you can pass the information on to your family and friends: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/event.php?eid=161624220563001
This year, do something great…
One Day in May.
Up for a challenge? In the month of May this year, Lotus Lives are seeking people from around the globe to step forward and help raise funds and awareness for both Lotus Lives and local charities.
The idea is simple; any day in the month of May, take part in, or organise an event to raise money, with one half going to Lotus Lives, and the other to a local charity of your choice. Our aim is to get people from different countries united for one cause in May, while supporting their own communities at the same time. What could be a better goal to work on at the start of this year?!
The options are endless:
- Enter a local sporting event; a road race/marathon/fun run/swim, etc.
- Persuade friends or work colleagues to take part.
- Organise a lunch-time fast one day at work, with people donating their lunch money.
- Hold a house party/coffee morning/cake sale.
- Hold a table quiz, and/or a raffle.
- Get rid of some old rubbish and have a jumble sale/car boot sale.
- Have a swear box at work for the day, or even the entire month.
These are a few standard suggestions. But it can be anything at all to raise money, no matter how large or small, stupid or serious, every single penny donated is of worth, and each event highlights the issues. If you do have the time, and kindly get involved, Lotus Lives will gladly send you some leaflets and offer you as much support as possible, whilst also adding your Day to our website. Also, for those unable to take part, you will still be able to go to our website and, if you wish, support any of the events that are taking place that month. Be it one dollar, one euro, one pound - it is all greatly appreciated.
Interested? Or have any suggestions?
If so, please email Michael: michael@lotuslives.org
or leave a message on our website: www.lotuslives.org
or our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Lotus-Lives/131297090256465
Thanks
Lotus Lives
Lotus Lives would like to express a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has supported us in anyway, in any of our events throughout this year. We are extremely grateful for everybody’s help and donations.
This year saw Lotus Lives delve into the world of the table quiz, not once, but twice! And with prize donations from local businesses, a healthy turn-out on both occasions, the quiz-master-general skills of a certain Mr Leighton Turner, the marking skills of Aisling Davis and Tomás Kenny, and the, ahem, writing up of the scores by myself, both events proved to be a big success. A special thank you goes to the teams, and to the following local businesses:
Keith Newman, & Sheridan’s on the Docks, Galway (venue)
Garvey’s Bar, Eyre Sq, Galway (venue)
Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop, Galway
Connacht Rugby
The Galway Advertiser
The Harbour Hotel, Galway
Kenny’s Bookshop & Art Galleries, Galway
MW Books, Galway
The Marriott Hotel, Galway
Morgan’s Bar, The Forster Court Hotel, Galway
Neachtain’s Bar, Galway
O’Connell’s Bar, Galway
Portwest, High St., Galway
Thomas Dillon’s Claddagh Gold, Galway
In July, Aisling Davis, Leighton Turner, and myself, took part in the Achill Half Marathon. Respectable times and generous sponsors were clocked. Thanks to all the sponsors, to Aaron Turner and Karen Dooley for their encouragement, and to Bill and Marian Turner of Currane, Achill, who provided food a-plenty and welcome accommodation. Only now am I feeling the need to eat again.
August saw a group of dedicated runners take part in the 25th Streets of Galway Road Race for us. As always this was a memorable event, with the usual sojourn to O’Connell’s Bar in the evening for much needed refreshments. Thanks to O’Connell’s and the following runners/athletes; Aaron Turner, Cliona Quigley, Karen Dooley, Leighton Turner, Tomás Kenny, and Jimmy Shaughnessy.
Finally, thank you to Dean Kelly for our brochure, and to Jess Beeley and John Byrne for our website and continued technical support. For details on amounts raised and where your donations have gone this year, please check our page ‘Your donation’.
Please stay tuned for coming details of our plans for 2011, and feel free to offer any suggestions or ideas for fundraisers. With your help we hope to continue growing steadily and to support more organisations in the future.
Have a happy Christmas, and all the very best for the New Year!
Lotus Lives.
Progress continues to be made at the PIO (The People Improvement Organization).
Currently, Phymean Noun and her dedicated team are busy working on fundraising to raise money to build a new school at Stung Mean Chey, Phnom Penh. (Lotus Lives has recently donated $1,245.00 US Dollars towards this fund.) 
Over the past year PIO has;
- Built a new orphanage, which has received 50 orphans.
- Set up vocational training programs for older students in; IT training, beauty salon work, dress-making, and jewelry making.
- Opened two shops selling jewelry; one in Stung Mean Chey, school, and one in the Rusian market.
- 45 women from the community who used to work on the dumpsite, were selected and given training for 6 weeks. Employment was then found for them as cleaners and house-keepers, earning them on average $60 to $80 per month.
- Out of the teenagers that have studied at PIO over the past years, four boys have been given jobs; three as computer teachers, and one promoted to teach the young children in grade 1 at the slum school. Also, four girls from the school are now working with the PIO; two as trainee receptionists, one in the beauty salon, and one in the jewelry shop.
Lotus Lives are very happy to continue supporting this ever-growing organisation. Anybody wishing to find out more about the PIO can do so on their website at; http://peopleimprovement.org
The COLT orphanage has been busy expanding! Now caring for a total of 30 children; last year COLT managed to obtain a small piece of land (about 50 metres), to rent from a neighbour, and so swiftly set about building a new school, to contain 4 classrooms, and two staff rooms.
The new classrooms opened in March 2010, much to the delight of the excited children - and staff! The building work has had a huge knock-on effect for the orphanage, as COLT Chairwoman Tina Beekman-Tolner explained, “The constructor did a great job. The new building has allowed our children to have bigger bedrooms at our current home as the ’old’ classrooms are now used as bedrooms. Also the old computer room has been changed into a dining-living room, giving the children a place to relax in the evenings. Everyone is very happy with the new changes!”
Saturday 7th August saw the 25th Streets of Galway 8k Road Race take place, and as usual, Lotus Lives had a willing team of runners jostling for positions at the starting line. This year’s race was extra special as it marked the 25th anniversary of the Galway Road Race, with well over 2,000 people taking part. A very big thank you goes out to our team of runners; Aaron Turner, Aine Keary, Cliona Quigley, Jimmy Shaughnessy, Karen Dooley, Leighton Turner, Michael Barrett, Mickey Gannon and Tomás Kenny. And many thanks to all who sponsored and supported us, and also to O‘Connell‘s bar of Eyre Square who provided us with much needed food later that evening! A donation from the monies raised from this event will be made to The Galway Hospice Foundation.