Page 49 - Lion Oct Nov 2016

Lions Youth Brass Band
In November 2015, the Eastbourne Lions Club was approached by Jane Stubbs, Chairman of the Lions Youth Brass Band, with a request to host their 2016 Summer Tour.
Thus began the process of finding accommodation for 43 band members aged 12 to 18 years and their helpers, which was to prove difficult as the band have a maximum budget of £4 per person per night!
By the end of December we had been unsuccessful in finding a suitable place for them to stay; we had identified halls but none had all the required facilities. On 8th January 2016, we received an appeal from Pestalozzi International Trust asking if the Eastbourne Lions Club would be interested in supporting Pestalozzi (see page 27 for more information) during the year and through this letter it came to our notice that the Village would be an ideal place to accommodate the band.
The international students would have returned home for the summer holiday’s creating the necessary space required in the Swiss Hall for sleeping on the floor camping style and using the student kitchen and showers. After viewing the facilities, the accommodation was secured. In addition to accommodation the Club was asked to provide venues for
the band to play from 22nd - 27th July; another challenging task! However apart from the Eastbourne Bandstand, which was already booked, all the other venues accepted their requests. These venues included Pestalozzi Village, Worthing Lido, Eastbourne and Hastings Piers, Battle Abbey, Hever Castle, All Saints Church Sidley and Eastbourne Central Methodist Church. The band was received with a warm welcome and standing ovation after every concert.
The members of Lions Youth Brass, sponsored by Clubs in MD105BS, are great ambassadors for youth and Lions Clubs International. Based in Sandbach Cheshire, they are one of the country's leading youth brass band organisations. They have three bands and welcome total beginners and advanced musicians alike. Run entirely by volunteers, they are determined to further the brass band tradition in a way that attracts and inspires today's youth.
The band had a fantastic time, and performed to a professional standard under Musical Director Nigel Birch.
For more information on these charities visit www.lionsyouthbrass.co.uk and www.pestalozzi.org.uk.
Youth
www.lionsclubs.co
October/November 2016
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