January 18, 2016 12.53 pm This story is over 98 months old

Lincoln Rotary Club donates thousands to Syrian refugees and flood victims

Generous donations: The Rotary Club has used its proceeds from the 2015 Lincoln Christmas Market to help flood victims in Cumbria and Syrian refugees.
The Lindum-Lincoln Rotary Club at their stall at the 2015 Lincoln Christmas Market

Syrian refugees and flood victims in northern England are among those to have benefited from the proceeds generated by the Rotary Club at the Lincoln Christmas Market.

The 33rd Christmas market held in the city welcomed an estimated 250,000 visitors in the first weekend of December, with the Lindum-Lincoln Rotary Club selling hot drinks to the festive revellers.

The club has used the funds raised to make donations of £3,000 to the flood relief appeals in Cumbria and Yorkshire.

Rotary clubs in the affected areas are using the money to provide cleaning materials and support for those who have had their homes flooded.

The club has also funded two ShelterBox boxes to be sent to aid refugees from Syria.

Each ShelterBox which costs £590 includes a range of items designed to help families who have lost their homes and belongings regain a sense of normality.

The contents are altered, depending on the disaster, but a ShelterBox typically contains a disaster relief tent for a family, thermal blankets and groundsheets, water storage and purification equipment, solar lamps, cooking utensils, a basic tool kit, mosquito nets and a children’s activity pack.

Goods delivered to the Greek island of Lesbos for the Syrian refugees

Goods delivered to the Greek island of Lesbos for the Syrian refugees

Lincoln rotarians have also made a donation to the Mytilini Rotary Club on the Greek Island of Lesbos to help the work that club is doing to aid the huge number of Syrian refugees landing on the island.

This money was used to buy traditional Christmas cakes and other toys for the children who were arriving on the island.

President of Lindum-Lincoln Rotary Club, Derek Muhl, said: “The club has sold hot drinks at the Christmas Market for many years and we have great fun doing so, but importantly it enables us to raise funds for us to give help both locally and further afield to those in need.”