At the South Abingdon Children’s Centre, on Caldecott Chase, the Mayor of Abingdon, Cllr Charlie Birks, did a bit of DIY to fix the last crayon to the fence.
He also gave a speech thanking everybody who helped get the centre back up and running. It is now run by the Abingdon Carousel Charity.

It is the end of National Volunteers Week – a week in which the UK celebrates volunteers and says thank you to them for the contribution that they make. Charlie thanked all the volunteers who have given time to get the children’s centre working, or who volunteered elsewhere in Abingdon.

There is a named crayon for each of the organisations that have helped provide funding or done work to make sure the Children’s Centre opened.

Other news from the Children’s Centre is that a new Saturday Club has started and it runs between 9.30am and 12. They do things like stories, science, cooking, planting and gardening, music, art and crafts. Parents or carers stay with the children, who can be any age – although activities will mostly suit pre-schoolers.

This evening at the Northcourt Centre in Abingdon, the Abingdon Lions Club were giving out cheques and prizes to other local community groups. The Abingdon Lions organise Santa’s Sleigh going around Abingdon during December. Other groups help by providing elves. So of the £4,300 raised, the Lion’s share will be used for a new defibrillator in the Abbey Gardens, to go with the toilet block when complete. The rest was shared between other groups for their own projects. They included:

Abingdon Sea Cadets,

Friends of Abingdon Community Hospital, Lowland Rescue (who find people who are lost), Abingdon Autistic Society, Kennington Memory Club, 2 Guide groups, and Thomas Reade School PTA.

The Lions originated over 100 years ago in the US with the mission To Serve, which they largely do by fund raising for projects and helping other community groups at events and with funding. There are 1.7 million members worldwide, and The Abingdon Lions are one of 46,000 local clubs. In recent years the Abingdon Lion’s have provided 11 defibrillators. They also provide the message in a bottle and message in a wallet which holds important personal information in case of emergency.

The Mayor of Abingdon, Councillor Margaret Crick, was there, and thanked the Lions for all their hard work for the local community. For more information about other projects visit Abingdon Lions Club.

The SHIFT group was started in 2009 by parents of children with special needs in the Abingdon area. They have an open morning where those with a child with special needs can go along and find out more.

Abingdon Quakers invite people to try out their style of silent worship at St Ethelwolds for 5 special meetings on Thursdays.

Abingdon Flower Club have a display in the Abingdon Free Space to say they are welcoming new members. Visitor entry is free for the 5th February meeting. Doors open at 6:30 for 7:15 at the Northcourt Centre, Northcourt Road, Abingdon.

The Abingdon Christmas Tree Festival is on from 4th – 8th December in the Community Free Space, Bury Street, 10am – 4pm. You can make your own decoration and help decorate the tree outside.

Lots of Community groups have already decorated a tree inside.

You can vote for your favourite tree for £1 per entry. All proceeds to Action for Carers Oxfordshire and Late Spring.