Lions’ Bank Holiday event to get off the ground

Budleigh Salterton seafront will be the setting for the Lions Club’s 11th annual balloon race on Bank Holiday Monday 31 August.

The spectacular event which takes place by the Longboat Café, complete with barbecue and stalls from 10.00 am until 5.00 pm, will raise funds for the Lions’ campaign to provide Medic Alert pendants and bracelets.

MedicAlert® is the only non-profit making, registered charity providing a life-saving identification system for individuals with hidden medical conditions and allergies.

This takes the form of body-worn bracelets or necklets – known as MedicAlert Emblems – bearing the MedicAlert symbol on the disc and supported by a 24-hour emergency telephone service.

MedicAlert® was founded in America in 1956 by Dr Marion Collins and Mrs Chrissie Collins after their daughter almost died following an allergic reaction to the horse serum used in a routine tetanus antitoxin test. From this small beginning, MedicAlert® has grown to a worldwide membership of over four million from around 40 different countries.

The Lions Clubs and MedicAlert® have a long and proud history of working together. In fact MedicAlert was brought to the UK in the early 1960s as a special project of the British Isles & Ireland Lions Clubs.

The biodegradable balloons at the Budleigh Lions’ Bank Holiday event cost £1 each and there is a prize of £100 for the person whose balloon travels the furthest. The winner’s balloon last year was returned from Switzerland.

Above left: Budleigh Salterton Lion Alan Lowe raising money for Medic Alert at a previous balloon race. Photo credit: Ray Ambrose of Randa Creative and http://www.budleighlions.org/

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