With a new baker, the traditional Lions Christmas Cake is currently being baked and shipped by the hundreds of thousands to eager customers around the country.
Tony Fawcett drops in on the cake bake.
It’s raised more than $60 million for worthy causes, been savored by our troops in Afghanistan and other war zones and become an icon for generations of Australians. For hundreds of thousands it’s a festive must. It is the Lions Traditional Christmas Cake.
Biting into a luscious, moist slice is an occasion to be savored. Yet despite it phenomenal fundraising record, the cake might never have been but for some early Australian Lions who played a hunch. It’s all part of the cake’s colourful history.
First released in 1965, clubs are annually flooded with requests for deliveries of the cake, and some of those requests are far from ordinary. Overseas emails regularly ask that cakes be delivered to loved ones around Australia, and many Australians send cakes to friends and family overseas.
Saving sight
While the cake largely sells itself, in its half century-plus history Lions have excelled at promoting the project in many inventive ways. In 1992 a TV advert queried, “Did you know that eating a Christmas cake can prevent blindness”, a clever reference to Lions’ SAVE SIGHT initiative.
There have been Lions Christmas Cake decorating contests and cakes are regularly served to dignitaries at official functions, making it as synonymous with Lions as the Bunnings sausage sizzle.
Biggest bake names in Australia
While the cake’s traditional recipe has barely changed over the years, it has been produced by the biggest names in Australian baking history, brands such as Big Sister, Arnott’s and Top Taste.
A year ago when Top Taste, the cake’s baker for 35 years, announced it was going out of business some alarmist sections of the media foreshadowed the end of the much-celebrated cake. No way.
Our cake was way too big a favourite for that.
After lengthy research and a bake-off by the final two contenders, Lions Australia late last year announced Melbourne family company Traditional Foods as the new custodian of the cake. Already Traditional Foods-produced Lions cakes are being shipped Australia-wide.
This week the company’s CEO Stephen Heath announced 70% of this year’s expected 400,000 to 500,000 of cakes of various sizes, including a Lions Christmas pudding, had already been taken from the oven and were heading to clubs for delivery. The products include the familiar 1kg and 1.5kg cakes plus an 80-gram slice, along with the 900-gram pudding.
Meet the new maker
For Traditional Foods, established in 1993 by Stephen Heath’s father, it has brought a hefty lift in production at its state-of-the-art, HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) accredited Dandenong South facility. Now the company’s biggest bake job, it’s roughly double that of the next biggest product. The initial bake took just over two months and will be followed by a top-up bake in October-November to satisfy late customers.
“It’s the cooking that takes the most time,” explains Stephen. “The larger cakes take two to three hours to bake, so that limits how many we can do in a day.”
Moist taste
“The recipe for puddings is unchanged,” says Stephen, “but the cake recipe has been modified to our recipes with a slightly greater percentage of Australian ingredients, 49%, than the previous one.” Ideally, Stephen would like to see them containing 100% Australian fruit but supply shortages and/or excessive costs prevent this.
Although he modestly declines to compare his company’s Lions cakes to what went before, he admits it was pleasing to receive feedback when he joined with Lions in offering samples at the May MD201 Convention in Canberra.
“The taste buds are in the eye of the beholder but the feedback there was all positive, and what I’m hearing is that some thought it was moister than the previous cake.”
Likewise, he is thrilled that what his company is producing is of such huge community worth Australia-wide.
“Hats off to Lions for getting this project up and running in the first place, and for sticking with it for all these years,” he says. “It’s a great project to be involved in.”
Story adapted from original by Tony Fawcett.
Lions clubs help raise $4 million for childhood cancer research
/in DONATIONS, HEALTH, NEWS /by adminA four-year partnership between the Australian Lions Childhood Cancer Research Foundation (ALCCRF) and the Garvan Institute has meant that children with high-risk cancers have received more tailored therapies based on the DNA sequencing of their individual tumors.
The Lions Kids Cancer Genome Project joined the Zero Childhood Cancer Project in 2016, but the ability to sequence the cancer genome of hundreds of children required significant investment.
The need was met by the commitment and passion of the Lions Club International Foundation, the Australian Lions Childhood Cancer Research Foundation and Lions Clubs around Australia – raising $4 million in total.
Lions set out with an ambitious goal of sequencing the genome of tumour samples from 400 children and was spearheaded by Prof Dziadek and Prof David Thomas, Head of the Genomic Cancer Medicine Lab at the Garvan Institute and Director of The Kinghorn Cancer Centre.
Through global and local fundraising, including a grass-roots drive that appealed to Australians to collect spare change to support the pioneering cancer research, Lions raised a significant $4 million for the Lions Kids Cancer Genome Project. This crucial investment made it possible to sequence the 400 tumour samples, completing a major milestone in 2020.
Dr Joe Collins, Chairman of the Lions Kids Cancer Genome Project, says: “We are thrilled to have invested in this visionary project. To see it make such a difference for kids that have no options left is truly remarkable. The legacy that this project has left is that we’ve not only saved a number of children, we’ve helped establish a database that is going to help kids all over the world. Without Lion’s ’funding, this project may not have happened.”
Taree Lions donate new water tanks to locals affected by bushfires
/in EMERGENCY RESPONSE, NEWS /by adminThe mid North Coast of NSW was devastated by the Summer bushfires of 2019/2020.
Lions in affected bushfire areas immediately rolled up their sleeves and took action. From cooking thousands of meals for emergency services workers and evacuation centres to checking on residents and providing urgent support to those in need, Lions on the ground did whatever they could to support those in need in their communities.
But in times of crises it’s not only the clubs and volunteers in affected areas providing support. When the summer bushfires hit, Lions were out in full force right across the country shaking donation buckets and hosting sausage sizzles and fundraisers for the National Appeal. With Australia’s help, over $4 million was raised for the Australian Lions Foundation National Bushfire Appeal.
Lions in Australia were also supported by the strength of the International Lions organisation with over US$340,000 in financial support from the Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF) which mobilises quickly to support Lions Clubs in major disasters all over the world.
The funding is helping communities recover. Taree Lions Club for example started purchasing, installing and filling water tanks for people who had lost their water sources in the bushfires.
Lions volunteers pay annual membership fees to cover admin costs which means every dollar donated goes directly to the cause and through Lions’ large network of clubs we are able to quickly identify those who require assistance and find the best and most efficient ways of supporting those people and communities.
Need for Feed – Lions delivering for farmers in need
/in EMERGENCY RESPONSE, HUMANITARIAN, NEWS /by adminNeed for Feed was established in 2006 in response to what was at that time the driest period on record. At that time, reportedly three farmers per week around Australia were taking their own lives and many others walking off the land, unable to cope with circumstances beyond their control.
Lions member Graham Cockerell, had lost his own father years before to farm related suicide, and didn’t want see other farmers and their families go through the same heartbreak.
The point is, says Graham, “My father wasn’t a bad farmer, in fact quite the opposite; He found himself in circumstances beyond his control where he could see no other way out”.
Graham had given away one small truckload of his own hay to a group of farmers burnt out in East Gippsland. When he saw the scale of the destruction and spoke to those affected, he returned home determined to do something about it. He talked to his Lions Club, got them on board and rounded up a group of mates to get involved with the fundraising and finding more hay.
The Need for Feed team came to the rescue during the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009 and have continued on each year through fires, floods and droughts to provide fodder and raising funds to keep the trucks rolling.
The response to the latest drought has seen well over 1300 truckloads of fodder worth around 12 million dollars delivered to farmers totally free of charge into all of the eastern states including Tasmania and South Australia, along with more than 700 truckloads with a value of at least $6.5 million for those affected by last summer’s horrific fires. Over 90 truckloads have now been delivered to support those impacted by the current floods with more deliveries planned.
These deliveries are usually accompanied by household hampers, personal care packs, Lions teddies and toys for the kids, and food for our best mates. Every farm has at least one dog!
Now in its 15th. Year, Need for Feed take great pride not only in being managed 100% by Lions volunteers but also last year being adopted as a national Project of Lions Australia.
The core group of Lions members on our committee are involved on pretty much a daily basis with over 200 regular volunteers.
Lions Disaster Relief Australia Project – supporting veterans and rebuilding communities
/1 Comment/in EMERGENCY RESPONSE, NEWS /by adminLions volunteers are committed to doing what they can to help others and make a difference in the community and the organisation has a proud history of mobilising to help communities in times of crisis.
Lions are always amongst the first to help and are still there when the smoke clears. We saw this with the recent bushfires. Volunteers on the ground were cooking meals for the fire fighters and providing food and essential items to affected residents whilst Lions clubs right across Australia immediately starting-shaking buckets and holding fundraisers for the national appeal.
Lions Australia is proud to be partnering with Disaster Relief Australia, an organisation which unites the skills and experience of military veterans to rapidly deploy disaster relief teams in Australia and around the world.
Disaster Relief Australia CEO Geoffrey Evans says the partnership will benefit both veterans, Lions clubs and the wider community.
“Through Disaster Relief Australia, military veterans, emergency responders and motivated civilians can volunteer their time to assist with emergency and disaster relief operations. This not only helps communities devastated by disasters, but it also helps Australian veterans find purpose through community service,” he said.
“Everyday Lions Clubs across Australia change lives and make the community a better place to live. Partnering with Lions Australia will provide veterans the opportunity to get involved in the incredible projects and initiatives lead by Lions clubs. It will also provide Lions clubs with skilled and experienced volunteers that can help continue and grow the wonderful work they are doing in the community,” Geoffrey added.
Lions volunteers pay membership fees to cover admin costs which means 100% of funds donated to Lions club goes directly towards the cause.
For more information on Disaster Relief Australia visit https://disasterreliefaus.org/
Jesmond Lions committed to local environmental conservation
/in ENVIRONMENT, NEWS /by adminThe Jesmond Lions Club in Newcastle, NSW has a proud history in environmental conservation.
In particular, the Club has completed various projects at the Hunter Wetlands. Some of the projects include constructing barbecue shelters, boardwalks, bird hides and seating and planting many hundreds of trees and shrubs.
A major Club project was the construction of a fully-accessible sensory trail and boardwalk in 1994, something that other Lions club in the area were eager to get involved with. The sensory trail was a gift from Lions to the City of Newcastle to celebrate its bicentenary in 1997.
Other Lions Clubs in the District worked together to raise funds for the construction, and a state government grant was also awarded, bringing the total money raised to approximately $45,000.
The sensory trail features contrasting coloured pathways, vegetation, bridges, boardwalks, windmills, an ornamental creek and a picnic shelter. The plants were chosen for their colour, shape, sound in the wind and feel so that vision impaired visitors could enjoy the experience.
When able to, the club sponsors international exchange students to visit Australia through the Lions Youth Exchange Program. These visiting students have also been encouraged to get involved in projects throughout the wetlands, such as building new breeding huts for the speckled ducks, an endangered species.
The Club holds its regular meetings within the Wetlands’ beautiful surroundings and helps to run barbecues and other activities during the school holidays.
Another project dear to the heart of the Club’s members is tree planting at Pambalong Nature Reserve near Minmi, where they have planted over 5000 trees since 2012.
Clare Lions Club become recycling champions
/in ENVIRONMENT, NEWS /by adminSouth Australia’s wine town of Clare boasts less than 4000 people yet in a few years it has become a household waste recycling capital of Australia – thanks largely to the inspiring leadership of one Lions member – Pat Williams.
Pat Williams shies away from titles like enviro warrior, yet in little more than a year he and his band of Green Team Lions have dramatically changed the waste disposal habits of many in Clare, 136k north of Adelaide.
A campaign that began with a couple of pop-up information booths in Clare’s main street now has much of the town involved in a program recycling everything from soft plastics and ink cartridges to household batteries and old mobile phones.
Not one to hold back, thanks to Pat’s passionate eco spruiking to individuals, businesses and local organisations there has been a giant turn-around in Clare’s thoughts, or lack of them, on recycling.
Today there are club notices around town guiding locals to 15 drop-off points where items can be left for recycling, and more than 40 locals have signed to support the program. The local council is so impressed it volunteered to reprint and deliver the club’s brochure outlining the program along with rates notices to residents – at no charge.
As the Club’s Green Team coordinator, Pat, a retired house builder and business manager, is delighted at Clare’s ready acceptance of the program after just a year’s operation – though he had no doubts it would be a winner.
Pat already had a huge eco reputation in Clare following his Green Team’s involvement since 2014 in a project to re-establish, plant up and promote the local Gleeson Wetlands, now a mecca for naturalists, walkers and bird watchers.
Note: This story has been adapted from a feature story by Lions magazine editor Tony Fawcett.
Hero Lion – Alan Turner
/in Lion Hero /by adminLion Alan Turner is a member of the Lions Club of the Entrance in NSW. A Lion since 1969, he is known in the club as “Mr Lion”, the ‘go to’ person for all of those curly questions that need his encyclopaedic knowledge.
Hero Lion – Harvey Allen
/in Lion Hero /by adminLion Harvey Allen is a member of the Lions Club of the Entrance in NSW. Harvey has been a supporter of the Lions Sensory Gardens at The Entrance as well as scholarship for schools and higher education.
A piece of cake…
/in OUR STORIES /by adminWith a new baker, the traditional Lions Christmas Cake is currently being baked and shipped by the hundreds of thousands to eager customers around the country.
Tony Fawcett drops in on the cake bake.
It’s raised more than $60 million for worthy causes, been savored by our troops in Afghanistan and other war zones and become an icon for generations of Australians. For hundreds of thousands it’s a festive must. It is the Lions Traditional Christmas Cake.
Biting into a luscious, moist slice is an occasion to be savored. Yet despite it phenomenal fundraising record, the cake might never have been but for some early Australian Lions who played a hunch. It’s all part of the cake’s colourful history.
First released in 1965, clubs are annually flooded with requests for deliveries of the cake, and some of those requests are far from ordinary. Overseas emails regularly ask that cakes be delivered to loved ones around Australia, and many Australians send cakes to friends and family overseas.
Saving sight
While the cake largely sells itself, in its half century-plus history Lions have excelled at promoting the project in many inventive ways. In 1992 a TV advert queried, “Did you know that eating a Christmas cake can prevent blindness”, a clever reference to Lions’ SAVE SIGHT initiative.
There have been Lions Christmas Cake decorating contests and cakes are regularly served to dignitaries at official functions, making it as synonymous with Lions as the Bunnings sausage sizzle.
Biggest bake names in Australia
While the cake’s traditional recipe has barely changed over the years, it has been produced by the biggest names in Australian baking history, brands such as Big Sister, Arnott’s and Top Taste.
A year ago when Top Taste, the cake’s baker for 35 years, announced it was going out of business some alarmist sections of the media foreshadowed the end of the much-celebrated cake. No way.
Our cake was way too big a favourite for that.
After lengthy research and a bake-off by the final two contenders, Lions Australia late last year announced Melbourne family company Traditional Foods as the new custodian of the cake. Already Traditional Foods-produced Lions cakes are being shipped Australia-wide.
This week the company’s CEO Stephen Heath announced 70% of this year’s expected 400,000 to 500,000 of cakes of various sizes, including a Lions Christmas pudding, had already been taken from the oven and were heading to clubs for delivery. The products include the familiar 1kg and 1.5kg cakes plus an 80-gram slice, along with the 900-gram pudding.
Meet the new maker
For Traditional Foods, established in 1993 by Stephen Heath’s father, it has brought a hefty lift in production at its state-of-the-art, HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) accredited Dandenong South facility. Now the company’s biggest bake job, it’s roughly double that of the next biggest product. The initial bake took just over two months and will be followed by a top-up bake in October-November to satisfy late customers.
“It’s the cooking that takes the most time,” explains Stephen. “The larger cakes take two to three hours to bake, so that limits how many we can do in a day.”
Moist taste
“The recipe for puddings is unchanged,” says Stephen, “but the cake recipe has been modified to our recipes with a slightly greater percentage of Australian ingredients, 49%, than the previous one.” Ideally, Stephen would like to see them containing 100% Australian fruit but supply shortages and/or excessive costs prevent this.
Although he modestly declines to compare his company’s Lions cakes to what went before, he admits it was pleasing to receive feedback when he joined with Lions in offering samples at the May MD201 Convention in Canberra.
“The taste buds are in the eye of the beholder but the feedback there was all positive, and what I’m hearing is that some thought it was moister than the previous cake.”
Likewise, he is thrilled that what his company is producing is of such huge community worth Australia-wide.
“Hats off to Lions for getting this project up and running in the first place, and for sticking with it for all these years,” he says. “It’s a great project to be involved in.”
Story adapted from original by Tony Fawcett.
Hero Lion – George Nagy
/in Lion Hero /by adminLion George Nagy is a member of the Lions Club of Carisbrook, Victoria. This is what his fellow Lions say about George.
George has been our Treasurer for a short time and Secretary of our Club for over 9 years.
Big Heart, big thoughts for the future or our club, he is respected and admired as a mentor, speaker and organiser.