SIX FRIENDS from Almádena, near Luz – Pat Gibbs, Jean Palmer-Hall, Shirley Powell, Lois Rain, Sheila Rapsey and Jacqui Rodrigues – decided to raise money for the Lagos Bombeiros and, in January 2004, they formed a group called ‘The Bitches Club’.
They started by holding monthly meetings, hosted each month by a different club member. The hostess for the evening would cook a meal and monthly subscription fees were paid. Raffle tickets were bought to win a prize, provided by a different member each time, which helped increase the funds.
In April, the club held a musical evening in Bar Six, Almádena, where Traj, a band formed by Tony, Ray, Andrea and Jean, gave a wonderful performance. Raffle prizes were also donated and the club raised 405 euros that evening. In June, they held a pool sale at Pat’s house and donations from the people of Almádena were plenty. Members cooked various items, which were also sold, and raised 400 euros on the day.
Kelly’s Bar in Luz raised 326 euros on Grand National Day for the bombeiros and Chaddy, who organised the event, donated the money to be added to the club’s funds.
During the summer, after watching the movie, The Calendar Girls, the girls thought: “If they can do it, so can we”! So another friend in the village, Peter Chandler, who works at Oceânico in Lagos, asked his company if they would sponsor the calendar. They kindly agreed. Eric Derouane and Peter did the photo shoot and, just before last Christmas, the calendar was printed. Oceânico did an excellent job in the design and print of the calendar. To date, the club have sold over 2,000 euros worth of calendars.
Last month, The Bitches Club held a karaoke evening, again at Bar Six, where home-made curries and chillies were sold and wonderful raffle prizes were donated. The evening was a great success and the club raised 711 euros. This takes the fundraising to almost 4,500 euros!
The Lagos Bombeiros are delighted with what the club has done for them. In a recent meeting, the bombeiros informed the club that they were putting together a list of items they urgently require.
The Bitches Club continues its efforts in raising money for the bombeiros and, in the near future, are hoping to hold a quiz evening, barbecues and a fancy dress evening. Contributed
