Asthma Auckland receives a Mobile Education Vehicle as a result of the support of the Business Houses of Auckland and Remuera Lions.

The Prime Minister of New Zealand, the Rt. Hon. Helen Clark officially handed the vehicle to Asthma Auckland on behalf of the Business Houses of Auckland and the Remuera Lions Club.

Present were The President of Asthma New Zealand, Dr Allen Liang, The Executive Director of Asthma Auckland, Gerry Hanna, Remuera Lions Club Members, Staff of Asthma Auckland, family and friends of Asthma and Lions.

Remuera Lions President Grant McKenzie welcomed the Prime Minister and stated the Following:

Who are Lions?  Founded in 1917, Lions are the world’s largest service organisation with approximately 1.4 million members operating in some 190 countries.  For more than 20 years, Lions have celebrated our relationship with the United Nations with the annual Lions Day hosted by the United Nations – the only service organisation honoured in this way.

In New Zealand we have been known as the people that always brought in the big cheque at the end of the Telethon.  Times have changed and good press is often not widely reported, and though we continue to support our communities, we are sadly not as well known as we used to be.

Remuera Lions was formed in 1963 and we celebrate our 40th anniversary of our charter on 20th September this year.  I have been President over the last year, and I have been honoured by being elected to remain as President through this important year for us.  Past and current members, together with various dignitaries, club supporters and fund recipients will celebrate with us at the Ellerslie Function Centre.  A special guest, former Club member and New Zealand Icon, Sir Edmund Hillary will be with us.  Please ensure you are with us as well.

Over the last 40 years of service, we have run many short term and long-term projects. For 37 of those years we have run our Junior Citizenship Awards and School Speechmaker competitions within our local schools. The project that has us here today, the Remuera Lions World Festival of Magic, has been successfully run for 13 years now.

The Magic Show sees the Business Houses of Auckland enable some 15,000 children, from less fortunate circumstances than you and I, see this Magic Show for free each and every year  - our Christmas present to them.  In addition to this, excess funds raised are put back into the community for the good of the greater Auckland Area.

Past projects have included the heated hydrotherapy pool at the Laura Ferguson Trust, the first fully equipped paramedic motorcycles for St Johns, actually three of them in total, and various other groups.  For the statisticians amongst us, some 210,000 children have now seen the Magic Show for free, coupled with approximately $2.2 million dollars back into our community from this one project alone.

The Asthma Auckland Mobile Education Vehicle is fully equipped and includes video and television setup so that educators can screen and tech the children under the canopy outside the vehicle.  The vehicle is also equipped with computer, training and medical equipment, and this amounts in total to a donation of approximately $115,000 to Asthma Auckland from the Business Houses of Auckland and the Remuera Lions Club.