Work of Rotarians can make a difference in 2022
WELCOME to the latest Rotary column - well, we seem to have survived both Christmas and new year and the pandemic. A few tentative steps back to acceptable normality perhaps.
So what of Rotary in 2022? Well, we remain a community organisation seeking to help the most vulnerable people in our local communities, working alongside other likeminded organisations.
This can be by donating to charitable causes (Meals on Wheels, various healthrelated charities such as cancer, mental health, heart and dementia).
The support may also be physical, for example collecting, marshalling, renovating or refurbishing.
We try to provide a spark for something new, to challenge or just help build the confidence of our youth through various competitions and providing projects (such as literacy) and talks to help with their understanding of aspects of their community (such as shoeboxes at Christmas).
On a wider plane there is the ongoing support for the eradication of polio, with only a couple of countries still to be polio-free.
For the clubs themselves there is the friendship and camaraderie of being a club member where age, gender and background is no barrier.
We are always looking for younger members to help shape Rotary into a sustainable future.
All clubs look for suitable projects to get their teeth into and make a difference.
One such example is from Waterlooville Rotary Club……to the rescue like modernday Thunderbirds!
It all started with a phone call from the family support organisation Havant HomeStart. A mother with young children was escaping from an abusive relationship and her new home needed urgent redecoration. Could Rotary help?
Over a period of two days a small team of
Rotarians painted the home and were able to make the family’s dreams come true.
To know that the free support received was appreciated so much proves that the work of Rotarian volunteers really can make a difference.
It is what Rotary does for the community and does well. For more information on the Waterlooville club, please contact Mike Williams at mikmarwllms@aol.com.
Rotary’s newest area of focus highlights our dedication to preserving the environment and commitment to supporting activities that strengthen the conservation and protection of natural resources, advance ecological sustainability and foster harmony between communities and environment.
The idea is to empower communities to access grants and other resources, embrace local solutions and spur innovation to address the causes and reduce the effects of climate change and environmental degradation, by coming up with projects, using connections to help change policy and planning for the future.
All clubs are being encouraged to set up their own environmental projects.
Rotary’s own charity, The Rotary Foundation, enables our members and their community partners to take action to protect the environment through matching grants.
Over the past five years, worldwide Rotary has given the equivalent of more than £13m in grant funding to environmentally-related causes.
If you’d like details of other clubs nearer to your community, please contact Rotary District Officers raydrake@talktalk.net or kenebbens@aol.com.