Volunteering is good for the soul

Rotary E-Club? What’s that? Well, they are a funloving bunch of people with busy lives. They meet using video conferencing but come together to socialise or to work on practical projects.

The origins of this E-Club stem from an earnest desire to ‘do Rotary’ in a way that is relevant to current lifestyles. This is proving to be a way to create volunteering opportunities for younger people who have the same ambitions to serve, but a different method of doing so.

The structure of our society continues to change - time and disposable income are at a premium and the Rotary E-Club method aims to match the demands of today’s army of volunteers.

The club members comprise family units where mum, dad and children all pitch in. This makes life much easier for young families to contribute, where a relaxed and fun atmosphere makes Rotary part of the family ethos.

The emphasis is on conviviality not drudgery!

In normal times, when social distancing is not ruling our lives, members meet face to face just a few times a year. However, they often come together to carry out hands-on projects.

They meet once a week using a cloud-based conferencing application.

Most of the business of the club is done in this way. They are keen to use current technology to make efficient use of their time. Slack conference calls help to keep their communications up to date. Cloudbased project management makes design, implementation and review of projects very easy.

E-club president Angela Woods heard about Giving World, a charity which last year saved over a million new items from landfill, ensuring they are given free to those in need.

Quick off the mark she contacted Giving World to see how the E-Club could help. She registered and selected brand new products to give away (items cannot be sold or used for a raffle or tombola). Even under lockdown, with President Angela being a key worker and the goods being used for vulnerable people, she was able to collect 1,797 items with a value of £4,868 from the Leicester warehouse. These included clothing for babies to be donated to the hospital, supporting new parents not able to get to the shops. She also chose: hygiene items and adult sports clothing that will go to support vulnerable people in homeless shelters; stationery items for children from low income families currently not attending school, and school uniforms and PE kits for when they return; novels and memory kits to help stimulate residents in care homes.

A perfect example of Rotary supporting the local community.