News

NEW YEAR.

After a very busy and successful year with David Young as President, Liam has made very little changes only reverting to the original Committee names, and he is hoping for another good year.

CLUB SERVICE.

Means simply service within the club, by monitoring the organisation and smooth running of club affairs and administration.

COMMUNITY SERVICE (Including Vocational and Youth)

The most active of the committees because it concerns what we do in the local community, where we can respond to the needs of people, clubs and organisations.

INTERNATIONAL & FOUNDATION.

Through fund raising supports those throughout the world who are less fortunate than ourselves. It is often aimed at children, but also helps with health and education, and in so many other ways provides support. This may be direct or through one of the many agencies working in their own specialist fields. The Rotary Foundation is Rotary's own Charity fund, furthering the aims of world understanding and peace. Money raised by Rotarians is used in Health, Hunger and Humanitarian causes, through direct investment or matching grants to club and district projects. Scholarships, Group Study Exchange, Youth Exchanges, Ambassadorial Scholars ar examples of support iven to education. The elimination of Polio throughout the world has been one of Rotary's large projects since 1985, and is almost complete.

BARNARDO'S.

Barnardo's has come a long way since its original aim of providing homes for orphans, but it still aims to help vulnerable children and helps to give young people a better start in life through special projects giving support to families, helping to keep them free from poverty, abuse and discrimination. Over 390 community based projects are spread across the UK, working with 132,000 children and families.

SHELTERBOX LATEST

The Shelter Box scheme has provided 14,000 tents and supplies to the Asian Tsunami by June 2005. In September last year Hurricane Katrina struck and 1,000 Shelter Boxes were again needed. Again, in October 2005, more than 12,000 tents were shipped to Pakistan, and most were carried into the mountains by Mule teams.

POLIO PLUS

Rotary's commitment to global polio eradication began in 1979 with a five year project to immunize six million Philippine children against this devastating disease. In taking up the task Rotary embarked on an ambitious fundraising campaign that garnered US$247 million by 1988. Rotarians raised US$129 million in the second fund raising campaign launched in 2002-2003. Since 1985 more than two billion children have been immunized against polio and polio cases have declined more than 99%.

ROTARIANS CARE

Despite armed conflict, political instability, economic recession, and other barriers to peace in many parts of the world, Rotarians have raised and donated funds to help alleviate hunger, poverty, disease and literacy. These basic afflictions are the main obstacles to world understanding and peace.

Rotarians care for the homeless, on a temporary and long term basis. Rotarians have led the way in eradicating Polio throughout the world.

Over the years, we have helped Water Aid, Jaipur Limb, Sight Savers, Hope and Homes for Children, Polio Plus, Tools for self reliance, Rotary Doctor bank and many others. A world at peace will only happen when every man, woman, and child on this planet has enough to eat, access to basic healthcare, and the opportunity for an education. It may not happen in our lifetime, but it will happen, and when it does, Rotary will have been one of the key players that made it possible.

The SHELTERBOX scheme has been very busy since the Tsunami, sending hundreds of boxes to all parts of the globe and to all sorts of disasters, many of which never reach our t/v screens or newspapers. All the boxes donated by our club are being used in the Tsunami disaster area. To read more about the Shelterbox scheme visit www.shelterbox.org