Rotary Club of Doncaster St Leger

Rotarians Flood Relief Activities

Rotarians have contributed a further grant from funds raised by the Rotary Club of Thorne and the Rotary District 1270 Flood Relief fund to help another of the buildings that suffered damage during last year’s floods.   In this case the Bentley Central Methodist Church has received £7,000 towards a replacement boiler – the existing one having been badly damaged (£6,000 from the District Flood Relief fund and £1,000 from the Rotary Club of Thorne.

The church performs a valuable social function beyond that of its main role as a place for worship which is the reason for the grant from Rotary as it houses a number of community organisations and services to local people.

A celebratory concert – an ‘Evening of Song’ featuring the Doncaster Ladies’ Choir took place on Saturday, 8^th November to raise further funds towards the £9,000 required to replace the boiler during which a formal cheque presentation took place.

'A Night of Piano Magic'

Joint fund raising concert by local Rotary clubs

Doncaster Rotary Clubs organized ‘A Night of Piano Magic’ at the Community Church, Lakeside on 9^th August in aid of the ‘Shelterbox’ charity. Rotary ShelterBox Trust is a registered charity that provides emergency aid for victims of natural and other disasters anywhere in the world and was one of the first aid agencies in Burma and China following the recent disasters. The ShelterBox is a tough, green plastic box containing a 10 person tent and ancillary equipment designed to enable a family of up to 10 people to survive for at least 6 months.

 The pianists on the night were MARIA KING, a concert soloist with a vast repertoire from Brubeck and Gershwin to Liszt, Rachmaninov,  and Chopin – and Doncaster’s COLIN ‘FINGERS’ HENRY – who has more than 40 years experience in most facets of show business, including TV, radio, theatre, after dinner speaking, panto, TV drama and international cabaret.   An enthusiastic audience of over 200 enabled sufficient money to be raised to purchase 5 ShelterBoxes to be contributed to emergency aid.

Rotary 'KidsOut' 2008

Thousands of children take part in the UK's largest 'Day Out'

More than 28,000 children and their carers were taken on trips to the seaside, zoos, safari parks, museums, theme parks, and farms across the UK, organised by members from hundreds of Rotary Clubs from Great Britain and Ireland on KidsOut days during June.

In Doncaster members of the St Leger Rotary Club, staff and carers took children from Heatherwood School in Leger Way to ‘The Deep’ in Hull which tells the story of the world’s oceans and gives the children a chance to see a variety of fish from rays to sharks - and a great time was had by all.

Rotary Flood Relief

Re-opening of the Toll Bar Amateur Rugby League Football Clubhouse and Pitches 

Sporting legend and former GB Rugby League captain and coach, Ellery Hanley, and RIBI President, Allan Jagger, were guests of honour at the re-opening of the flood devastated clubhouse and ground at the Toll Bar Amateur Rugby League Football Club on 29^th April 2008.

Toll Bar ARLFC is a community amateur sports club running teams from under 8 to under 18 and involving some 250 young people including girls who play at the club up to under 12.   There is also an adult side.  The club had just got back on its feet in terms of financial restraints when the flooding which engulfed Toll Bar in Summer 2007 struck the pitches and clubhouse.  The clubhouse was flooded to a depth of 7 feet and the pitch to such a depth that only the tops of the goal posts were visible; the facilities were under water for some 3 weeks.  All the club memorabilia was lost.  Toll Bar was one of the hardest hit communities in South Yorkshire – already in the lowest 10% of multiple deprivation in the country.   The club is central to this small community with a dedicated group of coaches who have gained RFL qualifications in their own time and expense and volunteer administrators working hard to maintain and run the club.   There was a massive determination to keep the club alive and running and training took place at a local school with kit and equipment donated by the local rugby community.

Rotary Clubs in Doncaster successfully bid into the Rotary Flood Relief Fund for some £20,000 to fund reclamation of the pitches and surrounds which had been devastated – the grass having died and a thick crust of detritus being left by the flood waters.  The club was advised on restitution by the Head Groundsman from Twickenham.

Ellery Hanley officially opened the rebuilt clubhouse and Allan Jagger presented the £20,000 for pitch restitution.  The clubhouse was packed to overflowing and Rotary was presented with a plaque in recognition of its contribution to the resurgence of this key community facility.

'Know your Blood Pressure' Campaign 2008

April 24/25 saw the ‘Know Your Blood Pressure' campaign for 2008 take place for the seventh year running.  Some 450 Rotary Clubs throughout the UK were out in shopping centres, supermarkets and other venues working with local health professionals to provide free blood pressure checks for the public.  In Doncaster the Rotary Clubs of Doncaster and Doncaster St Leger worked with health professionals from the Doncaster Primary Care Trust - on this occasion at 4 locations:- The Frenchgate Centre, Sainsbury’s Edenthorpe, Tesco Extra Balby, and Asda Carcroft. 

Well over 900 blood pressure checks were carried out with some 20% of these resulting in GP referrals.  The aim was to ensure that as many people as possible were given the opportunity to have their blood pressure checked out and for them to consider whether they wish to seek further medical advice and make any necessary lifestyle changes. 

The Director of the Stroke Association has said that there is no doubt that blood pressure testing really can save lives.  Every 5 minutes someone in the UK has a stroke and over 40% can be prevented by control of high blood pressure.   The message is - take action, get tested and change your lifestyle – you may prevent a stroke.

Rotary support Life Straw Project in Kenya

At any given moment, about half of the world’s poor are suffering from water-related diseases, of which over 6,000 – mainly children – die each day by consuming unsafe drinking water.    The Rotary Club of Doncaster St Leger and Doncaster St Leger Inner Wheel Club have partnered the Rotary Club of Barton on Humber in purchasing a supply of Life Straws which are portable water purification tools that clean surface water no matter how polluted and makes it safe for human consumption.  Eleven thousand of these devices have been distributed to children in Kenya – see pictures opposite. 

A Life Straw can filter up to 700 litres of water and they are light, small in size and need no electrical power or spare parts and gets rid of common waterborne bacteria and virus.

 Rotary Flood Disaster Project Announced

More funding from the national Rotary Flood Disaster Appeal has been announced. The Rotary Appeal raised over £300,000 and this has been augmented by a further £600,000 raised by Naomi Campbell’s Fashion for Relief fashion show.

The Rotary Club of Doncaster St Leger has already secured £7,500 to restore the destroyed play area at Toll Bar Primary School from the Appeal Fund and has now been awarded a further £25,000 to replace the ‘green’ greenhouse, allotment and other growing areas destroyed by the floods with an environmental project which will extend the original concept to include a wetland area and other discrete spaces to develop the excitement of growing – areas being researched include poetry/sculpture garden areas with possible woodland elements and an evolutionary garden. This would bring a series of cross-curriculum endeavour together from science, design and technology through to geography and even citizenship.

Jill Northwood, Head of Toll Bar Primary School, believes that this is exactly what is needed to raise the spirits and lift the imagination of the children in reconstructing their lives and their education. A design for the project is to be commissioned and a steering group from the school and the Rotary club will be established to take things forward. It is also hoped for input from the community and local organisations and businesses.

Naomi Campbell said “I am thrilled with the results of this year’s Fashion for Relief, and thank all those who contributed in supporting these communities affected by the floods.”

The photograph opposite shows Rotary President Graham Bassinder, and the Civic Mayor of Doncaster with the school head teacher and pupils.
 

Rotary's Santa helps Children's Charities

Over the Christmas period, the Rotary Clubs of Doncaster and Doncaster St Leger made door-to-door collections with Santa’s Sleigh in the Bessacarr and Cantley area and at Santa’s grotto in Sainsbury’s Edenthorpe Store -all in aid of 3 children’s charities, Bluebell Wood, NSPCC, and Barnardo’s. Thanks to the generosity of the public £3,619 was raised and cheques were handed over to representatives of the charities on Monday, 4th February 2008.

The Rotary Clubs wish to thank everyone who made donations and thank also the staff of Sainsbury’s for their support, and members of the Moorlands Prison staff who constructed Santa’s Grotto.
 

Mercy Drive Succeeds!

Chrissy Moog, a member of the Rotary Club of Doncaster St Leger, one of the drivers for a challenging and exciting aid project to Sierra Leone in West Africa arrived in Freetown, Sierra Leone on Thursday after driving 4,500 miles across Europe and through Africa over the last 3 weeks – a highly challenging trip which took the team through desert and fields of land mines.

Five specially adapted 4 x 4 vehicles were purchased and equipped for the journey to Sierra Leone for work in areas of the country with no roads. They were specifically equipped to fit the needs of the aids agencies on the ground there who will use them for humanitarian aid including reuniting trafficked young people with their families. The vehicles were driven overland through Europe and North West Africa along a route that included locations relevant in the slave trade of the past and human trafficking of the present day. The vehicles left Hull in October and a television documentary has been filmed by Emmy award nominee, Claudio Von Planta – who filmed Ewan McGregor’s ‘Long Way Round’ TV series. The project marks celebrations of Wilberforce 2007 for Hull with what is a landmark philanthropic project which will keep William Wilberforce’s original vision alive. Chrissy arrives back in Doncaster by train(!) on Saturday, 17th November.
Chrissy works as Communications and Marketing Officer for Higher Rhythm – the award winning charitable organisation based in Doncaster providing training in one of the areas of creative industry (music and music technology) for disadvantaged sectors of the community.

Hull Freedom Trail

Five specially adapted 4 x 4 vehicles have been purchased and equipped for a journey to Sierra Leone for work in areas of the country with no roads. They will be specifically equipped to fit the needs of the aids agencies on the ground there who will use them for humanitarian aid including reuniting trafficked young people with their families. The vehicles will be driven overland through Europe and North West Africa along a route that will include locations relevant in the slave trade of the past and human trafficking of the present day.

One of the vehicles is being sponsored by Rotary District 1270 ( Yorkshire and the Humber) and Chrissy Moog - a member of the Rotary Club of Doncaster St Leger- is one of the drivers.

The vehicles will leave Hull on Thursday, 25th October 2007 and a television documentary will be made by Emmy award nominee, Claudio Von Planta, who filmed Ewan McGregor’s ‘Long Way Round’ TV series. The journey will be arduous and not without risk.

Toll Bar Primary School

Children from Year 5/6 at Toll Bar Primary School responded to an invitation from the St Leger Rotary Club to write a brief poem or piece of prose on their experience of the floods which engulfed their school this Summer. 

The writer and performer, Gervase Phinn, presented book tokens to the school and to three of the children who wrote about their experiences on Tuesday, 23rd October.

It was also announced that an application by the St Leger Club to the Rotary Flood Appeal had been successful and that a cheque for £7,500 was on its way as a major contribution to the replacement of the play area which was swept away in the floods.

Doncaster Rotarian Wins National Photographic Competition

John Chapman of the Rotary Club of Doncaster St Leger has been awarded the 1st Prize in the National KidsOut Photographic Competition 2007.

The competition is part of the Rotary Annual KidsOut Day in June. Over 28,000 children and young people took part in the Day Out – a new record for the event. Some 750 clubs organise a day out for special needs and disadvantaged children throughout England, Scotland and Wales each year and the competition seeks to identify photographs which capture the joy that the Rotary KidsOut Day brings to the children.

“The competition this year attracted an enormous number of entries from all over the UK, all of which were of a very high standard and as usual the judges had a very difficult time making the final decision”.
 

Rotary KidsOut Day

June marked the 18^th anniversary of the Rotary KidsOut Day when some 750 Rotary Clubs organise a day out for some 30,000 special needs and disadvantaged children throughout England, Scotland and Wales.   During the day children are accompanied by teachers and carers who help to make up the remarkable figure of 17,000 volunteers who make sure that Rotary KidsOut Day is both safe and one to remember.

In Doncaster this year, members of the Rotary Club of Doncaster St Leger contributed again by organising a visit to the Tropical Butterfly House and Wildlife and Falconry Centre in North Anston for children from the  Sandall Wood Special School in Leger Way.

Rotary Stroke and Health Awareness Day

The Rotary Club of Doncaster St Leger again partnered the Doncaster Primary Care Trust and the Stroke Association in carrying out free blood pressure checks in prominent Doncaster locations – The Frenchgate Shopping Centre, Asda Carcroft,  Sainsbury’s Edenthorpe, and Tesco Extra, Balby on ‘Rotary Stroke and Health Awareness Day’ on 27/28 April. 

This national event is in its sixth year and was again highly successful locally with almost 650 checks taking place – with some urgent referrals being made as a consequence of the checks.  During the testing in Doncaster 128 people were referred to their GPs including 18 urgent referrals.

There is no doubt that blood pressure testing can save lives.   Every five minutes someone in the UK has a stroke and many thousands of people are completely unaware of their high blood pressure.  High blood pressure can be reduced through medication and controlled by changes in diet and lifestyle.

A spokesman for the St Leger Rotary Club commented that Rotarians believe that stroke is a major issue for our communities and costs too many people their lives, too many carers great suffering and hardship, and costs the national health service billions of pounds every year.  Awareness and prevention are vital and the club is delighted to be able to work with its partners in organising these checks each year.

Rotary Club of Doncaster St Leger donates £5,000 to Doncaster Minster

The Rotary Club of Doncaster St Leger celebrates 25 years since its formation this year and as one way of marking this milestone has decided to donate £5,000 to Doncaster Minster, which was built almost 150 years ago at a cost of nearly £50,000 following the destruction of the original medieval church by fire.   The club’s  donation will enable funds to be unlocked from major national funders for the protection of the Minster’s  classical Victorian glass windows including the glorious East window which depicts the life of Christ and fully merits its description of the ‘Poor Man’s Bible’.  

The Minster is not only one of Britain’s finest parish churches but it is a key landmark building in the town and already a superb public space for concerts, exhibitions and community events - a major cultural and heritage site for the community.  The support of Rotary and other organisations will enable the Minster authorities to develop this aspect of the building’s life in the years to come Already some £2m has been raised towards an eventual target of £6m for the complete restoration of one of the grandest and best examples of Victorian Gothic architecture in the country.   .

The main objective of the Rotary movement is service – in the community, the workplace and throughout the world.  A recent summer concert organised by the St Leger Club at the Minster raised money to fund Shelter Boxes which were sent to major earthquake disaster areas overseas.   The President of the Rotary Club of Doncaster St Leger (2006/7) Roy Elms, says that it seems entirely appropriate that the club should also donate funds towards preserving the history and heritage of Doncaster.

Duke of York's Community Initiative Award for the second time

The Rotary Club of Doncaster St Leger recently received the Duke of York's Community Initiative Award for the second time.

The award is a formal recognition for organisations which demonstrate the best in community spirit and leadership throughout Yorkshire and the Humber, and was received for the Sensory Garden scheme with Sandall Wood Special School where the club has maintained, extended and developed the relationship with the school following the construction in 2002 of the Sensory Garden.

The picture opposite shows Roy Elms, President of St Leger (2006/7), John Chapman, Club PRO and Peter Brewitt, Immediate Past President after receiving the prestigious Duke of York's Community Initiative Award for the second time.