Clubs

Santa’s wave brings cheer to kids – and to foodbanks too

Great news for the children of Ravenshead and Blidworth! Santa has announced that he will be doing his local rounds this year but has asked children to take special care and wave from the safety of their homes when he comes to their street.

While Santa’s reindeer build their strength for their big night on Christmas Eve, local Ravenshead and Blidworth Rotary Club have stepped in to help pull the sleigh as Santa makes his tour of the villages between the 7th and 17th December.

“Sadly,” says Santa, “I won’t be able to hand out sweets in the way I normally do, but I will be giving an extra cheery wave as I pass by.”

Full details of Santa’s timetable and route are available at https://www.wavetosanta.org/routes

Vital help for local foodbanks

Local foodbanks especially are hoping that residents will show their support by making donations online to the Rotary Santa appeal.  Says local Rotary Club President Richard Lord, “People are always so generous when putting money into the buckets as Santa makes his rounds.  This year is different but donations are needed more than ever and we implore people to go online and give their support at https://www.wavetosanta.org/donate”.

Much of the money raised by Santa will go directly to local foodbanks which are under greater pressure than ever this year. Rotary has long-standing links with two organisations which are desperate for their help.

Between them so far in 2020, Sherwood Community Church and The Social Action Hub have received donations from Rotary totalling over £2600.  Money has come directly from the Ravenshead and Blidworth Club and via a regional Rotary4foodbanks programme which bulk buys food at discount prices.  The scheme supports around 50 foodbanks across the East Midlands and South Yorkshire.

With the help of donations from Rotary, The Social Action Hub based in Rainworth has delivered 16,633 meals to local people and families in need since the start of the first lockdown.  A food action scheme run by Sherwood Forest Community Church in Blidworth has helped 291 families so far this year with over 1500 meals delivered.  They are looking to brighten Christmas for many by providing 100 hampers to local families in the next couple of weeks.

“There is no way we could provide the vital help we do for some of the neediest in our community without the donations made by Rotary Club,” says the Hub’s food share co-ordinator Amelia Betts.

Both organisations report a flood of new clients seeking their support. Explains Sherwood Community Church’s Mark Himsworth: “We don’t operate any means-testing of those seeking our support – we just help everyone who is clearly in need.  And we are seeing many new first time users of our foodbank services, people who previously would never have imagined they would need to use foodbanks to prevent their children from going hungry.”

Mark Himsworth receives one of the Rotary4Foodbanks cases from Santa

Both Mark and Amelia expect the demand for their services to increase in the New Year.  Says Mark, “People are always generous around Christmas time and we appreciate that, but the problem is going to get worse from January as redundancies increase and the furlough scheme ends.  Rotary’s long-term commitment to support our work means so much to organisations like ours and the people we help.”

More than just food support

Both charities do so much more than just providing food.  They offer moral and practical support for some of the most isolated and vulnerable in society.  Mark gives an example:

“Single mum Mary (not her real name) had moved to Blidworth with her children.  She knew no-one and was totally socially isolated.  She has serious health issues and needed support.  She contacted us and we stepped in to help. We provided food, helped get her children into the local school and used our Blidworth on the Move transport scheme to ensure she could attend hospital appointments.  When she had to spend time in hospital, it was us she turned to, to arrange for her own mum to come from out of the area to look after her children.  It is a holistic approach to caring for the most vulnerable in our community.  Donations from Rotary play a vital part in keeping that service going.”

Make your donations here…

To donate to the Rotary Club appeal visit https://www.wavetosanta.org/donate or to make a donation to Rotary4foodbanks visit – https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/rotary4foodbanks

You can support Rotary4Foodbanks through our JustGiving page

While Santa’s reindeer build their strength for their big night on Christmas Eve, local Ravenshead and Blidworth Rotary Club have stepped in to help pull the sleigh as Santa makes his tour of the villages between the 7th and 17th December.

“Sadly,” says Santa, “I won’t be able to hand out sweets in the way I normally do, but I will be giving an extra cheery wave as I pass by.”

Full details of Santa’s timetable and route are available at https://www.wavetosanta.org/routes

Vital help for local foodbanks

Local foodbanks especially are hoping that residents will show their support by making donations online to the Rotary Santa appeal.  Says local Rotary Club President Richard Lord, “People are always so generous when putting money into the buckets as Santa makes his rounds.  This year is different but donations are needed more than ever and we implore people to go online and give their support at https://www.wavetosanta.org/donate”.

Much of the money raised by Santa will go directly to local foodbanks which are under greater pressure than ever this year. Rotary has long-standing links with two organisations which are desperate for their help.

Between them so far in 2020, Sherwood Community Church and The Social Action Hub have received donations from Rotary totalling over £2600.  Money has come directly from the Ravenshead and Blidworth Club and via a regional Rotary4foodbanks programme which bulk buys food at discount prices.  The scheme supports around 50 foodbanks across the East Midlands and South Yorkshire.

With the help of donations from Rotary, The Social Action Hub based in Rainworth has delivered 16,633 meals to local people and families in need since the start of the first lockdown.  A food action scheme run by Sherwood Forest Community Church in Blidworth has helped 291 families so far this year with over 1500 meals delivered.  They are looking to brighten Christmas for many by providing 100 hampers to local families in the next couple of weeks.

“There is no way we could provide the vital help we do for some of the neediest in our community without the donations made by Rotary Club,” says the Hub’s food share co-ordinator Amelia Betts.

Both organisations report a flood of new clients seeking their support. Explains Sherwood Community Church’s Mark Himsworth: “We don’t operate any means-testing of those seeking our support – we just help everyone who is clearly in need.  And we are seeing many new first time users of our foodbank services, people who previously would never have imagined they would need to use foodbanks to prevent their children from going hungry.”

Both Mark and Amelia expect the demand for their services to increase in the New Year.  Says Mark, “People are always generous around Christmas time and we appreciate that, but the problem is going to get worse from January as redundancies increase and the furlough scheme ends.  Rotary’s long-term commitment to support our work means so much to organisations like ours and the people we help.”

More than just food support

Both charities do so much more than just providing food.  They offer moral and practical support for some of the most isolated and vulnerable in society.  Mark gives an example:

“Single mum Mary (not her real name) had moved to Blidworth with her children.  She knew no-one and was totally socially isolated.  She has serious health issues and needed support.  She contacted us and we stepped in to help. We provided food, helped get her children into the local school and used our Blidworth on the Move transport scheme to ensure she could attend hospital appointments.  When she had to spend time in hospital, it was us she turned to, to arrange for her own mum to come from out of the area to look after her children.  It is a holistic approach to caring for the most vulnerable in our community.  Donations from Rotary play a vital part in keeping that service going.”

Make your donations here…

To donate to the Rotary Club appeal visit https://www.wavetosanta.org/donate or to make a donation to Rotary4foodbanks visit – https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/rotary4foodbanks

Posted in: Ravenshead and Blidworth, Rotary4Foodbanks

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Christmas Cheer in Epworth

Epworth & Isle of Axholme Rotary Club has a history of local community service. We have held an annual winter party for old and isolated folk and were involved in the setting up and running of the Neighbourhood Help Scheme at the start of Lockdown.

We realised that isolated folk would not have much cheer this christmas and we are wanting to increase our involvement with local schools.

Solution a christmas gift from us with a personal card made by children of a local primary school.

One of our members has business contact with Thorntons who, at his request, donated boxes of chocolates (we may need to purchase more) and we have given plain card to the school who were pleased to be involved.We will be delivering to those in need before christmas .

Carol Walsh

Posted in: Epworth & Isle of Axholme

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Epworth Planting Crocuses

To celebrate world polio day we joined with Epworth Town Council. They funded the purchase of the crocus corms and we planted them together in a prominent location. An article about this in local paper and in the Town Council newsletter. 

Picture shows Councillors Caroline Finch
& Ross Whittaker with Rotarians Sally Hughes & John Lambert

Posted in: Epworth & Isle of Axholme

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Youngsters Xanthe and Seb Shop for Other Children this Christmas

Two Belper young people Xanthe McAughtrie 10yrs and brother Sebastian (Seb) 9 have been part of a local Rotary scheme to fill shoe boxes with toys, clothes and put them with love into shoe boxes to bring the spirit of Christmas to vulnerable children.

Xanthe and Seb along with local Rotarians, Belper Central Methodist church, and the Women’s Institute to fill and collect 46 boxes to send to eastern Europe through the Teams4U international and development charity.

 Xanthe and Seb live with their mum and dad in Belper and attend Belper St Johns School. Grandfather and Rotarian David Ashley said, “It’s good to encourage young people like Xanthe and Seb to think about less fortunate people.”

Rotarian and local organiser John Scotney said, “The shoeboxes will go abroad. I know it’s a difficult time here but for some of the world’s poorest families the situation is dire, and a small box of gifts sent with love can at least raise a smile.” 

This year the shoeboxes will go to vulnerable people in Belarus, Bosnia, Moldova, and Romania. Boxes are filled for age groups, 3-5, 6-11 and 12+ years with such things as toothbrushes, toothpaste, hair accessories, socks, underwear along with treats such as toys, games and sweets and may even have a photograph of the donors. Boxes are then collected in Belper and Duffield by John Scotney who delivers to a collection point in Derby organised by Rotary Club of Derby. From there they go onto a national Teams4U warehouse for transport to their destinations in eastern Europe.

John said, “Forty-six boxes have been delivered to the Derby Rotary Club warehouse in Derby. That is 46 smiles that would not otherwise have happened. A big well done to Xanthe and Seb and the people in Belper and Duffield.”

Background

Derby Rotary Club have organised a collection point for Teams4U Christmas shoeboxes for several years.

Teams4U is a national charity set up by Dave Cooke, who has nearly 30 years’ experience working within international relief and development. In 1990 Dave was moved by the needs of the Romanian children he saw on the TV screen, so he put teams together and took aid to Romanian orphanages.

In 2006 Dave founded Teams4U to enable many others to be able to have the opportunity and experience of working with and supporting vulnerable children and their families. “I set up Teams4U because I wanted to give people that wanted to help the opportunity to give more than just money”

Teams4Uto help give support to vulnerable children and their families including sending Christmas shoeboxes to vulnerable families. It has expanded in several different countries, supporting various projects through partnerships with local individuals and organisations.

Over the next 3 – 5 years the charity’s aim is to develop long-term integrated programmes for their partners; building their capacity and capability to improve the lives of the vulnerable children with whom they work.

Teams4U website – https://teams4u.com/our-story/

Posted in: Belper & Duffield

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Belper and Duffield Sleigh Preparations

Santa dropped into Belper this morning to bring the Sleigh in for maintenance ahead of his heavy Christmas Schedule.

Santa’s elf Alan Widdowson had recommended Santa use Belpers’ Martin Tolley Auto Electrician as the Sleigh has a problem with the lights.

Have a listen to the video of Santa talking to Martin assured Santa that all will be repaired well in time for Christmas and with a loud ‘Ho Ho Ho’ he climbed aboard Rudolf and headed back to Lapland. Santa’s Elf stayed on in Belper to help organise Rotary Santa and his sleigh touring many Belper streets in December and visit Morrison’s on a few occasions.

Santa Elf Alan said, “Santa has to be even more careful this year. He and his sleigh can’t stop on the street but he will drive by slowly so children can at least see him in Belper.”

Posted in: Belper & Duffield

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Sitwell Rotary supports Sheffield Healthcare Workers

Members of the ‘Help for Healthcare Workers – Sheffield’ sewing group put their sewing machines to good use earlier this year to make face masks, mask adaptors and scrubs to support the NHS.

Since making their initial donation, the ‘Help for Healthcare Workers – Sheffield’ sewing group had donated an additional 600 masks to the charity. The donation was possible thanks to funding for material and other resources from the Sitwell Rotary Club.

Read the full article on the Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust website: http://www.therotherhamft.nhs.uk/News/Current/Craft_group_has_got_it_covered/

A selection of the 600 facemasks produced by the sewing group

Posted in: Rotherham Sitwell

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Flowers provide final Jigsaw piece for struggling families in Matlock area

When the pandemic first hit, Jigsaw Foodbank was flooded with offers of help from volunteers and support from supermarkets and local Rotary Clubs.  But now, with six new referrals in one single day recently, the Jigsaw team has real concerns about what this winter holds for struggling families in the region.

Requests for help doubled in the first couple of weeks of lockdown back in March.  At the same time many of Jigsaw’s elderly volunteers were reluctantly having to step down and self-isolate.

“Pre-Covid we were supporting around 40 families or households each week.  Within three weeks that had increased to 75 households,” says former teacher Ruth Longfellow, one of the coordinators of Jigsaw foodbank which operates through Church in the Peak, Matlock.

Ruth Longfellow and husband Richard of Jigsaw Foodbank in Matlock, preparing to deliver flowers and vital food items to families in need, with the help of Rotary4foodbanks.

Ruth put out a call for help via the Wirksworth Rotary Club & Town Council and within 24 hours over 80 new volunteers had come forward.  With impressive efficiency Ruth and husband Richard quickly organised new packing and delivery teams to provide crisis parcels of food and supplies to homes in their patch – the A6 corridor between Wirksworth and Bakewell and all the neighbouring villages.

“Demand levelled off for a while over the summer but now, with a new wave of job losses, we are seeing the numbers rise again.  We’ve increased capacity to be able to support up to 100 households each week in the coming months but are mindful that this may not be sufficient over the winter,” she says.

Supplies from supermarket donation bins fell off at the start of the pandemic but Ruth praises people’s generosity.  “When they couldn’t give food they have given money.  Again the local Rotary Clubs stepped in, teaming up with a local wholesale supplier to provide fresh fruit and vegetables throughout the summer.”

Rotary has also provided another much-needed lifeline through its Rotary4foodbanks scheme, a major regional initiative which buys food in bulk and distributes it free to around 50 foodbanks across the East Midlands and South Yorkshire.

“The Rotary4foodbanks scheme has delivered pallet-loads of staple items we sometimes find it hard to come by – coffee, tinned fruit, tuna & tinned meat – in volume to stock our shelves for the coming months.  That, coupled with the excellent support we receive from local supermarkets and organisations like FareShare provides the supplies we need to ensure no-one goes hungry in our area as the recession bites.”

Ruth says the rural nature of the community they serve brings its own particular problems of isolation, on top of all the problems of furlough, reduced working hours and redundancies that are increasing due to the current pandemic.

“Families, especially single-parent families, can feel a real sense of isolation. Hungry and hard up, that can lead to real despair,” she explains. “The very fact that someone comes to their door with vital supplies and unconditional support is really helping struggling families get by.”

She cites the example of a low income local family with four children where one parent had been laid off and the other had had their working hours reduced. “Our volunteers arrive on the doorstep with much-needed food supplies – tins, fresh fruit and veg and ready meals.  And, thanks to the surplus stock donated by M&S, the package was also topped off with a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers.  It provided a real boost for a family struggling to survive and with no resources to treat themselves to the kind of luxuries we all need to keep our spirits up.”

“For the whole team at Jigsaw, our mission is to help people who find themselves in difficulty through no fault of their own. With the continued support of others in the local community as well as the supermarkets and Rotary4foodbanks, we won’t stop striving to make life better for families in need as the winter bites.”

Rotary4foodbanks has set up a justgiving page to make it easy for people to donate.  Because the scheme is run entirely by volunteers it has no overheads.  That means every penny given goes directly to buying food at discounted prices for delivery to local foodbanks.

You can support Rotary4Foodbanks through our JustGiving page

Posted in: Rotary4Foodbanks, Wirksworth

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Salvation Army Ripley Sings Rotary Club praises

Salvation Army sings Rotary Club’s praises as Ripley food bank reports surge in first-time users

Ripley Salvation Army is currently providing vital food supplies to vulnerable people every month and is expecting a surge in demand in the run up to Christmas.  Due to Covid-19 Ripley Salvation Army Food Bank, which serves all of Amber Valley, has seen a 100% increase in demand compared to before the pandemic.

The latest delivery of over 80 cases of food by Rotary4foodbanks has helped Ian Brown and the foodbank team at its headquarters in Heath Road cope with the growing demand, with many people accessing foodbank services for the first time.

“It is only with the support of schemes like Rotary4foodbanks and help from local supermarkets that we can hope to meet the growing need as Autumn approaches and more individuals and families find themselves short of money for food,” says Ian who manages the Salvation Army’s admin and finances in the town.  “Our commitment to never turning anyone away will be stretched to the limit this year,” he warns.

Rotary Club members from Amber Valley and across Derbyshire were on hand recently to deliver over 80 boxes of staple foods – coffee, tea, tinned fruit, cereals and more – to keep up stock levels.  They are working as part of a region-wide scheme – Rotary4foodbanks – which raises funds to buy food in bulk. This is then distributed free to around 50 foodbanks in the East Midlands and South Yorkshire.

Before the pandemic struck, Amber Valley Rotarians had already helped to build and fit out a new food store which has proved invaluable as the Salvation Army team strives to build stocks in anticipation of the increased demand as Christmas approaches.

Covid-19 has increased the challenge for the Salvation Army in Ripley and elsewhere.  “Many of our supporters are older – most members are over 70 and have been shielding. So maintaining a food supply service has been especially difficult since March,” Ian explains.

“Many of the people we support face real personal challenges – homelessness, drug and alcohol addiction.  Others are ordinary families experiencing hardship as a result of the economic downturn.  Many are seeking support from foodbanks for the first time.  They all deserve our help.”

Local Rotarian John Stamp who works with the Rotary4foodbanks team says the story from Ripley is echoed across the East Midlands.  “There is real concern about the winter ahead and the demands that foodbanks like the Salvation Army Ripley service will face. 

“At Rotary4foodbanks we have linked up with supermarket giant Morrisons and are committed to providing a regular supply of key food items to meet the need.  We all give our time free, as willing volunteers, but we need the public to support our efforts.”

Rotary4foodbanks has set up a justgiving page to make it easy for people to donate.  Because the scheme is run entirely by volunteers it has no overheads.  That means every penny given goes directly to buying food at discounted prices for delivery to local foodbanks.

You can support Rotary4Foodbanks through our JustGiving page

Posted in: Amber Valley, Rotary4Foodbanks

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Halloween Virtual Balloon Race

Wirksworth Rotary is determined to continue to support a range of good causes and charities in our local community, across the UK and around the world. Like all Rotary Clubs though, our usual fundraising activities have been very much restricted during the current pandemic, so we are looking to raise much-needed money through a Virtual Balloon Race. 

The race has a Halloween theme and starts from Dracula’s Castle on 31st October 2020. It’s 100% eco-friendly – no animals or birds are killed and there’s no litter. 

We are delighted to partner with the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust (DWT) in this race to help them continue their invaluable work promoting the natural world and educating and enhancing the lives of Derbyshire residents and visitors of all ages. DWT has been leading nature’s recovery across the county for over 55 years, inspiring people and communities to care and mobilising people to act, protecting and enhancing wildlife and wild places. From surveying bumblebee numbers out in the field to taking toddlers on their first ever mini-beast hunt – their work spans from conservation at its most scientific right through to a child’s first experience.

You can visit our page on the Ecoracing website at the link below to buy balloons. Each balloon costs just £3 and you can buy as many as you like. You can also buy them as gift codes to give to family and friends. It’s lots of fun and you can track the progress of your balloons throughout the race. 

https://ecoracing.co/user/page/623

All of the proceeds from the balloons sold will be split equally between Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and Wirksworth Rotary.

Posted in: Wirksworth

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