For 34 years we have used our sleigh to take Santa, lights and music around the streets of South Ribble and to supermarkets.
In 2020 we could not use our Santa Sleigh so we provided an “Audience with Santa” opportunity for young children to have a chat with our Santa via Zoom or Teams and dozens of families took advantage of this prior to 23rd December. Thanks to all those who took part.
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Every year we have a stand at Penwortham Gala selling plants, water, eggs and strawberries and ice cream.
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For five years until 2019 we organised the hugely successful Walmer Bridge Beer and Banger Festival in the third weekend of June. By the end we had 2500 visitors over the weekend and raised a good deal of money for local charities.
For several years we organised the ‘Ribble Ride or Stride’ event for sponsored members of the public to either walk or cycle over three different routes of varying lengths. The longest was the Preston Guild Wheel and the event started in Miller Park adjacent to the River Ribble. In the final year we had over 500 participants raising around £20,000 for charities.
For several years we organised Boxing Nights for teenagers to show off their skills and Sportsman’s evenings for celebrity sports men to entertain. Both were raising funds for local charities.
We often support events organised by local charities such as Galloways, Rosemere Cancer, Friends of Mulanje Orphans, St Catherine’s Hospice, and, in this case, Derian House Childrens Hospice. This event was a Stars and Cars Event at Bolton Arena.
Our annual Public Speaking Competition for teams of three students aged 11 to 18 is very popular in that we have around ten secondary schools each year entering teams. The three roles are Chairperson, main Speaker and Proposer of the Vote of Thanks.
The Rotary Young Musician Competition is for solo instrumentalists and vocalists aged 11 to 18. On the left is viola player Kim Becker from Chorley who has just completed a three year degree course at the Royal Academy of Music in London. On the right is Chief Judge John Doyle and on the left winning singer Eleanor Turner who has just completed a three year course in dance, acting and singing and looking for a glittering career in musicals.
The Rotary Young Chef Competition is for budding chefs aged 11 to 18. At the local first heat each student has to design and produce a two course meal for two within 90 minutes and display the food in an attractive way. As in the left photo. In the right hand photo are the competitors.
The annual Rotary BAE Systems Technology Tournament at Leyland has 32 teams of four students facing a challenge to design and make a miniature machine to fulfil a function from basic materials. It develops design and making skills as well as teamwork and problem solving skills and is always a fun day.
The annual RYLA course – Rotary Youth Leadership Award – is a 5 day residential outward bound course for students aged 16 to 18 at Grange over Sands in Cumbria. Each year we sponsor a student from Hutton Grammar School to attend this life changing experience and we keep in touch with many young people who have attended.
Calvert Trust is an outward bound centre near Keswick that specifically helps disabled young people and adults with skills of independence by using a range of activities such as cycling, canoeing, sailing, climbing wall, zip wire, etc. Both photos show Peter Saunders with his mum Colette and they had a wonderful week at Calvert Trust sponsored by our Rotary Club.
Our Rotary Club support many South Ribble Secondary Schools in ways defined by the School. A year 11 mentoring scheme drawing on many managers of local industry was one such scheme at Brownedge St Marys Catholic High School. We have supported Attendance and Achievement schemes at Lostock Hall Academy. In one year this bike was displayed on the wall for a whole year with the promise that it would be awarded to one lucky student drawn out of a hat who had had 100% attendance for the whole year. Mock Interviews at Walton le Dale High School is another support activity.
Happy House is an orphanage for 80 children and a school for 350 students in Watamu which is near Malindi on the coast of Kenya. We support two students who are in the right hand photo. Baraka aged 16 and Esther aged 7. Esther was found as a baby a few days old in a carrier bag in a ditch and after failing to find her parents Happy House adopted her. Esther does well at school and loves to sing and dance.
We also support Friends of Mulanje Orphans – FOMO – which is a charity founded and organised by local South Ribble people and it has established orphanages in Malawi. It has 14 centres looking after 3,000 children and a school for over 400 students.
We play many sports on our social evenings. Such as archery and crown green bowling. In the winter it could be snooker, darts, pool, or ten pin bowling.
We have won the Ten Pin Bowling trophy for all Rotary clubs in Lancashire and Cumbria more than once!Some petrol head members have participated in the wonderful Appleby Rotary Club car rally touring the northern Pennines for a day.
Once per month we have an evening visit to a place of interest and these evenings are very popular. Here we are at the amazing brewery in an old mill in the centre of Clitheroe of Bowland Brewery.
Most years we go on an away weekend – a city break – to a European City with partners. Here we are in Berlin. We have also been to Warsaw, Lisbon and Florence,
