"One thing is for certain. The world would not be where it is without Rotary, and it won't get where it needs to go without Rotary." Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, January 2009

The Jennifer Trust

Emma Rainbow, a Community Fundraiser for the Jennifer Trust for Spinal Muscular Atrophy, came along to our meeting on the 27th April as a speaker. Emma showed us a wonderful 10 minute long DVD that explained the different forms of SMA and covered the work of the Jennifer Trust. Club members then asked questions which Emma dealt with without any difficulty. President Geoff Green then reminded everyone that one of his objectives for the year had been to work with causes associated with children and young people. He reinforced this by presenting Emma with a cheque to support the work of the Jennifer Trust.

A superb local partnership

The Nicholas Chamberlaine Technical College has been working hard to fundraise for a very deserving Rotary cause this year. Club President Geoff Green was delighted to receive a cheque for £500 from the school which will pay for most of the cost of providing two trips on the narrowboat "Dreamcatcher" for local Young Carers groups. More details on this promising partnership with Nicholas Chamberlaine Technical College can be seen in the full report here.

In 1985 Rotary started a long term project to eradicate Polio from the 125 countries where the disease existed. After 25 years massive progress has been made and the affected countries now number just four - Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and Nigeria. One final push is needed to get rid of Polio forever. Bill Gates (founder of Microsoft and Co-Chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) has got involved, both directly by getting personally involved in the National Immunisation Days, and with funding by donating grants totalling 355 million US dollars. The donations were on the condition that Rotary match them with a further 200 million.

The Rotary Club of Bedworth joined up with the Rotary Club of Arbury for a "tin shake" all day at the Bedworth branch of Tescos on the 27th February 2010. All of the £516 that was raised went towards the Thanks for Life campaign which ran across the whole of Great Britain and Ireland for that week. The campaign was able to raise in excess of one million pounds to help eradicate the awful disease of Polio from the planet for good. For more details take a look at http://thanksforlife.org.

The BBC's Konnie Huq joined a group of British Rotarians when they took part in a National Immunisation Day in Lucknow, India. The documentary she made really does tell an amazing story.

Rotary Young Chef - Round 1

Five young people from Nicholas Chamberlaine Technical College in Bedworth took part in the first round of the Rotary Young Chef competition for 2010 on the 24th February. The event was hosted by the College and judged by three members of the Rotary Club of Bedworth. For more details see the main article.

Congratulations to all those who took part.

Bon Voyage to Laura

The Rotary Club of Bedworth are proud to be the Sponsor Club for the District's next outbound Ambassadorial Scholar, Laura Keenan.

Laura impressed the Club, and the District selection committee, with her varied experience - having spent a significant amount of time carrying out voluntary work in India and Nepal, and proved to be a very deserving candidate for a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship.

On the 19th January 2010, Laura visited the Club for the last time before she departs for her Scholarship year in Sydney, Australia. The Club wishes her every success and looks forward to hearing about her progress while she is away and seeing her again on her return.

Laura is pictured here with her Sponsor Counsellor Walter White (left) and Vice President Alan Robinson (right).

A Skittling Success!

A team of 19 made up of members of the Rotary Club of Bedworth, their partners, family and friends (including Asca and Mai, two Japanese students studying at Warwick University) were victorious at the Coventry Annual Skittles Tournament on Saturday 21st November. The team collected the overall trophy, as well as the awards for highest male scorer and highest female scorer. For all the details and photographs, take a look at the report on the event.

Rotary in Bedworth

The Rotary Club of Bedworth chartered on the 15th March 1961 and currently has 21 members from a variety of different occupations and backgrounds who meet regularly, enjoy each others' company and work on a variety of projects to benefit others both locally and internationally.

We aim to make fundraising an enjoyable experience, as can be seen from our Frog Race Night.

Why Rotary?

If you would like to know why people would want to join Rotary, just take a look at the video below where Rotarians from Great Britain and Ireland discuss what they get out of being a member of one of the largest humanitarian organisations in the world.

Why Rotary? from RIBI on Vimeo.

Here is another video, this time with a slightly different version of English, that paints a broader picture of our organisation and its work.