About us
WELCOME TO THE HOME PAGE OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF
NORWICH ST EDMUND
President Anthony Darwood & Club Members bring you greetings for this Rotary Year (2018/19). If you are visiting Norwich in the near future, please do come and visit us at the Maids Head Hotel in Norwich (just opposite the Cathedral) on a Tuesday evening for fellowship, fun and fulfillment.
The Club, which originated in the old Roman village of Caistor St Edmund (Venta Icenorum), received its charter from District Governor Jim Smellie on the evening of Tuesday 13 May 1986 at a dinner at the Hotel Norwich. Present at the dinner were over 90 rotarians representing thirty three clubs and five Districts. Included in this number were 28 of the original 31 Interim members of the Club, the RIBI President and District Extension officer, PDG Ron MacLeod.
We are an active dual-gender club of 26 (incl 3 Honorary) members and we welcome, as potential members, men and women who either work or live in the City of Norwich and the northern and eastern areas of South Norfolk. However, we do have members who travel to meetings from as far afield as Lowestoft in Suffolk and Cromer and East Runton on the North Norfolk Coast.
Rotary membership is open to business and professional men and women and community leaders. There are no age or gender restrictions. Rotarians are those who are willing and able to contribute time, energy and their vocational abilities to the benefit of others in the local and international community.
The Rotary Club of Norwich St Edmund meets each Tuesday evening at 6.30 pm for 7 pm at the Maids Head Hotel, Norwich. The Hotel entrance is situated opposite the main entrance to the Cathedral. Parking is round the back off Palace Street. It is free but you need to go to Hotel Reception for a ticket for your windscreen. For more specific details of the venue, please click into "Meeting Information" (in the box parallel to the photo of the Club flag) for a satellite map of the hotel and the area.
Usually there is a speaker and most meetings end by about 9 pm. We encourage members to attend meetings on a regular basis thus ensuring that each member maintains a close relationship with other club members and is able to contribute fully to the club's business and fund-raising activities. As well as the weekly meetings, we have a varied programme of social events throughout the year when partners are encouraged to attend.
Whilst the weekly meetings and social events are essential parts of a club's programme, the main objective of any Rotary club is that of service in the local and international community. For example, locally we have supported Leeway, St Martin's Housing Trust, the Ormiston Trust, Young Carers, Nelson's Journey and the East Anglian Children's Hospice, whilst abroad we have built schools in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, entirely funded a Vocational Training Centre for orphaned boys in South India and built several water wells in South Africa and Uganda. At the moment, the Club is supporting and funding measures to combat and alleviate the effects of Child Slavery in different parts of the world, eg India, Thailand, Nepal and Ghana.
Slavery & Norwich St Edmund Club - EDP Article - 01/11/2018![Norwich St. Edmund Rotary Club is pleased to see the article (below) published by EDP relating to their Slavery Activity in Mumbai. Eastern Daily Press PUBLISHED: 12:06 01 November 2018 'YouCanFreeUs' helps victims of forced sex slavery access safe accomodation and training in Mumbai. Photo: YouCanFreeUs Students at Norwich School organised a musical event to push Norwich St Edmund Rotary Club past its £19,500 target to help rehabilitate women and girls trapped in forced sex work in Mumbai, India. Led by Rotary member and slavery activist Mark Little, the Norwich St Edmund Rotary Club was on a mission to raise the sum for international human rights charity YouCanFreeUs. The organisation runs safe house accommodation for survivors of forced labour as well as a rehabilitation training centre in a different part of the city. Five miles apart, transportation issues between accommodation and the centres had stunted the services YouCanFreeUs were able to offer. Members at the club came up with a solution: a 26-seater bus to drive the women across the city. By July 2018 the group were short of just under £1,000, so approached Norwich School’s Amnesty group for support. Mr Little, who was born in Mumbai, said he was heartened by the students’ incredible reaction to his presentation. The teenagers organised a musical evening at the school which raised more than £1,000 and achieved the overall target. Mr Little said: “The pupils were very much affected by the stories. They can relate to the children so they’re very receptive. “Raising awareness is the road to action.” There is an estimated 4.8 million victims of forced sexual exploitation worldwide, the highest proportion of whom are from India. Poverty, low conviction rates and lack of rehabilitation resources are among the causes for the year-on-year rise of people trapped in India’s illegal slave trade. Mumbai is the most populous city in the country and also notorious for having the highest number of forced sex workers. According to a study by independent anti-slavery organisation International Justice Mission, there are around 10,000 children and adults trapped in the city’s illegal industry. Following the successful fundraising mission, Mr Little will visit the NGO in early December to see the bus in action.]()
![]()
![Photograph of the Bus purchased for Mumbai Slavery Project.]()
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Club is twinned with two Rotary Clubs abroad - one in Mainz, Germany and the other in Reims, France. The three clubs work closely together on international projects. For example, the clubs have planted thousands of trees in the Senegal, have completed several water wells for schools in Kwa-Zulu Natal and have recently completed the process of providing a clean water supply and basic toilet facilites to villages in Uganda. In addition, regular visits are made each year by the members and families of each club.
If you would like further information about the Rotary Club of Norwich St Edmund or just Rotary in general, click on the "Contact US" tab above. Someone will definitely get back to you as soon as they able.
Click the "Meetings & Events" tab to find details of future happenings. You can also view what we have done under the "Completed" tabs on the left hand side.
Please also visit the Club�s Photo Galleries to see some of the projects/activities which we are, and have been, involved with.
Irfan Youdjel, Club Webmaster ++7944 768808
Happening soon...
Meetings and events happening soon
Thursday 6th December 22.50 - 22.50 Friday 17th September
Mark`s December 2018 visit to Mumbai - Slavery Project
Message form Mark Little - Visit to Mumbai International Slavery Project – December 2018
Sunday 9th December 18.00 - 21.00 Tuesday 8th January
Dinner at the Maids Head at 7 pm followed by speaker Frances Addington from
Maids Head bar beforehand
Tuesday 18th December 19.00
Christmas carol service at St. George 6.30 pm. Conducted by Rev Alaric Lewis followed by regular meeting at 7.30 pm
Maids Head bar beforehand
Tuesday 25th December 19.00
Christmas day - no meeting
No meeting
Tuesday 1st January 19.00
New Year's Day - no meeting
No meeting
Tuesday 8th January 19.00
Dinner at the Maids Head at 7 pm followed by speaker Frances Addington from "Keeping Abreast".
Maids Head bar beforehand
future events Past Events calendar district events local events
Rotary News
Be part of a global network of volunteers, trying to make the world a better place. Please also see the 'links & news' page for information from the local district and live feeds from Rotary International and Rotary International in GB&I.
Family Rotary club use skills to kick-start local charities
Rotary members unite to tackle world hunger
Meetings & Venue
Where and when:
We meet on Tuesdays at 19:00
The Maids Head Hotel, Tombland, Norwich NR3 1LB 01603 209955
Our Social Media
Promote your Page too