Some more about our club

Founded in 1981 Rotary Oldham Metro members have been actively engaging with the local and wider community since then – living out Rotary’s Motto of Service above Self.

Welcome to our Club. These next pages  give you some background to the wealth of activities in which we engage, the way we raise monies and the way we help communities both at home and abroad. Our Rotary challenge is summed up in one phrase: MAKE A DIFFERENCE and this is what  the members will try to do.

In the last few years the  Club has directly supported a wide range of projects and charities - working with or making donations totalling  £70,000. Additionally over a longer period we have supported many community projects and activities with time, advice or participation. These organisations, projects  and charities include: Pride in Oldham, The Christie at Oldham, Dr Kershaws, Mayoral Appeals, Street Scene, Rotary Foundation, End Polio Now Crocus Appeal;  Lend with Care; Shelter Box Trust, Millgate Arts Centre Delph, Rotary Group Study Exchange, Disaster Aid, Leprosy Project, Integrated Rural Health Centre & Eye Hospital, India and Maternity Care Centre, Pavgoda, Uganda Orphanage and community Kampala, Biggest Rotary Wheel in the World, Cancer  Research UK, Impact Food Bank, Oldham Parish Church,  Memory boxes in Care Homes; Oldham Bereavement Support Services; Saddleworth Cancer Research; Saddleworth Players; Oldham Coliseum; Family Crisis Group; Impact Homeless Centre and Food Bank. Metro is closely involved in supporting pupils and young people across the borough and beyond viz  Primary Schools Choral Speaking Festival, and Spelling Bee; Oldham & District Cross Country Championships,  ACE Centre, Papyrus, Mahdlo, Rotary International Summer Camp, Life Education, Waterhead Academy, North Chadderton and Saddleworth Schools;  Rotary Junior Chef project; Excitement of Science;  Medequip 4Kids; Rotary Young Leaders Award,  Impact and Street Scene, Oldham; Gardening projects including St. Thomas, Leesfield Gardening Gang; Springhead N&I School; Blackshaw Lane School, Oldham Latics Community project; Young Performers Showcase of Dance, Music and Drama at Saddleworth Show; Annual Carol Concert at St James; Young Carers ; Camp Ecuador;   Chernobyl Children’s Lifeline;

Below we have added more about the Club and feature a number of these projects including The Oldham Primary Schools Choral Speaking Festival, the Saddleworth Show and Wellifest week-end which is our main fundraiser – to be held in 2022 on Saturday and Sunday 25th & 26th June 2022   

John Cockcroft President, Rotary Club of Oldham Metro

Rotary Club of Oldham Metro

Oldham Primary Schools Annual

Choral Speaking Festival

This, our Flagship event, now in its 36^thyear, has enabled over 60,000 local children aged 4-11 to participate in a public performance on a stage mostly at the Oldham Coliseum Theatre. It covers three days before Easter each year. – this year 7t, 8th and 11th March 2022 and a Festival Presentation Morning for the Trophy Winners and those with Adjudicator’s Special Commendations in April 2022 

FUND RAISING

Our prime fund-raising event in recent years has been the Saddleworth Summer Show, organised in conjunction with Saddleworth Rotary Club but we have had many others including Big Band night; 60’s Night; Carol Concert; Jazz Night; Indian Evening and an East Meets West evening, Playhouse 2 and Delph Theatre.

MEMBERS

Oldham Metro is a club of around 22 male and female members drawn from a wide range of professions and occupations, though some are now retired. If you are interested in knowing more about us or possible membership we can be contacted through our website. www.oldhammetrorotary.org.uk

MEETINGS AND ACTIVITIES

Recent visits and social occasions have included visits to North Chadderton Academy; Playhouse 2 Shaw; Oldham Temple; Street Scene, Oldham; Cheetham’s School of Music; Gorton Monastery; Houses of Parliament, Westminster; Yorkshire Mining Museum; Millgate Theatre, Delph; Oldham Coliseum; St Anne’s Church; Impact Food Bank; Christie’s at Oldham;Micro brewery; Huddersfield Canal Society at Marsden.President’s Evenings, Charter Nights; Speaker Evenings; quizzes, a mini cruise; Rotary District and National Conferences, Wine and Whisky tastings complement the weekly meetings.

Our meetings are  held on Tuesday evenings at Royton and Crompton Golf Club. But during the current pandemic we met each week on Zoom and apart from our Club business we have had visiting speakers who have recently included Lee marsland on the Homeless, Lee Todd from the Shoe Aid charity, Jessica Moreland Dovestones WI, Pastor Elijah on Project Uganda, The Samaritans; Mahdlo Youth Zone; Kidscan; Ken Bennett and the Mystery Man on the Moor; Papyrus; Brian Grimsditch Snr Archaeologist UOS; Flt.Sgt. Simon Pogson 1856 squadron Royton ATC; John Dalziel, Oldham Hulme Grammar Uganda project; Christopher Hamilton Oldham Rugby League Football Club; Swami Japananda – Indian projects; Dogs for the Disabled; Oldham Bereavement Support Service; Sean Ruane Classical Singer- Sings at Wembley for big Football games; Sarah Suthers Med Equip 4 kids; Sir Peter Fahy – Policing in Greater Manchester; Glenn Dale Oldham Parks and Leisure; Daisy Murphy, Junior Mayor; Past Mayors Kay Knox, Jim Mc Ardle;Martin Torr New Image - Sponsored Bike Ride in Bangladesh ; Richard Knowles - Bridging Denmark;Dr Paul Whittaker Music for the Deaf; Hearing Dogs for the Deaf; REMIT Rotarians Eliminating Malaria in Tanzania; Disaster Aid; Charlie Parker former Chief Executive OMBC (now CEO at Westminster council). Dogs for the disabled

Website: www.oldhammetrorotary.org.uk

SUPPORT FOR

The North West Life Education Trust is a community based charity supported by Rotary Clubs in Oldham and throughout the area. It operates mobile classrooms that give the messages of healthy living and drug prevention to primary school children. Each classroom has a specially trained educator. The children learn how their bodies work, how special and unique they are and they develop the skills and confidence to make positive choices about a healthy lifestyle.