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"Sing For Your Life" Community Service Website Youth & Vocational House Foundation URC Church Hall Project Visit to the Rotary Club of Temecula Sergeant at Arms International Membership RYLA Candidates give presentation to Rotarians Visit to the Rotary Club of Westwood Village CLUB NEWS AND ACTIVITIES Club Council Inner Wheel Club CHARITIES WE HAVE SUPPORTED Strictly Come Rotary Young Photographer Competition 2013 District 1120 Conference in Lille YOUNG PHOTOGRAPHER COMPETITION 2014 Musical Soiree Communications Italian Masked Ball A Tour of the Cape Wine-lands The visit of the RIBI President Rotary Schools Prom 2013 Christmas Collections & Events Contact Club Reunion in Leipzig President's Night Dinner Dance Hartsdown College Project Presentations to the Woodford Foundation and Blood Runners Sensory Garden opened at Hartsdown Academy Sport Shop Aquaboxes at St Crispin's School Visit to the Rotary Club of Beverly Hills Christmas Dinner & New Member Induction Evensong in Rochester Cathedral
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CLICK HERE  TO SEE AN ARCHIVE OF OUR ACTIVITIES OVER MANY YEARS


Click here to see 50 years of club history in photos

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Who are Rotarians and what do they do?

CLICK HERE TO VIEW OUR VIDEO PRESENTATION: ROTARY CLUB video

We are men and women of all ages, sharing their time, energy and skills to help charities and good causes in the communities in which they live. Our club enjoys excellent fellowship, participates in a wide variety of fund-raising projects, supports civic and community events, and holds many interesting and fun social activities.

We normally  meet on Tuesday evenings at 6:00pm

at The Sun Inn, St Nicholas-at-Wade

Give Dave Alker a call on 07962 929700 to arrange to join us.

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Sara Llewellyn, from the Llewellyn School at Quex and the charity "Louie's Helping Hands" (which supports the pupils at the school), gave a talk about the development of the school and plans for the future to enable the wonderful provision to be expanded. Our Rotary Club has supported the charity from its inception and was delighted to present the charity with a cheque for £1000 which will enable to school to purchase further specialist equipment to support the disabled young people.

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SANTA SAYS THANK YOU

The Rotary Santa met loads of excited children while touring the streets of Westgate and Birchington before Christmas and he sends a huge thank you to everyone who contributed to the charity collection which raised almost £1500. The money will be donated to Llewellyn School at Quex Park, which educates disabled young people, and also to HI Kent which supports people with hearing impediment.

Rotary not only supports charities but also enjoys great fun and fellowship each week. If you would be interested in joining our happy band please contact Dave Alker on 07962 929700.

£1500 DONATION TO KSS AIR AMBULANCE

At a recent meeting of the Rotary Club of Westgate & Birchington we were delighted to welcome David Fagg, representing the Kent, Sussex & Surrey Air Ambulance, who gave an interesting talk about the purchase of a helicopter and the work of the charity. Rotary President, Dave Alker, presented a cheque for £1500, money which had been raised by the Rotary Clubs of Westgate & Birchington and Darmstadt Kranichstein (our twin club in Germany.) A million pounds were needed to buy the helicopter and the funds were raised in just six weeks of donations!

We were able to use the magic of “Zoom” to welcome past President Michael Heidt and current President Georg Merlau to our meeting and were able to thank them for their generous donation of €1000 which was made in May when we hosted members of their Rotary Club for our annual reunion.

Also present at the meeting were District Governor, Brian Dunne; Assistant Governor Vivienne Rose and her husband David; President of the Rotary Club of the Isle of Thanet Sunrise, Helen Hart and the President of the Inner Wheel Club of Westgate & Birchington, Hazel Hedges.

The Rotary Club of Westgate & Birchington enjoys weekly fun, fellowship and fund-raising at our meetings which are held at The Bell Inn, St Nicholas at Wade and enhanced by their excellent catering.

PRESIDENTIAL HANDOVER JULY 2024

A "Handover" ceremony was recently conducted at the Bell Inn, St Nicholas-at-Wade as outgoing President, Mandy Dunn passed the Presidential Jewel to incoming President, Dave Alker.

A gathering of members and guests, including the Assistant District Governor, Vivienne Rose, Inner Wheel President, Hazel Hedges and Isle of Thanet Sunrise Rotary President, Helen Hart, listened to brief speeches by Mandy and Dave and helped with the singing of a silly song (based on "Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do") drawing attention to Dave's prowess as a cyclist (Davey, Davey.......) Charlie Brightling delivered an amusing monologue pulling Dave's leg about his propensity to take on administration roles for a whole raft of local organisations. All of this was refreshed by an excellent dinner prepared by the chefs at The Bell.

CONTACT CLUB REUNION 2024

Our Rotary Club was delighted to host the annual "Contact Club" reunion with the Rotary Clubs of Darmstadt Kranichstein and Poitiers Futuroscope. Fourteen delegates from Germany and France arrived on the Thursday afternoon and were welcomed at Rose & Charlie Brightling's house for afternoon tea and cakes. Members who were hosting then whisked their guests away so they could freshen up and change ready to go for dinner at our meeting venue, The Bell Inn at St Nicholas-at-Wade.

The most excellent Fish & Chips and Steak & Ale Pie were served and everyone enjoyed renewing old friendships and forging new ones.

On Friday morning we all drove down to Dover Castle and walked our socks off visiting the wartime tunnels and the Great Tower, sustained by lunch in the NAFFI Café.
On Friday evening, suited & booted, we made our way to the Pegwell Bay Hotel for a formal banquet in the Clifton Suite, enjoying a welcome Pimms on the balcony overlooking the sea and sunset. We were delighted to welcome our Honorary Members guests and representatives of Inner Wheel and the Rotary Clubs of Margate and Isle of Thanet Sunrise. We made an impromptu collection to support the purchase of the helicopter for the KSS Air Ambulance and raised in excess of £1200.
On Saturday we took the double decker bus to Canterbury and enjoyed excellent French and German guided tours of the Cathedral before a splendid lunch in the Cote Brasserie. Fully refreshed we then had a restful punt along the River Stour in glorious sunshine.
In the evening we were treated to a farewell cocktail party in Rose & Charlie's garden and special thanks are due to Kath Porteous for donating endless bottles of booze in memory of her late husband, Rotarian Chris.
On Sunday morning, after a hearty breakfast, our guests scattered and either made their way back to Darmstadt or Poitiers or proceeded to extend their trip to the UK to visit friends and relations.
A first rate "Contact Club" reunion thanks to the efforts of all members of the Club.

Next year, we look forward to the reunion which will be held in Darmstadt.

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THE FINAL PRESIDENTIAL HANDOVER OF THE YEAR

At our weekly meeting on 5th March 2024, with a full complement of members present, Dave Alker handed over the reins to incoming President, Mandy Dunn. Members congratulated Dave on his steady hand in leading the Club through the "winter of content"

PRESIDENTIAL HANDOVER
In a brief ceremony at our Rotary Meeting on 7th November 2023 at The Bell Inn, the Presidential Jewel was handed over to incoming President Dave Alker by outgoing President Bob Hinge.

President Dave was welcomed and congratulated by members and then gave a short address outlining his plans for the future.

SPONSORED WALK FOR POLIO PLUS

Members of Westgate & Birchington Rotary and Inner Wheel, together with partners, friends and other Rotary club members participated in a sponsored walk to raise funds to donate to the Global Polio Eradication initiative which has seen Polio banished from 99.9% of countries worldwide. Millions of people have been saved from paralysis by this disease, but the fight must go on to ensure that it never returns.

Our sponsored walk raised £350 and this will be trebled by matched funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation which has pledged to add £2 to every £1 raised by Rotary Clubs. To find out more about this partnership visit www.endpolio.org

While raising money for international charities like Polio Plus, the Rotary Club of Westgate & Birchington also supports a wide range of local charities. One of our major fundraising efforts is not far away as we prepare to send Santa in his sleigh round the streets of Westgate and Birchington calling door-to-door inviting donations. Look out for announcements on Facebook and in the local press to find out which streets we will visit on each date.

GAZEBO DONATION TO MINNIS COMMUNITY HUB

The Minnis Community Hub is a Kent County Council In-House Community Service  for individuals with learning disabilities working in Birchington since 2021, delivering a wide range of meaningful activities.  They have a lovely garden area for people to use but unfortunately there was no shelter for individuals to sit under which means they couldn't access this lovely space very often, particularly with the weather this summer. What they really needed was a gazebo to use during the summer months to enable their individuals to access this lovely  garden space and benefit from being outdoors. Step forward the Rotary Club of Westgate & Birchington who paid for a gazebo. As you can see from the photo this was used at the first available opportunity for the BBQ on Friday 28th July to which President Bob and fellow rotarians Dave Alker and Allen Cox were invited

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The Rotary Club of Westgate and Birchington recently held a charity fund raising event to support Oasis Domestic Abuse Service, which included a fish and chip supper at Kearns Hall, Birchington. 

Oasis operates across East Kent, Medway and North Kent, supporting people affected by domestic abuse.  Claire Fenley, Senior Fundraiser for the Charity spoke about the life changing work of the charity, which includes one-to-one support for women and men including LGBT+ people, providing refuge and safe accommodation (for both adults and children), and she also emphasised their work with group programmes and mentoring. 

Rotary President - Elect Mandy Dunn handed over a ‘giant cheque’ for £1,000 to support the continuation of this life changing work.  Claire Fenley thanked the Club for their donation, which she said would help the charity to continue to help rebuild lives. 

If you are interested in supporting Oasis, either by donating, fundraising or volunteering, then please visit their website for further information. www.oasisdaservice.org

Alternatively, if you would like to help Rotary play a part in providing community service to both local and international communities, then please contact Dave Alker on 01843 845783 for further details about Rotary. Do have a look at our website for more information: www.wb-rotary.co.uk

HANDOVER FROM ALLEN COX TO BOB HINGE

As President Allen Cox comes to the end of his three-month stint, following Chris Hedges, Charlie Brightling and Mandy Dunn, members and guests witnessed the handover to incoming President, Bob Hinge at the Bell Inn, St Nicholas-at-Wade.

ZIGGY STARDUST COMES TO ROTARY!

There's nothing "square" about Rotary!
We were delighted to welcome David Bowie enthusiast Kat Webb who took time off from her 20th Century B&B to come and give an illustrated talk "In Ziggy's footsteps". It's 50 years since David Bowie's meteoric rise to stardom from humble gigs at Cliftonville Hall to appearing on Top of the Pops and the Old Grey Whistle Test on Christmas day 1972. A leading figure in the music industry, he is now regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century.

BIG DONATION TO "HOPE FOR TOMORR0W


Following on from our donation of £2500 to the Viking Chemotherapy Unit at the QEQM hospital in Thanet, the Rotary Club of Westgate & Birchington has now donated £2500 to a wonderful charity, “Hope For Tomorrow”, which provides mobile cancer care in East Kent.

President Chris presented a symbolic cheque to the Chief Executive of the charity, Tina Seymour and Fundraising Manager, Kara Frampton.

The mobile chemotherapy unit, called “Caron” in memory of Caron Keating has been completely refurbished at considerable expense and will be providing vital cancer care to people who cannot easily get to hospitals in East Kent.

The newly refurbished vehicle was launched by Gloria Hunniford at the County Cricket Ground in Canterbury in front of a large audience of Rotarians, cancer care workers, local dignitaries and organisers from “Hope For Tomorrow”. Gloria explained how she supported the charity in memory of her daughter and thanked all the generous people and groups who make it possible for “Hope For Tomorrow” to continue with their wonderful work.

The Rotary Club would like to thank the generosity of the people of Westgate & Birchington who supported our Christmas Collections, sponsored walk and race night.

MAJOR DONATION TO THE VIKING DAY UNIT

The Rotary Club of Westgate & Birchington is strongly committed to community service and fund-raising for local causes and even though Covid lockdowns have curtailed our activities we have still managed to raise a substantial amount of money. Santa and his sleigh managed to tour the streets of Westgate and Birchington each Christmas and the door-to-door collections were very successful. The Rotary President and his wife completed an 88 mile sponsored walk and, together with our sister club, the Inner Wheel, organised a hugely successful Race Night.
Recently, we were delighted to welcome the Nurse Manager of the Viking Chemotherapy Day Unit at QEQM, Carrie Merry and her Deputy, Joanna Watunga to a Rotary meeting and, after Carrie had explained to members and guests the range of treatments her department administers, Rotary President Chris Hedges was delighted to present a cheque for £2500. Carrie has quite a long wish-list of items which will enhance the experience of her patients and we look forward to hearing what has been purchased.

Our Rotary Club has a long association with the Viking Day Unit since it moved into its purpose-built unit in 2007 and much of the initial funding for the new facility came from Rotary’s 70’s Extravaganza held in Quex Park in 2008 (the poster for this event is still on display in the waiting room, remembering performances by Suzi Quatro, T Rex and the Glitter Band all hosted by Dermot O’Leary and Kaddy Lee-Preston)

We are delighted to be able to continue to support their outstanding work.

PROBABLY OUR YOUNGEST EVER SPEAKER!

Members and guests were delighted to hear 10 year old James Howard give a talk about the 1st Garlinge Cubs, his role as "Sixer" and his challenge to enable him to get his Silver Award. With the guidance of his Mum and Grandad, James baked over 100 cakes and biscuits which were brought to the Rotary Meeting in boxes of six and members and guests gave him donations in return for the delicious comestibles. All the funds raised will be given to the Demelza Children's Hospices and, at the last count, James had amassed over £200 and the cash is still flowing in.

President Chris thanked James for bringing greetings from his Cub Pack and for sharing his challenge with the Rotary Club and presented James with a Club Banner as a memento of his visit.

ROTARY & INNER WHEEL RACE NIGHT

Westgate Community Centre was packed with punters who enjoyed an exciting programme of eight "horse races" as the wooden hobby horses, ably assisted by Rory and Emilia, raced up the track. Everyone enjoyed a delicious, and hot, dinner of fish and chips or chicken and chips supplied by "The Fish Inn" Westgate.
The intention was to raise as much money as possible for Rotary and Inner Wheel charities and it looks like we raised the best part of £1000 which will form part of our donation to the Viking Day Unit at QEQM hospital and to the charity Hope For Tomorrow.
Huge thanks to Hazel and Kath for a tremendous effort beforehand preparing the event and enormous thanks to all the businesses and individuals who sponsored races and horses.


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We meet on Tuesdays at 18:00 for Dinner at 18:30

(DRESS CODE: Gentlemen~Jacket & (optional) tie; Ladies~Smart casual. )

The Sun Inn
St Nicholas-at-Wade
CT7 0NT  07962 929700

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