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 Bell Inn, St Nicholas-at-Wade

Give Dave Alker a call on 01843 845783 to arrange to join us.

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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!

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!

ROTARY & INNER WHEEL RACE NIGHT