2020-21 Highlights

What the Club did in the Rotary year ending 30th June 2021

Great British Spring Clean

During the Rotary year ending 30th June 2021 the Club had an active programme, given the many restrictions posed by the Covid pandemic, and we hope that the following gives a flavour of what we got up to in the year.

Club Members support the Car Show organised by the Rotary Club of Burnley.

Two of our members, Ian Parminter and Tony Wood, were pleased to support the event organised by the Burnley Club. And it was nice to get a special mention in the press coverage of the event in the local Burnley press.

Club Photographic Competition - 28th June 2021

Our traditional end of year Photographic Competition took place by Zoom this year - but was still enjoyed by all.  There were three classes - "A Feast of Colour", "Sculpture" and "Our County of North Yorkshire".Well done to everyone who took part and submitted photos - we had a great range of different interpretations of the themes during the evening.

And the winners were:

Feast of Colour

Winner - Sandhya Nadgir - "Beauty in Simplicity"

Runner up - Peter Andrew - "Spoilt for Choice"

Sculpture

Winner - Alan Miller - Sometimes I sit and think and sometimes I just sit.."

Runner Up - Kevin Hardisty - New Zealand Kiwi

Our County of North Yorkshire

Winner and Overall Winner for the photo gaining most votes in the evening - Peter Andrew - "The Coast at Whitby"

Runner Up - Geoff Wall - "Staithes in the Early Morning Light" 

Club Members Join the "Great British Spring Clean" 30th May 2021

Club members turned out in force to wage war on litter as part of the Great British Spring Clean.

Three groups from the Club put the sparkle back into streets and industrial estates by collecting 30 bags of litter in just 90 minutes.We were inspired by a talk earlier in the year from the Wombles of Hambleton about their efforts to improve the environment by collecting tonnes of discarded rubbish every year.

14 members covered Bullamoor Road, Turker Lane, Standard Way and Leeming Bar Industrial Estate. They are pictured here with some of the other helpers on the day.

As part of the initiative we also purchased £100 of litter picking kit, which was donated to the Wombles for future use after the event.

Putting some Fun into Fundraising - May 2021

With limited ways of raising funds during lockdown we needed a new idea that respected the need for social distancing. What better way of getting out and about again than a Treasure Hunt - but one where those taking part could work in their social bubbles and in their own time during the week of the competition.  We also wanted something to link in to our celebration of the achievement of our 25th birthday at the start of this Rotary year. So two of our members  - Elaine (ably assisted by her son Tobias) and Janet devised a route of around 25 miles taking in 5 villages with 5 (sometimes fiendish) clues in each around their village green. Good fun was had by participating teams from the Club and other entrants, including a good contingent from the local car club, and we raised £375 for our President's chosen Charity - Herriott Hospice Homecare.

Allocating funds to some important District Wide initiatives - May 2021

Often more can be achieved when we work together, and the Club was pleased to agree to support two very worthwhile causes.

The first was a local one.  For some years there has been an ambition to raise funds for a new inshore lifeboat for Filey and the District started a crowdfunding appeal.  This was not as successul as had been hoped so Plan B was to pursue the more traditional way of seeking individual donations from Clubs.  We committed £100, and hopefully we can reach the target for the boat to be launched and named after Rotary.

The second was an international one. The Rotary Club of Aireborough has a partnership with a Rotary Club in Chennai in India.  The Covid pandemic was having severe consequences there, particularly in terms of the availability of oxygen.  So the request went out to Clubs in the District to raise a good sum to do something to help. We donated £350 to the project to purchase Oxygen Concentrators.

Bringing some "Easter Cheer" to the Residents of Benkhill Lodge - Easter 2021

One of our members has been busy with her knitting needles - creating a nestful of lovely Easter chicks, all ready to lay their Chocolate Creme Egg. These were taken to Bedale to be distributed to the residents of the Benkhill Lodge Residential Care Home.

Pitch for a Pot 2 - March 29th 2021

Following the successful Pitch for a Pot format we used last year the Club decided to hold another evening this March, inviting three charities - The Men's Shed, Northallerton Syrian Families and POSCH, to tell us about how the pandemic has affected their work and funding, and sharing with us their thoughts on how funding from the Club would help them.  In the light of what we heard we agreed to donate;

  •  £250 to the Men's Shed to assist with the setting up of their new premises and in particular the replacement of tools that had been stolen when their previous premises were broken into some months ago.
  • £150 to the Northallerton Syrian Families support group.  They will be arranging trips later in the year to give the familiies a chance to see  something more of our way of life away from the town - possibly going to the seaside, and our funding will assist in the cost of that.
  • £100 to POSCH - Parents of Special Children. They will use the money to help deliver some activity days for the members of the Support Group

 

Purple Crocuses now in Bloom around the town - March 2021

Over the last few years the Club has planted purple crocuses at a number of sites.  The latest is at our new Rotary Garden at Stonecross, created by our Club working with the Northallerton Rotary Club.

As part of the planting scheme we have created a circle of purple crocuses representing the Rotary Wheel. A sign has been erected to explain the connection to the Rotary Polio Eradication campaign.

The importance of purple is that every child who receives the polio vaccine has a nail on thei little finger painted with purple nail varnish to signify that they have received the vaccine as part of that year's campaign.


Some of our previous plantings are now getting well established.  The Picture below is from Oak Tree Roundabout on the road leading south from Northallerton.


Helping to Equip the "Wobble Rooms" at the Friarage Hospital - January 2021

With the latest wave of the pandemic starting to take hold, pressure on the staff at the hospital is growing.  In response to this the Trust has decided to set up "Wobble Rooms" at The Friarage and James Cook Hospitals, and the Club was pleased to be able to contribute some of the things need for two of the rooms at the Friarage.  On the basis that a good cup of tea can work wonders we were pleased to supply mugs and plenty of good Yorkshire Tea.  The rooms will provide a quiet place for staff to take a break away from the clinical setting during these tough times.

Helping provide Christmas cheer at Northallerton's Secret Garden - December 2020

The Club helped to provide a magical Christmas experience for families in need of a boost. Members helped serve refreshments to visitors to the Northallerton Secret Garden which had been turned into a festive wonderland for families who have been denied the normal Christmas experience because of Covid-19 restrictions. The event ran over three nights in the week before Christmas. On one evening we were joined by our honorary member Rishi Sunak, who is of course our local MP.

The team served non-alcoholic mulled drinks, mince pies and Christmas cake to families who came to see the Christmas Story recreated in a series of tableaux in the garden just off Northallerton High Street.

The Secret Garden is a project set up by the United Reform Church to provide an oasis of green calm in the heart of the town.

The garden custodians wanted to create some Christmas magic for families in need or those suffering from loneliness or mental health issues. Over three nights more than 20 groups enjoyed tours of the garden which were booked for specific time slots to ensure social distancing.

Rishi praised the response of the Secret Garden team to the unique circumstances of Christmas 2020. "This was a great initiative to bring some Christnmas comfort and joy to those most in need of it," he said. "The displays around the garden were brilliantly creative in telling the Christmas story."

 

"Pitch for a Pot"  - November 2020

Earlier in the year when the pandemic was starting to impact on normal life and activities, the Club recognised that there would be many charities and good causes in the area who would be affected in some way over the period ahead.  Little did we realise how long this period would be. We realised that charities might see a reduction in their normal fundraising, or there might be additional demands or costs for their service.  But when we came to the point at which we wanted to make some donations to meet these needs we realised that we did not really know what the position might be and where we might best help.  So the idea of "Pitch for a Pot" was developed. Club members prioritised a list of possible organistions to support and the three organisations attracting the most support as part of that exercise were asked to share with us their issues and how they might spend any donation. This allowed us to get a clear picture of the needs of the charities and we allocated our "pot" of £500 in a way that we hope and expect will make a real difference to the users of the three charities who joined us by Zoom on the evening - Youth Space, Pendragon and The Living Room. 

We will be looking at how we might develop this idea further in the months ahead.

Rotary Stall on Northallerton Market to raise funds for Polio eradication - 17th October 2020

During the first lockdown a number of Club members and friends of the Club picked up their knitting needles and wool in different shades of purple to create lots of "Purple Hats for Polio" and we used a stall at Northallerton market to sell these and raise money for this important cause. We also had books and other items on sale. Sales on the day and from other buyers raised a total of £371.  The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation matches monies raised for this campaign on a 2 for 1 basis so this means the event raised £1,113 for the ongoing work of vaccinating children in a number of countries to rid the world of this terrible illness.

Workparty Days on the Rotary Garden at Stonecross - October 2020

Work is underway on this joint initiative between the Northallerton Mowbray and Northallerton Rotary Clubs. During October a number of work party days have been held, starting with the task of clearing the area of it's previous planting, and moving on to creating the new display.

Our first picture shows one of the workparties getting stuck in at the beginning of the project, with the second showing the nearly completed garden.  As well as the plants you can see there are lots of daffodils and also crocuses for the spring.  In particular an area planted with 2,000 purple crocuses is a reminder that purple is the colour of our End Polio Now campaign that has been running in Rotary for many years and has been a vital part of the progress made to eradicating this terrible virus across the world..


Shopping for Hambleton Foodshare - Ongoing

When Coronavirus struck earlier in the year it was clear that Hambleton Foodshare would play an important part in supporting those in the community affected by the measures put in place to combat the virus, and that there was the likelihood of increased demand. So the Club pledged £1000 in the first instance to be called off as required by the Foodshare and we agreed with them that we would use this "pot" to do special shopping as required to meet particular shortages of products needed for the food parcels.  We have been doing such shops about once a month and as at late September we have done this 4 times and spent around two thirds of our current pledge. It is clear that the period of incresed demand will continue into the new year so we are looking at ways that we might increase the funds available to support this vital local cause as we go into the winter period.

Some Good Fun in a Good Cause - The "Packastickathon" at Chopsticks - September and October 2020

Following on from the initial Rotary Project reported below, a fun event to pack even more sticks took place during September. In teams of six, the challenge was to see which team could pack the most bags of kindling in a couple of hours.  Our picture shows a team made up of members of our Club and the Northallerton Club doing our bit for this worthwhile project - and we achieved an apparently impressive 74 bags packed which put the team in the lead at that point.  Club Members were involved in two other teams during the course of the event.

The final winners were a team from the Harlsey Hawks ladies Cricket team with an even more impressive final total of 88 bags!

Good fun was had during our slots with some great music choices being played by our resident DJ to keep up energy levels.

Thanks to Northallerton Rotary Club for organising this project


Preparations Underway for our Rotary Garden - September 2020

Working with the Rotary Club of Northallerton in a joint project, we are starting our preparations to create a Rotary Garden on Rotary Way in Northallerton.  And for those who do not know where that is - the Way runs past the Stonecross Offices of Hambleton District Council down to the Leisure Centre.

Over the next few weeks expect to see work ongoing as we turn our design into reality and start with planting.

The first task will be to get in some of the "hard landscaping" and three members from the two Clubs have been collecting some of the rocks that will be used at the garden. Our picture shows Paul Woodvine of our Club and Duncan Davison of the Northallerton Club doing some weighlifting practice on one of the larger stones!


Helping out at Chopsticks - 29th August 2020

3 members of the Club were able to join a group of Rotarians from across North Group to help out at Chopsticks.  This community enterprise provides work based activity for adults with disabilities and it's main activity is the production of premium grade kindling with waste going into biomass woodchip fuel.  All this comes from scrap timber that would otherwise have been sent to landfill. The challenge for Chopsticks is that their team are not able to work at present because of the Covid precautions.

To help out, Rotarians from our Club as well as the Rotary Clubs of Northallerton, Wensleydale and Harrogate Brigantes got to work on packing sticks and also helping to do some redecorating.

Phil Bramhall, the Chopsticks Community Business Manager said: "The support Rotary is providing packing bags of kindling on our production line will increase our wood sale stock and thereby contribute towards our financial viability as a community enterprise. It also helps the sustainability of our non profit charitable organisation."

Africa is declared Polio Free - August 2020
Great news this year in that after a 4 year periosd with no cases of wild polio infection, Africa has been officially declared Polio Free. The Club has raised substantial sums ove many years to support this international campaign, and will continue to do so into the future to ensure ongoing vaccination programmes can continue, and most importantly that the disease can be eradicated from it's final strongholds in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
To assist with fundraising the Club held a special raffle amongst Club members to raise a further £240 to be sent to the campaign.

Presidents Handover - by Zoom of Course! - 6th July 2020We held the traditional handover meeting by Zoom, which meant that it was not possible for the Presidential Chain to be handed over in person by outgoing President Anne Wall to incoming President Malcolm Warne, so a virtual approach was adopted so all the Club could welcome Malcolm to his new role, and wish him all the best for the Rotary year ahead.


Other members of our new top team are President Elect Dianne Mousley, who also takes the role of Club Secretary in 2020-21 and Tony Wood who continues as Treasurer. 

'What We Do' Main Pages:

What the Club has been doing in the Rotary year starting 1st July 2023

more  

What the Club did in the Rotary year that started on 1st July 2022

more  

What the Club did in the Rotary year that started on 1st July 2021

more  
Great British Spring Clean

What the Club did in the Rotary year ending 30th June 2021

more  
Covid-19

News on how our Club dealt with the challenges of operating during this difficult period

more  

Details of what the Club achieved in the Rotary year which ended on 30th June 2020.

more  

Details of what we did in the Rotary Year starting 1st July 2018

more  

Details of what we did in the Rotary Year starting 1st July 2017

more  

Details of what we did in the Rotary Year starting 1st July 2016

more  
Details of what we did in the Rotary Year starting 1st July 2015

Details of what we did in the Rotary Year starting 1st July 2015

more  
Some highlights for the Rotary year that started on 1st July 2014

Some highlights for the Rotary year that started on 1st July 2014

more  
In June 2014, the club organised a charity concert with the primary schools in Northallerton to raise funds for Shelterbox

A few highlights of our activities in Rotary year 2013-14

more  

These pages give some idea of the things the Club has achieved in previous year's

more  
If you are considering joining Rotary there is a lot of information on this site to tell you about what we do

Membership consists of men and women of all ages and professional backgrounds who use their talents, skills, and energy to improve the lives of people in communities at home and around the world.

more  

Rotary's programmes for young people can change the lives of those who participate.

more  

Community Service covers the projects and activities the club undertakes to improve life in its community. Vocational Service encourages Rotarians to serve others through their vocations and to practice high ethical standards.

more  
A display of Indian Classical Dance was the highlight of our Indian Cultural Event

Read about our plans and achievements

more  

The Rotary Foundation is Rotary's own charity

more  

Rotary is about having fun - and we have lot's of events during the year aimed at doing just that!

more  

A picture taken by Janet Crampton won the "Quintessentially English" Class and was also the overall winner of the 2023 competition.

more  

Shop with over 4,000 online retailers to raise money for our projects. During the Rotary year from July 2023 we will be using the funds raised to support Aquabox.

more