Rotary Books4Home is a phenomenally successful project that has provided over 200,000 good quality pre-read books to more than 200 schools throughout Shropshire, Staffordshire and The Black Country with the essential support of a large number of club Rotarians.

A unique feature of the project is that it’s not a lending library – the youngsters keep the books, thus providing a book to take home, read, enjoy and keep forever – many for the first time ever.

The City of Wolverhampton club has formed an excellent partnership with The Way Youth Zone in the city. The Way is a vibrant, purpose-built facility in the centre of Wolverhampton that provides a welcoming space where young people aged 8-19 (or up to 25 with a disability) can explore new interests, make friends, and unlock their potential through an array of fun and engaging activities. Opening in January 2016, it offers a multitude of activities for young people to partake in such as sport, fitness, dance, arts, music, media, enterprise, well-being and self-improvement.

The facilities include a library and Rotary decided it would be a good idea to add The Way to its many recipients of books, which are otherwise almost entirely schools. The idea was warmly welcomed by The Way and the first delivery has been made.

Tyrone Johnson, Philanthropy Manager at The Way says-

““Books4Home is doing something truly powerful addressing an issue that often goes unseen. In parts of Wolverhampton, over one in four children leave primary school without the expected level of reading skills, and many don’t have a single book of their own at home.

That’s why initiatives like this matter so deeply. Every book donated through Books4Home gives a young person ownership of knowledge, imagination, and opportunity, things that can shape their

future for years to come. It’s a perfect addition to our library at The Way Youth Zone, where we’re creating a space that not only supports learning but inspires a lifelong love of reading.”

www.rotaryalumni1210.co.uk/rotary-books4home

PDG Richard Green

In a fine example of Rotary clubs working together to Unite For Good, the Tettenhall, Wednesfield and City of Wolverhampton clubs held a glittering ceremony attended by 150 people in the Chancellors Hall at the University of Wolverhampton to recognise 10 young Wulfrunians who won through to the final of the 12^th annual Young Citizens Awards competition

The finalists were Ethan Shaw, Richie Tanner, Jessica Yang, Kieran Smith-Mills, Sarah Featherstone,Hatleen Nahal, Eva Abbey, Alsha Mustapha, Frazer Humphreys and Haya Mehanger, all of whom had shown outstanding community service and undergone a searching interview by the selection panel following their nomination.

The winner in the 13-18 group was Ethan Shaw and in the 19-25 group it was Frazer Humphreys. They received plaques, certificates of recognition together with a £100 prize for themselves and £100 to be donated to a charity of their choice.

L-R winner in the 19-25 group Frazer Humphreys, Eva Abley, a winner in 2023 with her Special Award and the winner in the 13-18 group Ethan Shaw

There was also a special recognition award to Eva Abley, a winner in 2023 for taking her community service to a national level by publishing a book (The Good The Bad and The Wobbly) with all proceeds going to Birmingham Children’s Hospital and for the BAFTA award winning documentery she did about the poor provision for children with special needs.

The awards were presented by the Mayor of Wolverhampton, Councillor Craig Collingswood and Amanda Evans from the City Council.

The awards for the older group are held in the name of Tom Warren CBE, a Wolverhampton Rotarian who rose to become the Rotary International President in 1945/46. In the past year, the younger group competition has been renamed to recognise Rotarian Roger Timbrell who has stepped down after giving great service as chairman of the joint clubs Young Citizens Awards committee for 10 years.

Former Wolverhampton Wanderers star Rotarian Mel Eves who has taken over as Chairman said: “These young people are wonderful role models for our City’s young people. They deserve to be recognised and their achievements celebrated. It has been a privilege to have been one of the judges and to have led the organising committee for the first time this year.”