We are delighted to announce that the Rotary Club of Quilon, Kerala, India, has made the Rotary Excellence award to the RJLP lead ambassador in India, PDG Scaria Jose, in recognition of his long serving and unstinting support for the disabled across India. His latest achievement has been to advise the Quilon club in their successful bid for a Rotary Foundation Global Grant to carry out 5 mega limb camps.

RJLP Trustee PDG Richard Green was similarly honoured during his visit to the club in February 2023 when a meeting was held to begin the process of making the application. The funds, to the value of $33,679, are due to be transferred from the Rotary Foundation in week commencing June 19th., so that the project will commence imminently.

In a separate development, PDGs Scaria Jose and Richard Green are currently working closely together to increase the number of RJLP ambassadors across India so as to grow the knowledge of our activities and to raise further funds, meaning that more projects can be undertaken. Currently 7 new ambassadors have been appointed and full details will be released when the team is complete.

The four local Rotary Clubs and the James Beattie Charitable Trust have teamed up to offer grants to local groups.

A fund of £10,000 can be accessed by individuals, Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise groups, working in the community to overcome problems arising from deprivation, poverty, disability and lack of opportunity.

Groups and individuals will be able to apply for grants of between £250 and £500.

To read all about this wonderful grants opportunity CLICK HERE

It must be November!

The Garden Centres have cleared their shelves in order to make way for cards, baubles and sets of pulsating fairy lights, as Christmas shows its head above the horizon.

‘Ere long that nice Mr Hunt will be sending many of us a present with a label that says “Winter Fuel Allowance”.  Despite the way fuel prices have gone, some still feel uncomfortable accepting this payment and will continue to make as donation to help address the need which is to be found all around us, and, by using Gift Aid, will get a further boost from Mr Hunt.

If you are thinking of making a Christmas donation, with or without the help of Mr Hunt, but have yet to conclude who to, may we invite you to consider the Club’s Christmas appeal?

This year there will be three beneficiaries.

• Children in Africa
  

  Picture shows less than half of the school who had turned out to meet a club member and friends while visiting during school holidays in April this year.

Over recent years we have forged strong links with the Kanyama Free Baptist Community School in Lusaka Zambia, (CLICK HERE) and with the Kimbilio Organisation in the Democratic Republic of Congo www.congochildrentrust.org  who, between them, are helping improve the lives of nearly 500 children.

We have funded projects which have improved school facilities, and have provided much needed educational items. We have also helped with the feeding programme for the youngsters.

We would like to repeat last year’s donation, which provided a small gift and a party for all the youngsters and was received with great excitement and gratitude.

• Shoe Boxes
  

  Moldovan girls collecting their Rotary Shoeboxes

As a Club we have supported the Rotary Shoebox scheme for a number of years.

This provides boxes of gifts or household items, for vulnerable youngsters and families, who live principally in Romania, and Moldova. www.rotaryshoebox.org

Each box is more than just a box full of useful and fun gifts; it’s personal, a gift not just for the person receiving it but for the family too – a message of hope and a demonstration that someone cares about them. 

Each year members make up boxes of toys, household goods for families, or gifts for older children.. The categories of gifts are shown on the boxes.

At our club lunch meetings, empty boxes will be available for collection or, if you would like some boxes dropping off to you, then please let Mike Boyce know on 07976612276.

Rather than fill a box, some club members prefer to make a donation to the Club’s Charitable Trust which will then be used to fill boxes on your behalf. 

• ShelterBoxes

 Recent major natural disasters have brought untold misery and despair to tens of thousands who have lost everything and are in desperate need of the protection which ShelterBoxes provide.

ShelterBoxes are already on the ground in Libya and Morocco, but more are needed and depleted stocks in Cornwall need to be replaced.

www.shelterbox.org

To support the Christmas Appeal

You can make a payment into the Club’s Charitable Account.

Sort code                                          56-00-69

Account number                            60255927 

Please Show reference                 Appeal

Please e-mail Treasurer Derek Morgan Morgan_d12@sky.com with details of your donation, with a copy to Mike Boyce mike.boyce1@btinternet.com  so we can keep track.

If you wish your contribution to go exclusively to just one of these causes, please add /Africa    or /Shoe     or /Shelter, as appropriate, after the reference Appeal.

With grateful thanks

Brian Bailey and Mike Boyce

Grant Giving Committee.

A great turnout yet again at Bantock Park with support from the Mayor, Cllr. Mike Hardacre, children from Low Hill Infants and Merridale Primary Schools, Bantock Users Group and Matt from Midlands Co-op on Behalf of the Fairtrade Partnership as The City of Wolverhampton Rotary club plants another 4000 purple crocus corms to raise awareness of Rotary International’s campaign to eliminate polio.

(consent to photograph the children obtained.)

PDG Richard Green

One of the many schools that the City of Wolverhampton Rotary club supports with the Books4Home scheme is Low Hill Nursery.

Today, 28th Sepember, we had the enormous pleasure of handing over a bookstore made for us, free of charge, by mastecraftsman Peter Arnold, formerly of PC Arnold Joinery.

Transport was kindly provided by Rotarian Peter Williams with Mike Boyce as the willing driver.

The photo shows Richard Green handing the unit over to Headteacher Natalie Showell who said ” I am blown away by the bookstore….it is beautiful! ” and Governor Jackie Money said ” The bookstore is marvellous. From the Governors and staff at Low Hill Nursery thank you so very much! Our thanks to Peter Arnold – he is very talented indeed. The bookstore will get a lot of use at Low Hill and is gratefully received.”

Peter Wright and I, along with representatives of the other Wolverhampton Rotary clubs were invited to a ‘thankyou’ party at the Wolverhampton Branch of the Association of Ukainians in the UK. The centre is called ‘Razom,’which is the Ukrainian for ‘together,’and the party was arranged to take place the day after Ukrainian Independence Day, Thursday August 24th.

Our good friend Hryhorij Kowalczuk – known to us as ‘Greg’ – was fulsome in his gratitude and praise for numerous local organisations that have provided a very great deal of support, donations and goodwill for the more than 300 Ukrainian refugees who have arrived in Wolverhampton since the start of the conflict. Also, desparately needed items such as generators,and relief goods have been sent to countries bordering Ukraine for distribution in the camps there.  Many groups, companies and individuals were named, but Greg singled out the Rotary clubs in the City for special praise, making particlar mention of the £5000 worth of goods that we supplied funded to the most part by a Disaster Response Grant from the Rotary

PDG Richard Green