48,000 children require emergency care every year in the UK.

Under the skilful leadership of Rotarian John Wilson of the Rugeley club, we are keen supporters of The Buddy Bag scheme. A Buddy Bag is a backpack that contains essential items such as toiletries, pyjamas, socks and underwear and, most important of all a delightful teddy bear. The Buddy Bag comes into use when children have to enter emergency care, often as a result of domestic violence and it provides something the children can call their own, no matter where they go.

We arranged for 30 children at The Way Youth Zone to take part in a bag pack with the contents sponsored by the Wolverhampton club. The youngsters set about the task of packing with great enthusiasm and interest, especially when John asked them to ‘give the teddy bear a hug of love that will be felt by the child who opens the bag!’

Tyrone Johnson, philanthropy manager at The Way says “Watching our young people pack Buddy Bags was truly inspiring. They understood that these bags might be the only belongings a child has during such a frightening time. Knowing they could make that transition a little easier for someone their own age filled them with pride and compassion. It was a powerful reminder that kindness can change lives.”

Further information about Buddy Bags can be found at www.buddybagfoundation.co.uk

The Rotary Club of the City of Wolverhampton has been organising the Tree of Remembrance since Christmas 2004; over £130,000 has been raised for good cause while, at the same time, providing people the opportunity to remember lost loved ones in their Christmas celebrations.

The official opening took place at 1.00pm on Saturday 15th November. At the opening ceremony, the Wulfrun Ladies Choir performed, delighting the shoppers with many wonderful songs. Announcing the opening of the Tree of Remembrance, the Mayor of Wolverhampton Cllr Craig Collingswood praised the work of Rotarians in the community, noting the benefits they bring to so many people.

For a minimum £5.00 donation the name of your loved ones and a short message (10 words max) will appear in display cabinets in the memorial area in the Wulfrun Shopping Centre. Wolverhampton Express & Star will regularly publish the latest names and messages in the newspaper during the weeks leading up to Christmas.

The 4 good causes benefitting this year are Compton Care which supports people living with incurable medical conditions, Wolverhampton MS Therapy Centre, which offers therapies for people with long term medical conditions, Sponsored Breaks CIC which provides free respite campervan breaks for families from military and emergency services backgrounds and the Rotary Club of Wolverhampton Charitable Trust which funds local and international good causes.

Rotarian, Lorraine McCarthy explained “we have just started and thanks to generous donations from James Beattie Charitable Trust, Muras Baker Jones Chartered Accountants and local people we have already raised £3,161 for these good causes. This is such a rewarding thing to get involved with and has become part of many peoples Christmas tradition”. 

Photo shows the Mayor with Tree of Remembrance Chair Lorraine McCarthy, Rotarian Richard Horrell and 2 members of the newly formed University of Wolverhampton Rotaract Club Rose Osarobe and Mercy Ann Ndukaku.

October 24th is World Polio Day and for the 10th year running the Rotary Club of The City of Wolverhampton planted 4000 purple crocus bulbs in Bantock Park. The Mayor Councillor Craig Collingswood, MP Warinder Juss, and children from Pine Green Academy, Merridale Primary and Low Hill Infants schools and other community volunteer groups gave us great support. By purchasing the bulbs we have contributed to Rotary International’s campaign to eliminate polio, and the planting helps to raise public awareness by coverage on social media and in the press. The purple crocus is the campaign emblem.

The children had great fun stamping down the turf after the Rotarians and volunteers had lifted the turf!

40 years ago Rotary International embarked on a campaign to eliminate the scourge of polio from the world. We formed a partnership with the Gates Foundation and the World Health Organisation. The Gates Foundation donates $2US for every $1 we raise to purchase the vaccines and to fund the infrastructure as we continue to vaccinate children in the third world.

When the campaign started, there were 1000 new cases of polio every day in every country in the world. As a result of the campaign, India and Africa have now been declared polio free and this year to date there have only been 30 new cases in Pakistan; we are aware that there are a low number of new cases in Aghanistan, but Rotary and its partners are determined to carry on until the disease is eliminated completely. Details of the campaign can be found at the Rotary EndPolio websites.

Photographs by Carol Bailey Photography. Consent to publish the children’s photos obtained.

PDG Richard Green

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.”

On Tuesday 23rd September two new members joined our club and are ready to serve.

Serena Gilmour – retired teacher and lay minister at St Nicholas Church in Codsall

Ernest Acha Solicitor / lawyer

“…..all the activities were great fun….I loved getting to know new people and have without doubt made friends for life.”

So said one of the young people as they left RYLA at the end of a fabulous experience.

This annual residential course, a flagship Rotary project, took place near Shrewsbury and was enjoyed by 34 young people.

RYLA is designed to present physical and mental challenges that allow participants, in teams, to experience leadership, communication and problem solving.  These are based on outdoor activities led by experienced and qualified professional instructors.

It aims to challenge participants by putting them under pressure in an enjoyable way and  encourage and foster leadership development through teamwork and communication. The youngsters learn the importance of competition, health, fitness, character and tolerance as building blocks to the quality of life, enabling them to gain confidence through pride in achievement and learn the importance of competition, health, fitness, character and tolerance as building blocks to the quality of life.

Activities include problem solving, wall climbing, raft building, canoeing, abseiling, fencing and archery and many others.

The candidate sponsored by the City of Wolverhampton club was 17 year old Daniella Akinseli, a boarding pupil at Tettenhall College who tells us she had ‘the time of her life!’

The club has already committed to sponsoring 2 candidates for the August 2026 course and we’ll be looking for applicants from across the city.

PDG Richard Green