18 year old Alice Bennett is a member of the Rotary district 1210 Alumni Association following her participation in the  Rotary Young Musician Competition. Before the current lockdown, She served as a volunteer in the Rotary Books4Home project, which involved collecting donated books from homes, taking them to the project storage facility then, after they had been sorted, delivering them to schools to boost childen’s reading experience.

On leaving school, Alice had planned to take a gap year working as a volunteer with a charity called Project Trust, teaching English to young students in China. On returning home, she would have been going to university to study English Literature and Music.

The International committee at the City of Wolverhampton club agreed to make a donation to help facilitate her trip to China in recognition of Alice’s commendable support for Rotary’s aims. Obviously, in the current circumstances, the planned trip to China has  had to be postponed but it will take place after she graduates from University.

Alice secured ‘A’ levels in Physics, Maths, Art and English Literature at Wolverhampton Girls’ High School. She has always had a passion for music and enjoys all aspects of playing several instruments both as a soloist and in various ensembles such as the Wolverhampton Youth Orchestra and the Wolverhampton Youth Wind Orchestra.  She plays the alto saxophone and piano and has achieved  Grade 8 with distinction on both instruments. Alice is also highly accomplished on the flute and violin.

In 2020 she was selected as the Wolverhampton Youth Orchestra Young Musician of the Year and was awarded a cash prize and trophy by the 5 Rotary clubs in the City.

Richard Green, the organiser of the Young Musician Competition says ‘in Rotary, we do all we can to support our wonderful young people and it is a source of pride to be able to help Alice to achieve her ambitions.’

For some time now, the Rotary Club of Wolverhampton has been supporting Maison Kimbilio in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo.The centre provides education, shelter and accommodation for homeless children while Kimbilio social workers try to rebuild relationships with their families.

In July of this year, along with a matching grant from Rotary District 1210, the Club has helped to provide the facility for fresh water on a permanent basis.

Work has begun with the drilling of two wells. We are pleased to have been a part of this project.

Below note from organisation founder Ian Harvey

We are delighted that we have been able to drill two wells on the Maison Kimbilio site!  These wells will provide essential clean water to the children living in the Kimbilio homes as well as to the pupils at the Kimbilio Primary School due to open in September 2021.Contaminated water can transmit diseases such diarrhoea, cholera, dysentery, typhoid and polio.  We are thrilled that the children we support will have access to this most basic of rights which can be often taken for granted in other parts of the world. We are so thankful to Christine Sayell and her friends and colleagues at the NHS Dolphin Centre in Tunbridge Wells for their impressive fundraising walks as well as a grant from the Rotary Club of the City of Wolverhampton  which made this possible!

Thank you!
Hayley Powell, senior Fundraiser for The Haven, Wolverhampton wished to give her thanks to the Rotary Club of the City of Wolverhampton for their contribution and support to KidsOut toy boxes donated for Christmas. She said” The children were so excited on Christmas morning and spent the day playing with the toys.”

The Haven provided a safe, warm and welcoming place for those recovering from trauma of abuse and homelessness.

Thank you to Rotarian member Susand Husband for organising the raffle which raised £900 for Children in Need and congratulations to winners club members Peter Williams – who tells us Big Pudsey will be on his way to family in Australia, and Little Pudsey to Lisa Stallard.

Well done Susan.

Former Wolverhampton Wanderers star Mel Eves and Rotary Club member has organised this wonderful opportunity to win a piece of history and support a great cause too.

The City of Wolverhampton Rotary club is offering the chance to win a signed Wolves shirt and make a donation to the Samaritans at the same time, via a Crowdfunding website.
The Samaritans are inundated at present with people desperately needing their help in these stressful times.
You can see the full details by clicking on the safe link below:

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/wolves-shirt-wolves-rotary-wolves-samaritans

For the 13th consecutive year, The Rotary Foundation has received the highest rating — four stars — from Charity Navigator, an independent evaluator of charities in the U.S.

The Foundation earned the recognition for adhering to sector best practices and executing its mission in a financially efficient way, demonstrating both strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency. Only one percent of the organizations Charity Navigator evaluates have received 13 consecutive 4-star evaluations.

“Your achievement and 4-star rating will enhance your organization’s fundraising and public relations efforts,” says Michael Thatcher, president and chief executive officer of Charity Navigator. “This exceptional designation sets the Foundation apart from its peers and demonstrates to the public its trustworthiness.”

The rating reflects Charity Navigator’s assessment of how the Foundation uses donations, sustains its programs and services, and practices good governance and openness.

The Foundation/International committee recently made a donation to the charity Feeding Dreams, Cambodia and a certificate of appreciation was received.

Feeding Dreams Cambodia was formed in 2012 to assist hundreds of starving children and their families from a commune in Sala Kamreuk. It is a non-profit, non political, non religious, non governmental ‘grass roots’ organisation which focuses on holistic, sustainable development within the local community.

,

Shortly before joining RotaryJulie served as a volunteer at a school supported by the charity in Siem Reap.

Julie tells us:

“The school is situated within the most deprived slum areas of Siem Reap. My contribution was my time when I worked with families to encourage them to send their children to the school, identifying family and community issues, and looking at possible solutions to assist, finding sponsors for children and fundraising.

It is a humbling and inspiring experience to work there. It costs approximately £35 per month to keep a child in school and ensure the child and their family are fed, and approximately £1 per day to keep 30 children attending the school. I plan to return next year.”