Rotary Club of Letchworth Howard
Combined Rotary and Inner Wheel Clubs with Guests Fearnhill School Head and Deputy head teachers.
All pull together to fight Polio.
Rotarians, partners and guests enjoying a dinner and presentation by Mark Little on the Polio eradication project from his first hand experience in India during the mass inoculation. He gave an insight of the conditions and problems they had to overcome.
On 27 January the combined Rotary Clubs of Letchworth Howard, Letchworth Garden City, Royston and Baldock, together with the Inner Wheel clubs of Letchworth and Baldock, held a Thanks for Life dinner at the Letchworth Hall Hotel to generate funds and publicity for the polio eradication campaign. The dinner was attended by District Governor John Samuel as well as local MP Oliver Heald. More than a hundred and twenty people heard an excellent illustrated talk on polio eradication in India by Mark Little, who will be well known to many in 1080 as a member of the Rotary Club of Norwich St. Edmund. The Thanks for Life raffle organised by Svend Jensen of the Baldock Rotary Club, the subsequent auction of a hand made quilt donated by the Baldock Club, and other donations raised more than £1,000.
The Letchworth clubs will also be taking over an empty shop in the Letchworth town centre from 10 to 25 February when it is planned to raise more funds and publicity for the campaign. Culminating on Saturday the 20th with a street collection in the town centre.
Many of our Rotarians were on stand duty over the weekend, waving the proverbial flag of Rotary in Letchworth. Our display exampled some of the work we do in the local and global community, The Aquabox project (sample in the foreground) is proving crucial at present in the Philippines as it has done in many crisis areas before. The Polio eradication project, The Hertfordshire Air Ambulance project and countless local charities have all benefitted from our work over the last year. The fellowship side of Rotary and some of the events we have enjoyed were also displayed, from a countryside walk and lunch out to a recent theatre visit.
You can still "Get Involved" just go to our "Want to Help" page and see.
In view of the facts that the previous year’s Darts
Evening was held as late as the 13 March 2008 and that it had proved
very difficult to attract a viable number of teams, it had been decided
to give this event in particular, and any event requiring participants
to obtain sponsorship, at least one year’s break.
A virtual race night, i.e. electronically simulated
horse races with only virtual betting, was held on
The Bridge Drive in aid principally of Garden House
Hospice, which had been held in the autumn in previous years, was
arranged this year for the 6 February 2009 so that it would be well
clear of similar events by other local charities and of the time when
many people are away on holiday.
This move proved successful for obtaining a
very satisfactory number of bookings.
Unfortunately, the snow and road conditions
on the day made it impossible to hold it then.
However, with a great deal of effort, we
managed to proceed with the event the following week when it again
turned out to be an enjoyable occasion for the participants, helped in
no small measure by the excellent work of our dedicated catering team,
and it raised almost £700 for our charities.
For the annual Quiz Evening arranged by our
partners, we again had a full house.
The event lived up to its reputation of
being highly enjoyable, thanks to the supreme efforts of our regular
quiz master, Peter Spreckley, and the excellent supper provided by our
partners.
This was also a financial success, having
raised nearly £1,050 of which our partners have decided to allocate 60%
to Leukaemia Research and 40% to KISS.
| Monday 23 February 2009 |
| Sunday 22nd February 2009 - Girlguiding Thinking Day Service at St Georges Church, Letchworth GC. | |
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MP Supports Aquabox Campaign Each Aquabox provides a filter and supplies of water treatment tablets able to purify 1100 litres of polluted water, making it safe to drink, which is equal to 5,000 cups, enough for a family of four for four months. Aquaboxes are also filled with other useful clothing, kitchen utilities, toiletries and other items to help in the Third World. Julian explained to Oliver that on average three children die every ten seconds, which is 25,000 per day, from polluted water. A £ 50 donation buys a standard Aquabox, which is then sent overseas as needed. Commenting, Oliver Heald said, “It was good to meet Paul and Julian and to hear of Letchworth Howard Rotary Club’s initiative. I am certainly going to buy an Aquabox myself and would encourage all those who want to help to contact the Letchworth Howard Rotary Club via Paul Jeffery at |
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