Community Service

Committee chairman : Guy Garfit

Activities of the Community Service Committee 2009/10

Swimathon raises record £9,280

Rotary in one evening donates over £11,000 to charity

Now that all the final figures are in it can be announced that the Swimathon organised by the Royston Rotary Club at the leisure centre last October raised a record £9280.

Thanks must go to all of the 25 teams who, in addition to members of the Rotary Club, put in such a tremendous effort to raise this magnificent sum. Particular mention should be made of the 7th Royston Scouts and Wimpole Hall teams who each raised over £1100, The Rotary Ladies and Mens teams over £800 each and The Countryman Inn, Chipping with a total of over £700

The event was organised to raise funds for the Cherry Homes Trust, Clic Sargent, The Teenage Cancer Trust and the Royston Rotary Club Trust Fund. Last Tuesday evening at their regular weekly meeting Royston Rotary Club presented cheques of £2350 to each of the above named charities in support of their work in the community.

Michael Tongue of the Cherry Homes Trust, a small local charity founded and run from Royston, said, "It was wonderful that the Rotary Club and all the swimmers gave so much of their time and put in so much effort, solely for the purpose of raising money to help others.  To see so many people in the pool taking part was a great experience.  Cherry Homes Trust is extremely grateful for being included in the list of beneficiaries and it extends sincere thanks to the Rotary Club of Royston."

At the same meeting  further substantial donations were made: £500 to MacMillan Cancer Support and £4000 to Papworth Hospital.  These donations were made from funds raised from the Kite Festival last year and the Rotary Club's annual quiz held in January.  In addition a further £300 was presented to Clic Sargent from the proceeds of a piano concert held in Cambridge last year.The payment to the Papworth Hospital Trust is to help provide a heart monitor for the Day Care unit at the hospital.

When presenting the cheque to Claire Thompson, representing Papworth, Neil Guttridge, President of the Royston Rotary Club commented that “This equipment will greatly assist the staff at the hospital in delivering high quality care, and will also give reassurance to the patients.  I would like to thank all who contributed to the President’s Charity this year”

 

The role of the Community Service Committee is to raise money to be spent on deserving causes in the local community and to carry out activities which are of direct benefit to our community. The Club’s area of interest covers Royston, Ashwell, Bassingbourn, Buntingford, Melbourn and the surrounding villages; and any charities, organisations and services that serve and benefit this community. During the past year we have been involved in the following activities:

Swimathon 2008 – This year’s Swimathon, took place in the Royston Leisure Centre during the evenings of 18th/19th October. We raised £9,280 for:

Teenage Cancer Trust Unit, Addenbrooke’s

CLIC Sargent - Caring for children with cancer

Cherryhomes Trust - helping disabled people in the Royston Area

Rotary Charities

For more details got the Swimathon page

• Children in Need – collections at Royston Station and on the High Street raised almost £1,600.

• Christmas Float – we manned the Round Table Christmas Float for two evenings in Bassingbourn and the Orchard Road area of Royston.

• Christmas Decorations at Royston Hospital – we put up, and took down, the decorations in the hospital.

• Kids Out at Wimpole – we help with Sawston Rotary Club’s day out for handicapped children at Wimpole Hall

• Pink Ribbon Run/Walk – helped by sponsoring the pink balloons and, on the day, by blowing them up.

• Health Awareness Day – We set up stall in Royston Market once again to raise awareness of the problems of high blood pressure and invited people to have their blood pressure checked by a qualified nurse. Many thanks to the nurses who gave up their valuable time on a Saturday to help us with this project.

We are always interested in knowing where you feel we may be able to contribute to the community at large so please contact us if you feel you know of a need. To contact us, click on the details at the bottom of this page.