Thanks to the hard work of members and some creative thinking, the club has raised over £3,500 in 2023 which will provide vital funds to charities and organisations in the local area. The club was proud to donate £1,000 to baby2Baby and Beyond; plus £500 for Crowborough Foodbank. Rotary members have been looking further afield and have decided to support World in Need’s international projects. The club gave £500 towards a school project providing a Science and Technology Lab in Kenya. In addition, Rotary has raised over £1500 throughout the year which will be distributed to our partner charities in the course of 2024.
This Summer Rotary launched their eye catching “Human Fruit Machine” at the Crowborough Hospital fete which drew much attention and provided a lot of fun at the same time. It just shows that good fundraising ideas and providing opportunities for local families to have an enjoyable time, the Rotary Club is making a big impact at many local events.
Other joint ventures with local partners have meant that the Food bank; the Wealden Dementia Action Alliance, the women’s refuge; Ukrainian children and the mayor’s chosen charities have all benefitted from significant funds raised thanks to the commitment and energy of club members.
Crowborough Rotary is part of a much wider family of clubs throughout the UK and across the world. This year there has been a major initiative to help eradicate the global threat of polio which damages so many lives. The plant a crocus project has been sponsored by Rotary International and here in Crowborough local members joined with cubs from the Warren Pack to plant over 2,000 crocus bulbs at the Leisure Centre entrance where there will be a blaze of colour in the Spring next year.
The club’s major events such as the fashion show, the golf day, and the Autumn quiz night have seen a real growth in popularity with attendance well up on the previous year helping to raise record funds. In addition, the Summer’s Car Show at the Crowborough Rugby Club proved to be a great hit with families as well as car enthusiasts. Rotary’s calendar for next year is already filling up with some of our regular activities and also some new ventures providing a chance for everyone to have some fun as well as raising awareness and generating funds for many local organisations.
If that hasn’t been enough, club members have been leading figures in collecting at other events such as the town fireworks display and at two really well attended concerts organised by Singing for Fun which raised over £1600 for the Foodbank and the Wealden Dementia Action Alliance. Altogether Rotary’s support has helped raise several thousand pounds on behalf of our partner charity groups. You can always see Rotarians at the Crowborough Tesco’s supporting their fundraising weekends. In December at the Christmas collection event 847 kg of goods plus over £420 was donated with Rotary making a big difference once again.
Also, when not raising funds many members actively support the Community Café and other ventures. In the course of 2022 and 2023 the Rotary Club has developed strong links with many key organisations supporting the most vulnerable in our community. These include: Crowborough Community Church; Crowborough Food Bank; the women’s Refuge; Citizens Advice; Friends of Crowborough Hospital; Wealden Dementia Action Alliance; Baby2Baby and Beyond; Ashdown Radio and Crowborough Community Forum.
If you are interested in joining this vibrant organisation and help make a real difference to our community or you just would like more information about Crowborough Rotary Club, please visit our website: https://crowboroughrotary.org/
or else contact:
Graham Bucksey; Club President grahambucksey@btinternet.com Linda Halton; Club Secretary halton1@btinternet.com
