MAKE SOMEONE VERY HAPPY THIS CHRISTMAS
FREE EMPTY CHRISTMAS BOXES
Each year Alresford Rotary supports a nationwide shoebox appeal to provide Christmas gifts to vulnerable children and families in Eastern Europe. The appeal is this year even more important due to the ongoing war situation in Ukraine.
Your shoebox will be given to a vulnerable child, or family, through schools, nurseries, hospitals and orphanages. Our aim is that each box is given in relationship with the local community as part of a long-term commitment to these children.
Please be a part of this charity event to change lives by donating a shoebox to this year’s Christmas appeal. 750 boxes are available for Alresford and District to be distributed by Alresford Rotary.
Make an early start to preparing Christmas shoeboxes of gifts for disadvantaged and displaced children in eastern Europe. Because in recent years it has become increasingly difficult to source boxes of the prescribed size Rotary can now provide boxes and they are available now!
Empty boxes can be delivered and collected free of charge from any SO24 address or can be collected from the Toy-Box Shop, Broad Street, Alresford. Everyone and all local organisations are encouraged to take part please get in touch with us and make a child’s Christmas very special!
Email your name and SO24 address to:
alresfordxmasboxes@gmail.com and we will deliver an empty Christmas box to your home.
Bring joy this Christmas
Alresford Rotary teamed up this year with Alresford’s Toy-Box shop as a collection point for empty shoebox style boxes to pack the gifts for disadvantaged & displaced children in Eastern Europe.
The Toy-Box only retails safe and quality gifts and toys
WELCOME TO THE NEW ALRESFORD ROTARY PRESIDENT
The new Rotary year started on 1st July bringing to an end Jonathan Read’s two years as President of Alresford Rotary. Alresford Rotary thanks Jonathan for steering it through a time of Covid “choppy waters” and looks forward to the leadership of the new helmsman, David Marshall! If you would like to make a difference to your local community please let us know. We’d love to hear from you!
From left to right: outgoing President Jonathan Read, new Club Secretary Andrew Castillo and new President David Marshall.
THE ALRESFORD 10k ROAD RACE 2022 WAS A GREAT SUCCESS
400 runners turned out on a perfect day for running at the final Hampshire Road Race League race of the season, the Alresford Rotary 10k.
The course followed the usual route through the market town, past the famous watercress beds and out into the countryside beyond. It’s a tough course with plenty of hills, but all the runners proved up for the challenge.
The men’s race was won by for the second year in a row by Phil Berntsen in 33 minutes and 32 seconds, closely followed by Sebastian Hoenig in 33:51.
The women’s race was won by Victoria Gill in 36:56 with Tamsin Anderson second in 37:52.
All of the results are available at eventchiptiming.com
The event was marshalled by volunteers from Alresford Rotary and additional help at the field was provided by enthusiastic students from Perins school. Everyone gave their time for free and all profits will be used for local and international good causes, including providing medical supplies to Ukraine, as part of a global effort by Rotary International.
The race organisers made new efforts this year to reduce waste and improve sustainability. All of the prizes were from local sources and the race medals were wooden and made from sustainable wood. Water was in containers and recyclable cups with no single-use plastic. Competitors were encouraged to car share, walk or take public transport.
Next year’s race will again be on the third Sunday in June (Fathers’ Day), June 18th.
Alresford Rotary entertained the visitors during the Jubilee Picnic in the Park with a maggot charity race
ALRESFORD ROTARY DONATES £ 2000 TO SHELTERBOX
Everyone deserves a place to call home. It is a human right and the first step towards recovery after disaster.
Shelter is so much more than just a roof. It’s the foundation for life, families and communities. It is a place to feel safe after days or weeks of fear. It offers protection from harsh weather, privacy, and helps to preserve dignity. It’s a space to heal from trauma.
Emergency shelter can also prevent communities from scattering. This means people stay connected and build resilience together.
When you don’t have to keep moving or worry about where to sleep at night, you can think about tomorrow. Items like tents, tarpaulins, tools, blankets, mosquito nets, cooking sets and water filters help to meet the most urgent needs, so you can start to earn a living, send children to school and rebuild your home.
Recovery doesn’t happen overnight, but a dry and warm place to sleep, prepare meals and be with your family is the vital first step.
Alresford Rotary is supporting Ukraine
It is a tragic and sad time for the people of Ukraine and the world. At Alresford Rotary, we are deeply concerned by the devastating situation as the cornerstone of our organisation is that of peace.
Alresford Rotary has made an initial donation of £ 1000.
The fund is a group effort across Wessex Rotary Clubs to build a fund that can provide enduring help to the people of Ukraine as this humanitarian disaster unfolds.
We will release more information on how you can support specific initiatives soon.
SERVE TO CHANGE LIVES
THE ALRESFORD ROTARY UKRAINE JUSTGIVING SITE IS NOW OPEN
JUST CLICK ANY OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS AND DONATE
UKRAINE NEEDS YOUR HELP NOW!
Alresford's Avenue in Bloom
Spring each year sees a beautiful purple carpet of crocus blooming in many communities across Great Britain and Ireland thanks to the Purple Crocus Corm planting to raise awareness of the Rotary fight for a polio free world.
Planting the purple crocus corms by Rotary and many community groups is a great way of getting active, having fun and talking to lots of different people about the need to eradicate the life threatening and disabling polio virus.
As a founding partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, we’ve reduced polio cases by 99.9 percent since our first project to vaccinate children in the Philippines in 1979.
Rotary members have contributed more than $2.1 billion and countless volunteer hours to protect nearly 3 billion children in 122 countries from this paralyzing disease.
Today, polio remains endemic only in Afghanistan and Pakistan. But it’s crucial to continue working to keep other countries polio-free. If all eradication efforts stopped today, within 10 years, polio could paralyze as many as 200,000 children each year.
SERVE TO CHANGE LIVES
WHAT IS ROTARY?
Rotary is an international service organization whose stated purpose is to bring together business and communities in order to provide humanitarian service and to advance goodwill and peace around the world.
Rotary is one of the largest voluntary service organisations in the world, open to everyone, where members can give as much time as they wish, helping with local causes and events, combining friendship and networking. 1.2 million Rotarians worldwide see solutions not problems and make things happen and make a difference, promoting peace and helping others in communities around the world every day to fight life threatening diseases like Polio, HIV/AIDS and Malaria and to provide and maintain clean water, sanitation and hygiene.
Rotary is dedicated to seven areas of focus the newest of which highlights the preservation of our planet and its resources. Rotary is committed to supporting activities that strengthen conservation, advancing ecological sustainability and fostering harmony between communities and the environment to build international relationships, improve lives and create a better world to support its peace efforts and End Polio forever.
Wild polio is now only endemic in two countries. (Nigeria was declared wild polio virus-free in September2020.)
Alresford Rotary's next charity event
What are Alresford Rotary’s plans for 2022?
Subject to Covid restrictions … we will be involved locally in the town’s celebrations of the Queen’s Platinum jubilee celebrations in early June as well as holding “Probably mid Hampshire’s Quiz for Ukraine in April , running Alresford’s 10k road race in June, collecting shoeboxes of Christmas presents for disadvantaged children in the autumn, putting on Alresford’s bonfire and fireworks event in November, and selling Christmas Trees and encouraging participation in our third Christmas song and music contest in December. We will also be at the Watercress Festival in May and the Agricultural show in September.
What difference can YOU make in 2022?
Alresford Rotary cannot run its events relying solely on the efforts of its membership. Support from others in the community is essential. Please contact us if you’re happy for your details to be added to our list of “helpers” or are interested in joining Rotary. Rotarians are people of action and Rotary is fun. Alreford Rotary needs YOU – make time for fun and volunteering in 2022!
Alresford Rotary sponsored indoor cycle ride
Welcome
Alresford Rotary was formed in 1987, aiming to provide people with an opportunity to get involved in local and international community projects and meet like-minded people in the local area. Hands-on volunteering, fundraising, running local events and sharing our skills to help local and international charitable causes – these are just some of the activities we get involved in.
We value diversity, equality and inclusion. Rotary celebrates and welcomes people of all backgrounds, regardless of their age, ethnicity, race, colour, abilities, religion, socioeconomic status, culture, sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
Explore this site to find out more about Rotary locally and globally and follow us on Facebook and Twitter. We would love to hear from you if you’d like to get involved or have a project you like us to help with. Alresford Rotary is a registered charity. The Rotary Club of Alresford Trust Fund RCN 1014447
Some of Alresford Rotary Community Projects
Give back time!
We at Rotary share an interest in protecting our common legacy: the environment. We are committed to supporting activities that strengthen the conservation and protection of natural resources, advance ecological sustainability, and foster harmony between communities and the environment.
Access to quality care
Rotary is especially dedicated to ending polio and since 1979 its members have donated money, lobbied governments, provided practical support to deliver polio vaccines and volunteered at national immunisation days in all corners of the world.
Community support
It’s often said that society works better when communities work together. From food banks to flood relief, marathons to festivals, Rotary is always making a difference in our communities. The opportunities with Rotary are endless
THE 2021 ROTARY 10K RACE WAS A GREAT SUCCESS
RUNNERS KEPT SOCIAL DISTANCE AT ALL TIMES
235 runners took part in the 2021 Alresford Rotary 10k Road Race on Sunday 20th June. The bulk of the entrants were Hampshire club runners that had carried their places over from last year when the race had to be cancelled under the Covid restrictions.
Instead of medals, all of the runners received a home-baked cookie made by Becky Smith at the Arlebury Cafe and sponsored by Butler and Co Accountants.
See our BLOG for more information..
Now is the time to volunteer
The Rotary motto is “Service Above Self” and Alresford Rotary has lived up to it in a big way. Most recently we helped raise spirits in COVID times by organising a successful Christmas Song Contest, raising funds for needy organisations in the area. With the Rotary Computer Project, we helped to source over 70 computers and upgraded them for reuse by local schools for those families struggling in lockdown with homes schooling.
We meet at present on Zoom during Monday evenings at 8 pm so that we can continue to plan our community activities, support international projects, and of course have fun too!
Click here to volunteer
Find out more about what we do for communities around the world:
Click on one of the blue boxes
