Howard is our Community Champ Howard Craven of Swansea is to be honoured with the prestigious Community Champion award for his work in helping Parc Prison inmates reclaim their lives. Howard will receive his Community Champion award, alongside other unsung community heroes from across the UK, at the Champions of Change Award ceremony hosted by the Lord Mayor of Cardiff in Cardiff City Hall in May. The prestigious Rotary Champions of Change awards night is being held in Cardiff City Hall on Friday 18 May as Rotary celebrates its Wales Centenary. It’s the fifth annual Champions of Change awards night and previous venues have included the House of Lords. Winners will be presented with their awards by National Council for Voluntary Organisations’ Chair Peter Kellner (renowned international journalist) and RIBI President Denis Spiller. Award winners have all been chosen for outstanding and inspirational work at home and abroad. They include Rotarians and other heroes who have worked hard to change peoples lives under the categories of home, international and community. Swansea based Howard did not have the best start in life. He was taken into care at an early age and sadly this had a negative effect. But at the age of 36, after a number of prison sentences through his own behaviour and drug use, Howard realised unless he changed his life he would either end up dead or in prison for the rest of his life. Howard started work in HMP Parc in 2015 after spending many years working in the community supporting prison leavers. Howard was instrumental in setting up and the running of the Endeavour Unit (a unit for former servicemen and first time offenders coming into prison). For the past two years, Howard has been working alongside Rotarian Alison Sutherland delivering an intervention called ‘You Can Change’. The intervention runs over three days and has been very successful, reports Alison. Its aim is to inspire and equip the prisoner to return to their families and community and live a fulfilled life, free of crime. Howard is a great inspiration and clear proof that they too can change if they really want to. The search for Rotary Community Champions was carried out across Great Britain and Ireland with Rotary clubs looking for members of the public who have worked tirelessly to improve the lives of others. Denis Spiller, President of RIBI, said: “The selfless actions of our champions really demonstrate that every person, everywhere can make a difference. Howard’s work has helped so many people who could easily have become lost causes and given support to their families. He is a very worthy recipient of the Rotary Community Champion award.” Denis Spiller, President of RIBI, said: “The selfless actions of our champions really demonstrate that every person, everywhere can make a difference. Howard’s work has helped so many people who could easily have become lost causes and given support to their families. He is a very worthy recipient of the Rotary Community Champion award.”
Purple 4 Polio Grand Tour
KNIGHTON & DISTRICT ROTARY CLUB presents
a concert by
TREORCHY MALE VOICE CHOIR
Saturday 7th July 2018 at 7.00pm Doors/bar open from 6.30pm
Tickets £20 (£15 in advance by June 22nd) Knighton Community Centre Knighton LD7 1DR All profits to Air Ambulance and Local Charities Tickets: knightonrotarytreasurer@gmail.com Kim Smith 01547 540593 Tower House Gallery Knighton 01547 529530 Open 10am to 4.30pm Wed to Sat Prize Draw Programme £1
At the time of going to press Rtn Gordon Wellington and Rt Russell Thomas of Morriston Rotary are gearing up to take part in an amazing road trip across Britain They will be travelling across Britain along with other Rotarians who have entered vehicles for the Purple4Polio Rotary Grand Tour. The tour aims to raise awareness and funds for the eradication of polio. Many of you will have seen the car on its travels around our District as Russell and Gordon work to raise sponsorship from individual Rotarians and from advertising on the vehicle. They will be joined by other fellow Rotarians - one from Morriston and one from Swansea Valley club. All the expenses for the trip will be borne by the travellers and not taken from the money raised. This is to ensure maximum funds are raised for this worthy charity. A special Facebook group has been set up to track progress and they will set off in grand style from Brynmawr Market Square 9.30 Monday May 21. Please join them for a grand send off. Pictured above: RIBI President Denis Spiller with President Gordon Wellington and Secretary Russell Thomas at the Llanelli Centenary celebration.
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