Seaford Rotary New Members Seaford Rotary was delighted to welcome its second lady member earlier this year when Samantha Thomsett joined us, and in July we are looking forward to welcoming Linda Wallraven, a former of Mayor of Seaford. By the time that Seaford Scene goes to print, our numbers will be further boosted with the transfer of three members of Seaford Martello Rotary club to Seaford Rotary and an additional new member. This will bring our numbers up to 43, of whom 6 are ladies.
New President In the President’s handover meeting on 1st July, Keith Ross, President of Seaford Rotary for 2019/20 gave a review of the achievements made in the period of his Presidency. Martin McGill was installed as the new President for 2020/21, and Keith Blackburn and Mike Ogilvie as his Deputies. In his inaugural speech as new President, Martin outlined to members some fresh ideas for the coming year which involve further work with the community, green projects, and further cooperation with the Seaford Martello Rotary Club. During the month Rotarians were able to meet online with Rotary members of the Baridhara Rotary club based in Dhaka, Bangladesh, as well as holding Zoom meetings with speakers from two charities. At our 10th June meeting we heard from Amy Hope, Fundraising Manager at Care for the Carers, during Carers Week, a national campaign, with the theme this year to make caring more visible. Rotary GB&I are working to support Care for the Carers by working together with CarersUK to raise awareness of the challenges they face. Amy informed us that Care for the Carers is the leading organisation supporting unpaid carers across East Sussex, and the recognised carers centre for the county. They provide help to over 8,300 carers each year through services including direct support,
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groups, counselling, an information and advice network and activities programme. Amy outlined to us the challenges that carers have been experiencing during the coronavirus pandemic. An unpaid carer is anyone who looks after somebody who couldn’t do without their help. This could be a family member, friend or neighbour. Caring takes many different forms, from a 16-year-old girl helping her parents look after her disabled brother, to an 80-yearold man caring for his wife who has Alzheimer’s. The number of unpaid carers has grown by 50% because of the coronavirus pandemic. There are 34,000 new unpaid carers in East Sussex because of the virus, taking the total unpaid carers to an estimated 102,000. For further information contact: Care for the Carers, Highlight House, 8 St Leonards Road, Eastbourne, BN21 3UH or via their website www.cftc.org.uk or Telephone: 01323 738390
Care for Carers meet at Wellbeing Group on
the 2nd Wednesday of the month, 10am – 12 noon at Seaford House, Crouch Lane, Seaford BN25 1PW.
Making Memories Group (for people with
Dementia and their carers): on the 2nd Thursday of the month, 2pm – 4pm at St James Trust Community Centre, 11 Blatchington Road, Seaford, BN25 2AB.
On 21st June Abi Wells, Corporate and Community Partnerships manager of the charity LEPRA joined us on Zoom to tell us about the work of LEPRA, a British charity working for the relief of Leprosy. LEPRA works in India, Bangladesh, Mozambique and Zimbabwe and offer support, training and health system strengthening in their project countries. Lepra’s teams on the ground have pioneered many successful programmes and capacity building systems that have been adopted by others, including government and international organisations. Leprosy is a communicable disease, caused by bacterium, which affects the skin and peripheral nerves of people. It can cause severe disability, prejudice and even cause blindness. LEPRA’s expertise also helps those affected by Lymphatic Filariasis. Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) can cause swelling of body parts and alter the immune system. It is the second major cause of long-term disability in
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