Loving Local Living
Rotary Club of ROyston Where can you find a bunch of people who run Royston’s biggest annual charity fund-raiser, a memory café, a swimathon, a major musical event and a technology competition for the town’s schools, provide Santas for a big retail outlet, help to eradicate polio, support skills training for women in Africa, enjoy monthly rambles and weekends away, get together to meet and eat every week, and have been behaving this way for 56 years? It can only be the Rotary Club of Royston, part of Rotary International, which boasts 1.2 million members in 35,000 clubs like ours across the globe. Through Rotary clubs, people from all continents and cultures come together to exchange ideas, and form friendships and professional connections while making a difference in their backyards and around the world. All of which perhaps sounds a little grand and solemn. Not so! We are local men and women (membership is around 35) from a variety of personal and professional backgrounds, and we enjoy a lively social life together. Our weekly meetings are noisy, friendly affairs where we discuss our plans, report on what we’ve achieved, and often listen to speakers on a wide range of topics. The old vision of Rotary as a collection of besuited local businessmen (males only in those days, of course) has long gone. The suits and ties were abandoned years ago, and we don’t just admit women; we welcome them enthusiastically. Indeed, we’ve already had two lady Presidents, and a third is due soon.
We’re strong because our roots are here in Royston, and much of our impact is at local level, but with the back-up of our national and international organisation, we can punch way above our weight. For example, the money we raise to support local or international projects can often be doubled by Rotary International’s match-funding schemes. We raise about £20,000 annually to support good causes. Our annual Kite Festival on Therfield Heath is our biggest single event, attracting around 5000 visitors and raising a large sum for a chosen charity. You can read more about the Kite Festival in the Out and About article. Our special focus on youth drives ‘Schools Make Music’, where pupils have an opportunity to sing and play on a professional stage, and the Technology Tournament, a real challenge to the creativity of our upcoming technologists. There’s more - much more than we can list here. We’re always pleased to welcome visitors to one of our weekly meetings, when we can offer possible members a taste of who we are and what we do.
Solving real problems takes real commitment and vision. For more than 110 years, Rotary’s people of action have used their passion, energy, and intelligence to launch sustainable projects that really do make a difference. From literacy and peace to water and health, we are working to better our world, and we stay committed to the end. Could you be part of it? We’ll be pleased to hear from you – our contact details are below.
Visit www.roystonrotary.com (which is a good idea in itself) and use the message feature in Contact Us, or email info@ roystonrotary.com We’ll get back to you very soon.
Christina Pattison Exhibition Christina works from her Barley Studio and at Burloes Farm Studios and her work includes painting, textiles and ceramics.
The colourful style of her paintings is drawn from her roots in Sweden and life in France. Her work can be seen in many places, locally in Addenbrooke’s Hospital and various churches. Christina Pattison Exhibition, Melbourn Hub, 1st to 31st August 2018 Melbourn Hub is open MondaySaturday 9am to 5pm
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