Nine hundred attended the District Conference in Southport.

Paraguay in April/May 2003 to what will be an exciting experience, under the leadership of Alan Hepworth (Dronfield). If you know any young executive between the ages of 25 – 40 who could have the necessary time commitment please encourage them to apply through our GSE Officer Paul Withers (Retford).
     We now enter into the next quarter of the Rotary year when many Club activities move into second gear, especially with the Christmas period ahead. May I wish you all a successful period of fund-raising. As we raise the necessary funds to meet our commitments to the local community and the world let us remember our Rotary mission ‘Service Above Self’.
     R I President Bhichai reminds us that we were all invited to join Rotary on the basis of our vocation. When we accepted we were
given the opportunity to use our vocational talents to help those less fortunate. It is also important that we practise high ethical
standards in our business and professional lives. By doing so we ‘Sow the Seeds of Love’ with integrity and character.

John Bendall

TREK PERU 2003
The Original
Inca Trail

     Rotarians in Great Britain and Ireland have supported the Jubilee Sailing Trust (JST) in numerous ways over many years, more recently from the JuST One Drink Campaign to a whole voyage charter. The Campaign, initiated through RIBI Past President Norman Proctor, raised a staggering £153,000 for the UK charity, part of which sponsored the special Rotary Cabin, and the support is continuing.
     The JST promotes the integration between able-bodied and physically disabled people through the unique experience of tall ship sailing. With Rotary’s help, the JST has gone from strength to strength in recent years, enabling over 100 Rotarians and those they sponsored to sail onboard one of our two unique vessels, Lord Nelson and Tenacious. 
     To date the JST has taken over 20,000 voyage crew to sea, of whom nearly 8,000 have been physically disabled including over 3,000 people in wheelchairs. Booking a voyage for your District or Club is a great way to get together with fellow Rotarians in a unique environment where lifelong friendships can be forged. A JST voyage has changed and challenged attitudes towards disability, developed communication and teamwork skills and promoted the opportunity to recognise the strengths that come from diversity.
      Other ways Rotary can help: integrate two peoples’ lives by sponsoring a buddy partnership. Raise funds to enable two people to sail, one able-bodied person and one disabled person. The brochure prices are only 75% of the actual cost per person due to affordability so please help us raise the actual cost. Visiting speakers can be arranged. Why not raise funds to present to your speaker in the form of a donation to the JST? Sponsor our ship’s equipment and maintenance materials by choosing items from our shopping list. Offer your time to help maintain the ships. We particularly need semi-skilled and skilled volunteers to include: carpenters, engineers, electricians, electronics and IT specialists.
     For more information please visit our website at www.jst.org.uk or contact the JST Business Development Team on 023 8044 9138.

Ashbourne
Poetry and Prose

For the second year running, Past Pres. Mike McMurtry organised the Rotary Club of Ashbourne`s Young Writers' Competition. The prizes were awarded at the end of Pres. Peter Oldfield`s year of office. Last year 83 entries were received from six schools and this year it was 173 entries from 11 schools! There were three age groups, 7-10, 11-14, and 15-18 years, each with both a poetry and a prose section. The six winners came from six different schools with the winners and schools gaining cash prizes. An overall winner, Rebecca Waterhouse of Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, was chosen: her piece of prose was entitled "The Christmas Tree" for which she received an additional cash prize. All the runners-up and the highly commended entries received certificates and pens.
     Peter Bishop, Bulletin Editor for the Club he describes as "rejuvenated", reports on various fund-raising projects: an evening on (literally on) the Donington race-park in aid of Gambia and Rwanda; winding up of the foreign currency collection, having realised around £3000; and the on-going spectacles collection for Kenya.

Retford
Helping Deaf Children

The Club welcomed to a meeting David Gadd from the Doncaster School for the Deaf, who came to receive a cheque for £200, reports Bulletin Editor Bob Stockdale. Just under fifty pupils attend the school, which is not maintained by the Local Authority. "The money we have donated will be used to purchase a full set of twenty 'Books without Words' which help to teach children how to express emotions, part of the school's dedication to improving the reading ability of deaf children. Nationally, deaf children leave school at sixteen with the reading ability of a seven to eight year old. This needs to be at least improved to that of a ten year old." At the same meeting Inner Wheel President Elizabeth Wakefield "brought" the new St. John Ambulance which has been partially funded by the Club’s Percy Laws Committee. A Strawberry Fair raised £200 for Rotary Club funds.

Carlton Rides Again!

The Carlton Club and the Borough of Gedling Leukaemia Research Fund held a special presentation evening on 26th September at The Vale Social Club, Colwick, to celebrate the results of this year’s Nottinghamshire Bikeathon. In May, some 310 cyclists enjoyed a new route in Clumber Park where the Club were greatly assisted by the National Trust. Pres. Derek Ringer presented a cheque for £11,000 to Rotn Peter Menhennet, Chairman of the Gedling branch of the Leukaemia Research Fund, which supports research at the Nottingham City Hospital Bone Marrow Unit. A further cheque for £1200 was presented to Carol Freeman, events coordinator of the National Trust. A superb mountain bike was donated by Olympic Cycles, and won by Richard Hoy with Louise Hollingsworth of Cavendish Road, Carlton, who raised the most individual sponsorship, receiving a microlight flight donated by Avondale Garage. The past five annual Bikeathon have raised £80,000, a magnificent sum that could only have been achieved with the help of the Carlton Rotary Club and the brilliant efforts of all the sponsored cyclists that had participated. [Report by Club PRO David Styles]

Derby South
£20,000 to Ivy House School

On 17 September 2002 PP Greg Karayannis and Pres Norman Chapple presented a cheque for £20,000 to Head Teacher Pippa Sillitoe for specialist teaching equipment for Ivy House School in Derby. Ivy House School is a special school, maintained by the Local Authority, which provides education for children with severe learning difficulties, profound multiple learning difficulties and with complex behavioural and learning difficulties. The members of the Derby South Club committed themselves to an ambitious project to accelerate the provision of specialist equipment which will allow the children greater access to independent use of modern teaching and training facilities and will enhance their learning experience. The equipment includes additional specialist switches to permit children with limited mobility to control their own teaching environment, digital cameras to record their progress in both still and video clips, and interactive white boards for each class room to enhance the teaching and learning environment. The Club achieved the £20,000 total cost of the project within two years. [Report & photo by Club PRO Tony Eley]    

Bulwell & Basford
Water aid in action

The Club has helped a VSO volunteer, Leah Carr, reports Pres Chris Ryan. Leah set up a school in Kenya for Special Needs children, but had great difficulty obtaining water supplies free of infection. The nearby Lake Victoria is infested with Bilharzia, and therefore only fit for bathing. "We therefore investigated the possibility of a bore hole, but the water table was 3000 feet down! As a compromise we agreed to go back to basics. Leah was sent £500 and with that purchased a cart, a donkey and several large water containers to collect rainwater. The pupils now have a secure source of water, some collected by cart from a well several miles away, some collected as rainwater; to such an extent that they now sell a little water to neighbouring villages. I think that demonstrates all the requirements of water aid in Rotary, don't you?" [Bilharzia – a disease marked especially by blood loss and tissue damage – Ed]

Keyworth & Ruddington
Biking to Southport

 President Tony Stimpson accompanied by Club member Maurice Deaton cycled from Scarborough to Southport to mark the District Conference. The 150 mile ride was completed in three stages and they were supported by backup man in a van, PP Geoff Thornton. Sponsorship targeted at £50 per member was committed to the Air Ambulance and Rotary Polio Eradication. The ride was dedicated to the memory of Alan Pears, the Club's Paul Harris Fellow, who sadly died on 18th August 2002. The annual musical evening at the British Geological Survey, Keyworth, will be a music hall and variety show with Victorian Follies. These events have become very popular and contribute over £2000 to the Club's fund raising efforts. Another traditional event will be brighter than ever this year as Santa's sleigh was completely refurbished this Summer by willing volunteers. The local communities eagerly welcome its outings in December. [Report by Roy Pownall]

Hope Valley
Backing Ambulance Appeal

 The Club is backing Derbyshire St John Ambulance’s appeal to buy a fleet of new state-of-the-art ambulances. Pres Karina Guarino has chosen the Appeal as her principal charity for this year. Hope Valley St John Ambulance Division has been selected as the base for one of seven new multi-purpose ambulances, as part of a £300,000 fund-raising campaign by Derbyshire St John Ambulance. Karina is already planning two big events in aid of the ambulance appeal: a dinner dance in November, and a huge It’s a Knockout event in May next year. Anyone who thinks they can organise a fund-raising event, or who wants to make a donation, should contact Ruth Stone at the SJA Chesterfield county headquarters on 01246-200272. Over £2000 was raised at the Club's annual car show in aid of Hope and Homes for Children, Hathersage Scouts and other charities.

West Bridgford
Hands of help across the sea

     Responding to an e-mail from the RC of Swadlincote asking for assistance to collect four defibrillators from Wales, President Jim Silver of the RC of West Bridgford, travelled to Llanfairfechan to collect the heart start equipment. Two defibrillators will be going to equip ambulances in South Africa, the remaining two going to Belarus and Argentina respectively. Rotn Bob Harvey from the RC of Swadlincote provides the link with the RC of Kirstenbosch in South Africa. Jim said he was very pleased to have been a small link in the international Rotary chain, the results of which will help to save many lives. 

     A charity golf day, run by the Club jointly with the Radcliffe-on-Trent Golf Club, raised almost £4400 for the Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham, to buy blood pressure and temperature measuring equipment. The Club has presented DARE tee-shirts to 106 pupils of local primary schools. [Report and photo by Charles Tyrie]

Melbourne
50 Year Celebration

    Having notched up 50 years in September, the Club, under its President Geoffrey Fry, is planning a big celebration. This will be their Charter Night on March 22nd 2003 and will be held at Pride Park, Derby. Pres Geoffrey is inviting past members, wherever they may be, to attend. Among the many projects the Club's 36 members have supported or organised in recent years are Life Education, Melbourne Fete & Carnival, Water Wings trips for the elderly and infirm, Senior Citizens' Centre and a children's music competition.

Ripley
Walking the Midshire Way

     Pres Peter Lord has accomplished his objective of walking the Midshire Way to raise money for the Prince's Trust and local charities on behalf of Rotary International. Peter made the walk, some 225 miles, accompanied all the way by his wife Rosie. He was joined at different stages by members of local Rotary Clubs. The walk, which took him 14 days, was organised by the RC of Ripley and it is hoped that the money raised should reach over £4000. Anyone who wishes to donate money or has sponsored the walk should contact Rotn Ken Blood on 01332- 840879.[Report and photo by Stuart Rice, Club Community & Fund-raising Chairman]

Bakewell
Ninety Golfers

     The Club raised around £2600 at its seventh annual charity golf competition at the Bakewell Golf Club in September. Over 90 golfers in 23 teams competed for the Robinson Trophy. Early this year the Bakewell Golf Club made major alterations to the course with new tees at seven holes. All teams found this a greater challenge and only one team broke the 80 point barrier. Significantly, this was a team from Bakewell Golf Club! The second prizes went to the Baslow Insurance team and the third to the Peak Advertiser team, both with 79 points. Rotary Club President John Saynor presented a cheque for £1000 from the proceeds to Caroline Hoare from the Rainbow Children's Hospice in Loughborough who care for sick children from the Midlands region. Another £ 300 will be given to the Hospice and the balance will be distributed by Rotary to deserving causes. The main sponsor of the tournament was the Derbyshire Building Society. There were 19 tee sponsors, four team prize donors and over 30 cash donations and raffle prizes. With Caroline Hoare are (l to r) Rotn John Robinson, Pres John Saynor and Rotn Phil Newell. West Bridgford Ripley Bakewell

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