Rotary Club – fun, fundraising and making a difference to the local community

WESTBURY Rotary Club is reflecting on the ‘pandemic that was’ and is looking forward to the months ahead – appealing for new members to support their community efforts. 

The club reports, “As with many clubs and organisations, the Rotary Club of Westbury has adapted to having meetings online, and over the past year we have managed to continue with our objectives of having fun, fundraising and maintaining friendships.  

“The Club president, David Pike, for the Rotary year 2020/21 set up weekly online meetings for the members, some were structured to talk about fundraising activities that we could do, and these resulted in a variety of quizzes and a bingo evening online that raised funds, but also, in between lockdowns we managed to fit in a whisky tasting evening and taking part at a car boot sale.   

“In the community we planted some more crocus bulbs; helped at the White Horse Surgery with Covid vaccine marshalling and a litter pick around the White Horse. 

“And just for fun, we had our Christmas party which included a pantomime, and a Murder Mystery evening where we dressed up as cowboys. We also had a couple of speaker evenings where we heard from the Caen Hill Countryside Centre; The White Horse project and Chippenham Rotary’s Well Boring activities in Kenya. 

“Going forward, we are hoping that our regular events including the Imber Ultra Marathon next March, and the International Cuisine evening in November can take place; please see our website and Facebook page for more information.   

“The club president for 2020/21, Julian Sandoe, has launched a photography competition for ‘Westbury in the Year 2021’ to document Westbury over the course of the year.  More details for this are also on our website, please search for Westbury Rotary Club via your search engine. 

“As President Julian Sandoe says, ‘I am really looking forward to the world reopening, there are lots of things that we will be able to do, but we could do with a bit of help. With more members we could achieve even more in Westbury, supporting more activities, arranging more events and making a difference – would YOU like to join us?’ 

“If you would like to find out a bit more, or join us for one of our meetings, please contact Stan Wilson: stankwilson@aol.co.uk.”