Londonderry Club Welcome
A highly successful fraternal vist to the Rotary Club of Londonderry was enjoyed Monday 4 March by the 17 members, Mabel Baird and Norma Millington who set off on the 10.30 bus to Londonderry.
President Gavin Killeen welcomed all, expressed how delighted they were by the visit from their parent Club and Presidents Gavin and Alan exchanged banners.
Full report can be read here.
Guide Dog Chaz steals the show
Guide Dog Chaz was the star of the day when Orrlene McMillan (seated right) from Guide Dogs for the Blind and his mistress Elaine addressed the Club at the Club meeting Monday 27 February 2013. He was totally unfazed by flashing cameras and Rotarians' attention/petting being utterly relaxed throughout even yawning! They are pictured here with from left PP Derek Baxter, President Elect Ken Morrison and PP Brian Ferguson. Click on images to enlarge.Happy 108th Birthday Rotary International
Rotary began as an idea 108 years ago today marking the start of an incredible journey for an organisation that has become one of the largest humanitarian driving forces in the world.The Lord Mayor of Belfast addresses the Club
Honorary member Alderman Gavin Robinson, Lord Mayor of Belfast, at Monday's meeting 11 February gave an excellent account of the events of his year in office and his hopes for the future. New Evening Meetings
The Club has initiated a new meeting time and format once a month at 6.00pm on a Thursday evening in the Europa Hotel and the first of these evening meetings was held Thursday 07 February.Bill Gates praises Rotary International
Bill Gates delivering this year's Richard Dimbleby lecture described the battle to eradicate polio as one of the most difficult tasks the world has ever faced and revealed the fight against the disease was the project he dedicated most of his time to and praised the work of Rotary International.
He said:"We are working to wipe the virus off the face of the earth, and we have almost succeeded... Stopping the last cases of polio in these last countries is among the most difficult tasks the world has ever assigned itself. But it is also among the most important...But the virus is stubborn and it is also much harder than I expected...Vaccines are a miracle tool. They prevent disease from striking, which is better than treating it after the fact. They are also relatively cheap and easy to deliver. However, millions and millions of children don't get them. This is still stunning to me..."
New Milestone for Polio Eradication
Not only have there been no new cases of Polio in India for a 2nd full year (previously it was an endemic country) but also so far this year - up to 23 January 2013 - NO CASES AT ALL have been recorded by the monitoring teams.Club responds to ShelterBox Appeal
The Club are forwarding £1,250 collected during the Christmas Charity collections (more here...) in response to ShelterBox advice that there is a critical need to help those affected by the current Syrian crisis and a request for funds now to meet the tremendous need which is so apparent.. This donation, at current rates of £590 per box, will supply 2 ShelterBox tents providing shelter for 20 people.FASA's Seeing is Believing
VP Ken Morrison was invited to the 'Seeing is Believing' conference on Wednesday 16 January 2013 hosted by FASA for a wide number of organisations who focus on drug and alcohol abuse and suicide awareness. This extremely professionally organised conference showcased how FASA have developed in the past 17 years and the range of bespoke services they now offer to the community. (Click on images to enlarge)
Have you an old bike in a shed or garage?
The Club as arking for donations of secondhand bicycles for the bikes4Africa programme. bikes4Africa is the flagship programme of the charity Jole Rider and aims to refurbish and deliver to Africa life-changing second-hand bikes for children and young people.
Almost everyone has one or more unused bikes in their garage or shed. These can, if shipped to Africa, change a child’s life permanently! Every bike delivered not only gets a child to school, but affects the lives of as many as 9 others, including school peers and family members.
