Winchester is one of the largest, oldest and most diverse Rotary

Clubs in the South with a turnover of some £50,000. With ninety

men and women members from a wide variety of professional

backgrounds, it provides support for organisations in and

around Winchester as well as good causes overseas.

WINCHESTER ROTARY

Annual Report 2013-14

A YEAR OF WORKING WITH WINCHESTER AND THE WIDER WORLD

Highlight of the year was raising £1,500 as a major contribution

to the memorial to the two million men who passed through

Morn Hill Camp during WWI. The campaign to Honour a

Promise was lead by Deputy Lieutenant Brig. David Harrison. A

production based on diaries, archive photographs and topical

songs told the stories of local families who Did Their Bit. The

demand for seats lead to a third performance which also raised

money for the forces charity SSAFA.

Ernest Vickers, born in Morn Hill Camp in 1920, at the memorial outside The Great Hall, Winchester

Swimathon 2014 Recording local events

WORKING WITH WINCHESTER

Stroke Club

Reminiscence Group

Carol Singing

Winchester University

Our biggest event was the Clarendon Way Marathon which we

organised with the Rotary Club of Salisbury for a second year. The

turnover was £35,000 which, after costs, generated some £20,000 for

charities. Over 1,000 runners took part. The event was only made

possible through the help of 250 volunteers on the day.

The annual Swimathon took place in Winchester College

Swimming Pool on April 12. A total of 82 swimmers took part and

between them swam 3533 lengths (25 metre) which equates to

almost 55 miles! £6,000 was raised for many charities.

Links with the Royal Hampshire County Hospital have been

strengthened with the addition of the WOW awards won by Julie

Adams who manages the chemotherapy ward. The Nursing Award

in June was won by Victoria Ward managed by Carla Jacobs. This

strengthens the link with the League of Friends chaired by a Rotarian

and with Hospital Radio which is managed by another Winchester

Rotary Member.

Winchester Rotary is proud of its close links to the Mayoralty in the

city with three former Mayors as members. Last year’s Mayor -

Ernie Jeffs – attended many Rotary events including ‘Kids Out’ and

the ‘Senior Citizens Party’. Winchester City Council organised a

cycle fest and Criterium with Rotary support offering safety tests for

young cyclists and helping to marshal the race through the city’s

streets.

Relations with the University of Winchester continue to mature

with the Pro-Vice chancellor as a member of the club. Rotary

provided speakers again for the Common Purpose Front Runner

course which last year was the first step in establishing Rotaract at

the University. Their Hub manager Lucy Walsh was one of the lunch

time speakers.

The needs of our ageing society were recognised with the support

offered to the Stroke Club, now in its 26th year, the Reminiscence

Group organised by the Alzheimer’s Society and the Senior

Citizens Party organised annually by Rotary with the invaluable

help from Members of Inner Wheel who provide a fabulous tea at

the Itchen Abbas Village Hall.

Winter would not be the same without the Round Table Fireworks

which Rotary supports, Carol Singing at the Buttercross over three

days and a Christmas Dinner at the Officers Mess of the Worthy

Down Garrison.

The Environmental issues have been focused on the Hampshire and

Isle of Wight Wild Life Trust ‘Cool Rivers’ project with the

management of the banks of the river Itchen.

Senior Citizens Party

Cool Rivers Project

Worthy Down Garrison

Hospital Nursing Award

‘Celebration of Youth’

Organised every three years, this event at the Theatre Royal

recognises the talent of the Young People of Winchester.

The Osborne School 'Rubicks Cube' Band stole the show from the

first moment. Dance, song and drama made a memorable evening

which was compared by talented magician Ben Hart with style and

humour. £1,000 was raised for ‘Advocates for Children’.

Specialist Musicians

Helping in Uganda

Ben Hart

Our support for Peter

Symonds College continues

both for their geography and

music departments. Twenty

four students were helped with

their annual work with two

villages in the Embabazi

project in south-west Uganda.

Three summer lunchtime

recitals at Peter Symonds

College were sponsored for

the Specialist Music Group,

who also performed a

concert to a full audience in

their Recital Room.

Rotary also works with secondary school students.

Mock interviews were conducted for a second year

with 10 and 11 Year pupils at The Henry Beaufort

School. Fourteen Rotarians and four co-opted friends

interviewed 120 students who got the opportunity to

talk about their futures with someone other than a

parent or teacher.

District Events

Winchester is one of 78 clubs in the Wessex District

of Rotary. They organise a number of larger scale

events, such as Kids Out where some 1,300 children

with special educational needs are escorted to

Paulton’s Park. Winchester took pupils from Osborne

School with help from Rotaract for a day that –

untypically – was not interrupted by rain!

493 Shoeboxes were collected in 2013 as

Winchester’s contribution to the District appeal which

resulted in some 25,000 boxes being sent to: Albania,

Montenegro, and Moldova. The Philippines have

been added to the recipient countries for shoeboxes in

the wake of their devastating hurricane.

Four teams were entered for the District Debating

competition - Youth Speaks which was held at The

Henry Beaufort School in Round 1. Two teams

performed well in Round 2, held at St. Swithun’s

School, but did not qualify for the semi-finals.

Winchester Young Carers, who give invaluable

support to family members, were given a day sailing

with three yachts, skippered by Rotarians, taking

them across to the Isle of Wight.

Support for the Winchester Goalball, which grew

out of the 2012 Olympics, continues helping the

teams flourish and are organised into novice,

intermediate and elite groups. Adam Knott, founding

UK player, spoke brilliantly at the Rotary District

Conference in Plymouth.

The Georgia Scholarship programme offers a GAP

year experience at an American university. We were

delighted that two Peter Symonds students were

selected in the face of fierce competition across

Europe.

CHANCES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

Shoebox Scheme

Winchester Goalball

Youth Speaks

Kids Out

Georgia Scholars

Young Carers Sailing

Mock Interviews

ShelterBox – in action

School Books - Uganda

Aquabox in action

Jane Walker - Philippines

Rotary working with the World Health Organisation and the

Bill Gates Foundation is still striving to eliminate polio

through mass immunisation – a project close to the heart of

President Elect Gill Russell who is herself a polio survivor.

The situation in Syria has caused a setback with new cases

appearing in the chaos of that country.

The devastating hurricane in the Philippines triggered a

massive response through the appeal for ShelterBoxes.

They cost £600 each and can house and cater for twelve

people. In addition to the necessities like a stove and

cooking pots is a bag of children’s toys. It was gratifying

that 11 ShelterBoxes and 6 Aquaboxes were bought by

public donations and individual gifts, which included one

bought by Venture Scout Alex King from money that he

had raised.

The club’s major project is the continuing support for schools in the Kasese

District of Uganda - International Rotary Global Grant 1415765. ‘Books

For Schools’ in the Kasese District Uganda is a two year project with 22

primary schools who will have books, libraries and trained teachers in basic

literacy by December 2015. It also saw the first sponsorship of a Vocational

Training Team of six expert educationalists working intensively with those

schools for a month and half in the Spring.

A grand total of $56,970 dollars was raised through a Global Grant under

Future Vision – another District first. Winchester’s initial $8,026, which

included a legacy, was augmented by donations from our twin clubs

Oberhausen, Le Havre & Calcutta, with further help from Jersey Rotary and

Kasese Rotary, Uganda itself. This triggered a matching grant of $23,750.

WORK IN THE WIDER WORLD

John Eade is the first Winchester Rotarian to be District Governor

since the 1960s. As District Governor Elect, he attended the RI

Assembly in San Diego and set himself the aim of visiting all 78

clubs in the district which includes five in the Channel Islands and

eight on the Isle of Wight. He felt it was the right of each club to

expect it and the only way that he could judge the state of each club

and the feelings of its members. A car and driver were provided by

Winchester for the many visits he undertook.

The District Conference at Plymouth saw as many as forty

Winchester Rotarians involved and some Winchester projects being

highlighted which included the club’s long standing support of

‘Wells for India’, the ‘Winchester Street Pastors’ and a

presentation and open discussion on Membership, which has been a

high priority for Winchester. John Eade is pictured right addressing

Conference.

During the year John sent out 120 letters of welcome to new

members. He has been involved in on-going discussions about

recruitment, the need to attract younger members and – despite

potential opposition – to consider change which is a potential key to

survival.

Though many Rotarians give their allegiance to their club rather than

the district, there is a recognition that much of what Rotary achieves

is done on a bigger scale than a single club can manage. He is quick

to remind Rotarians that those that undertake District roles are, at the

end of the day, ordinary members of their own clubs and all

volunteers to boot.

In 2013-14 John also attended the Rotary International Convention

in Lisbon and the Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland

Conference in Birmingham.

Tripartite links

Ambassadorial Scholar

Wells for India

District Conference

Street Pastors

Membership Discussion

Lisbon Convention

DISTRICT GOVERNOR’S YEAR

Links with the Philippines have been close. Jane Walker, British

founder of the Philippine Community Fund, spoke at a joint meeting

with Inner Wheel in July 2013.

In support of Rotary International’s campaign the ‘End Polio Now’

collection raised over £400 - which with Gift Aid reached to £500.

Oberhausen Rotary was this year’s hosts for the Tripartite weekend

in May which was held in historic Munster. Winchester will host

Oberhausen and Le Havre Rotary in 2015.

Adam Leemans, a most impressive Ambassadorial Scholar from

West Point, United States, has been studying at Southampton

University and made a presentation to Winchester Rotary. The

Youth Exchange scheme saw the return of Catherine Huntingdon

from Pennsylvania to Winchester after twenty years.

End Polio Now Collection

WINCHESTER ROTARACT

rotaryinwinchester@gmail.com winchesterrotary.ning.com winchesterrotaract.co.uk

Luke Addison - Winchester Rotaract's founder

President - with Archbishop Desmond Tutu at

‘PeaceJam’ for which Luke is now working.

We are proud to have set up a Rotaract Club at the University

strengthening our links with the latter even further. Rotaract is a service

organisation for young people aged 18-30 run along similar lines to Rotary

although a little more informal. They were formed at the beginning of the

academic year and comprise 30 or so mainly from the University but some

from the local Community who were formally chartered at the end of

November. They have assisted Rotary in a number of their projects- End

Polio Now, Cyclefest, Marathon, Carol Singing, Fireworks and Kids Out

as well as set up their own "Backpack Project" to assist the Homeless in

Winchester. They have also been involved with the Education Uganda

Project and are twinned with the Rotaract Club of Kasese".