Julia’s House Archives - Swanage and Purbeck Rotary

President Steve was delighted to welcome Martin Edwards, CEO of Julia’s House, to our latest meeting. The charity is the Presidential Charity for this Rotary year and the President is keen to do as much as possible to raise valuable funds for such a worthy cause.

In front of almost 30 members and guests, Martin gave a most innovative and interactive presentation, starting by handing out leaflets with different numbers on them. He then invited members, one by one, to call out the numbers, each of which was linked to a key fact about Julia’s House and the work that it undertakes.

It was an excellent way of getting everyone present to gain a thorough understanding of the charity. It also brought into sharp focus the challenges that the charity faces, some of which illustrate just how hard those who work for it have to work to continue to provide their services. Examples included:

that the charity only receives 5% of its funding from Government and is one of the least publically funded charities in the country;
that the vast majority of the people who work there are volunteers;
that if the rate of referrals in recent years continues at the same rate for the next 4 years numbers requiring their help will increase by 40%;
that their expenditure in the last 12 months has exceeded their income.

On behalf of the club, President Steve thanked Martin for sparing some of his valuable time to come and see us and asked the club to show their appreciation in the usual way.

More details about Julia’s House can be found on their website.

The well-reported problems with the ferry proved no concern for the annual Swanage & Purbeck Rotary Summer Fête, supported by our Business Partners, as crowds flocked to Sandpit Field to see the numerous stalls, entertainment and activities on offer.

From our major charity for this year Julia’s House and other local charities and good causes, to the ‘Boutique in a Bus’, there was a multitude of things to see and do. In the craft tent, there was a wide variety of stalls selling jewellery, clothing, works of art and other crafts. As ever, the refreshment tent, selling sandwiches, ploughman’s lunches, tea, coffee and cakes, proved very popular as did the barbeque which had a steady queue for burgers, sausages, bacon baps and, new this year, Portobello mushrooms.

There was no shortage of entertainment either. Curley the Busker started proceedings with a couple of sets incorporating 50’s, 60’s and 70’s classics, following which Kevin Burke did his magic show to an enthusiastic reception from the gathered crowd. Jurassic Rock and Roll, all musicians local to the area, rocked the field in the early afternoon and Karen G completed the line up with a selection of familiar and classic tunes.

Later in the morning, the Novelty Dog Show was a very competitive affair with winners claiming prizes for titles including prettiest bitch and waggiest tail and in the afternoon, the children’s games took place with several competitions keeping the children active and entertained.

Towards the end of the afternoon, the Grand Draw took place, with more than twenty prizes, nearly all of which were kindly donated by local people and organisations, being handed out to the lucky winners.

The weather just about held for the event and Club President Steve Parsons thanked everyone for coming and supporting the event and the Grand Draw, all the proceeds from which will provide valuable funds for many local good causes. More photographs from the day are available on our Facebook page.

Next year’s event will take place on Thursday 6th August 2020. Make sure it’s in your diary!

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