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Tag: The Centre

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Development for the Community

Bob Foster and Kim Gallagher came to see us this week to tell us all about the Swanage and Purbeck Development Trust.

The Trust was born out of an urgent need for community support arising from decisions made by the former Dorset County Council to withdraw support for urgently needed community facilities. It is an umbrella organisation that co-ordinates and support initiatives aimed at improving local amenities for the benefit of the area.

Kim and Bob went into more detail about some of the initiatives that had already taken place. Most notable is The Centre which has taken over the building formerly used by the youth club, refurbished it and made it somewhere that people want to visit and use again.

There are new projects in the pipeline, including the refurbishment of Herston Village Hall, which needs new insulation and repairs to its roof to make it somewhere that the community can get much more use from. The largest project, however, is the plan to upgrade Swanage Football Club and rebuild the clubhouse to make it a multi-purpose facility that the whole community can benefit from. This is a £10 million project but plans are already well advanced and it is hoped that they will be able to apply for grants to contribute to the costs.

Bob is a former member of Swanage and Purbeck Rotary and Kim is a long time supporter and friend who received a Paul Harris Fellowship a couple of years ago. We were delighted to welcome them both back to the club and on behalf of the club Maggie Hardy proposed a vote of thanks for their most informative presentation.

More details about the Swanage and Purbeck Development Trust are available via this link.

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Fundraising Success!

Club members gathered with organisations who have been supported by Swanage Rotary, and organisations that have supported the club’s activities, on 13th June to commemorate another successful year of fundraising, with almost £21,000 raised up to the end of April 2018.

Over 65 people, including Swanage Town Mayor Mike Bonfield, crammed in to Swanage Conservative Club to enjoy a sumptuous buffet laid on by Rotarians Sue Whitton and David Pike.

This was followed by an on-screen presentation highlighting the events and activities of the year, including the Summer Fête, Santa Sleigh, Christmas Market, Young Musician and Young Chef competitions, Swanage Walks and the Purbeck Pirate Festival amongst many others. Even the ‘Beast from the East’ got a mention!

While a significant amount of our fundraising has already been distributed, we were able to present a number of cheques on the night amounting to over £4,000 to Swanage Foodbank, Barry Audley on behalf of Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance, Swanage & Purbeck Development Trust aka The Centre and Admiral Nurses.

                    

We were also proud to be able to award a Paul Harris Fellowship to Kim Gallagher for her sterling efforts over many years to The Centre in particular and the youth of Swanage in general.

During the evening, Rotarian Hubert Pierce was presented with a certificate marking 50 years as a Rotarian.

The night concluded with a networking opportunity for those present to find out more about the various activities that Rotary is involved in, amongst which are Foundation, Community and International.

All agreed it was a most successful evening and a good showcase for Rotary’s contribution to the community

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Local D & E Group Going from Strength to Strength

Rotarian Jenny Hynan reports on a local success story that’s helping to develop the skills of young people.

I visited the D of E meeting last Tuesday and presented a cheque for £500 to Dave Pratten and Pete Meteau the leaders.

Usually they meet twice per month at the Swanage Youth Hostel but at the moment, due to refurbishment there, they are meeting at The Centre.

The theme of these evenings is to prepare the youngsters for the expedition part of the D of E Award by giving training in survival, food nutrition and cooking for the gruelling conditions that they will need to encounter for their expeditions, which are part of the D of E Award. Guidance is also given to the youngsters on the other parts of the award, such as life skills, community service etc.

Swanage Rotary has been sponsoring the D of E Group in Swanage since their formation three years ago and had previously sponsored the D of E at Carey in Wareham, where Swanage youngsters would attend together with youngsters from the Wareham Area.

The D of E in Swanage has grown and grown with a full list of 40 youngsters on their books undertaking Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards. Last Tuesday there were 33 youngsters attending with at least 6 leaders and helpers.