ROTARY ROUND-UP: Father Christmas helps out

Things are busy around the town and in the local shops with everyone getting ready for Christmas.

And Father Christmas is very busy round and about too – have you spotted him around the town, in local supermarkets and lots of places?

We were pleased that he joined the town’s other two Rotary clubs and town crier Bob Smytherman, who was in fine voice, for some carol singing in Montague Street.

Club members and our “little helpers” hope both of them, beautifully turned out, may be able to join our club members, sleigh and carollers when we go around local streets to say hello to folk and wish everyone seasons greetings.

Please watch out for and listen up for us and come out and say Hi.

Looking further afield, on Monday a lorry set off from Preston, Lancashire, loaded with 13,600 Rotary Shoebox gifts for the children and families of Odessa and Kiev in Ukraine.

A similar load will shortly set off for north-east Romania and Moldova.

This was another very impressive effort by all Rotarians to show practical work and contribution that the scheme generates

For more information visit www.rotaryshoebox.org/christmas-news

Next year Rotarians have a special celebration.

From mere seeds of ideas presented to our members, huge events and projects can transpire.

One special idea started was to have a fund for the eventual use in humanitarian aid and doing well.

Today, a hundred years later, The Rotary Foundation has a fund of over $1billion for projects around the world.

Many areas of the world are better places because of help from The Rotary Foundation and Foundation Rotary clubs.

The most far-reaching and successful Foundation programme over many years is the PolioPlus project, usually referred to as ‘End Polio Now.’

In 1988 the Global Polio Eradication Initiative was launched.

This included Unicef, the World Health Organisation, and the Campaign for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation joined the group some time later.

In 1988 polio was present in 125 countries and paralysing 350,000 young children annually.

The Foundation achieved huge results; polio cases this year are just 28.

In 2017 we plan to do great things too – why not come along and tell us about your ideas or join in.

Come to the Rotary Club of Worthing Steyne at the Ardington Hotel, Worthing, where we meet on Mondays – call 07788 638757.

We will all be pleased to see you and hear from you. Hope to see you soon.

In the meanwhile, our best wishes for Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

Details of Worthing’s three Rotary clubs are:

• Worthing Rotary Club meets Monday, 12.55pm, at the Chatsworth Hotel, in The Steyne, Worthing, 01903 209564.

• West Worthing Rotary Club meets Tuesday evening at Tudor Close, Ferring, 01903 501961.

• Worthing Steyne Rotary Club meets Monday evening at The Ardington Hotel, in Steyne Gardens, Worthing, 01903 234957.

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