Our Adventure In Southampton

As an e-club our membership is spread all over the district and several of our members actually live outside of 1070. One of our newest members, Lynn Dow, hails from Southampton. After Lynn came up to Towcester to help with the maintenance of our wildflower meadow and, at the same time, experience one of our famous ‘sausage sizzles’, she decided that she would like to arrange a similar fundraising event in her home town of Southampton. 

As a club we were keen to support her. A group of eight of our members travelled all the way to Southampton for a weekend to run a ‘Sausage Sizzle’ at the Hedge End Shopping Centre. 

Sainsbury’s and Marks and Spencer were generous in their support, donating sausages and bread for the event and we raised £465 for two local charities, One Community and The Rainbow Centre and other Rotary supported causes. 

We met many local people including some Southampton Rotarians who were very interested in our set-up. We also had some very colourful and entertaining customers who were on their way to the nearby cricket ground to watch Hampshire dressed as fruit! 

As a group we had a great weekend of hard work, fun and fellowship.

We look forward to our next ‘Sausage Sizzle’ at Weston Favell Shopping Centre, Northampton on 4th and 5th of December. 

If you are in the area, please come and support us. It’s great fun and the sausages are very tasty! If you want help to run a sausage sizzle for your own club, we’d be very happy to help.

Annette Borner –Club president

The Results Are In...

Thank you to everyone that has supported this year’s virtual duck race. We have raised hundreds of pounds all proceeds are going to the Samaritans and other Rotary supported causes.

Winners will be notified by email with instructions of how to claim your prizes.

Thank you once again to everyone that has supported this event and helped us raise much needed funds for the Samaritans and other local causes.

Lending a hand at KGPS

This morning we spent a few hours making a big difference at Kingsthorpe Grove Primary School. They have a Designated Special Provision (DSP) that provides great quality personalised education for 28 children that have autism. School budgets are extremely tight and the teachers wanted to improve the provision that they are able to offer, so we helped them out.

They had a room that they wanted to repurpose into a sensory learning experience. We created a blackboard, a table with cups for storing pencils, a mirrored wall, a table to be used with sand, water or other materials and a Duplo table.

In a classroom that is having different children next year, we put doors on their learning spaces so they have less distractions.

While we were there we also serviced their bikes that they had in storage. Unfortunately most of them are unserviceable so the school will have to look at getting some new ones.

If this is a project that you would like to help with in the future then please do not hesitate to contact us.

Virtual Duck Race 2021

This year the Rotary e-club of District 1070 and Northampton Rotary Club will be working together to hold the duck race. Unfortunately it will be without spectators but that is not going to stop us. Instead we have 1,290 ducks that are ready to race, virtually, for you. By sponsoring a duck, you will not only be helping the Samaritans but also be in for a chance to win a CASH prize.*

The first five ducks in each heat, and the first five winners in the final will receive a CASH prize.

Sponsorship is £5 per duck. Monies raised will be donated to The Samaritans (Northampton Branch) and for use of both Rotary Club’s benevolent funds in supporting local charities; such as food banks, vulnerable children and other worthy causes.

Once you have sponsored a duck you will receive an email within 48 hours informing you of your duck’s number or numbers depending on how many you sponsor.

Due to popular demand you have until midnight on October 1st to sponsor a duck. Once the ducks are sponsored, races will be ran, recorded on video then played on our website and Facebook pages so that all sponsors can see the results. Winners will be contacted via email and prizes will then be sent to them.

All monies raised will go to the Samaritans and other local causes.

The Samaritans are waiting for calls from those that need it. Whatever someone is going through, a Samaritan will face it with them. They are there 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Here is how your duck sponsorship could be used:

£24 could help train and support our current volunteers to answer calls for help via online chat

£41.67 could keep the Samaritans’ helpline open for 5 minutes, ensuring there is always someone to listen when a person who’s struggling finds the courage to contact them

£75 could help them respond to 15 calls for help through their online chat service

£96 could support a Samaritans volunteer over the next year as they answer calls for help through their online chat service, from people in distress who will only open up in this way

£200 could help recruit and train a brand-new volunteer who will be essential to making online chat available 24/7, every day of the year, alongside their phone and email services

For further information or support please visit:

www.samaritans.org

*prize amounts are dependent of the amount of ducks sold.

Club Face Masks

Within our club we have the ability to produce masks that not only keep our members safe but also promote our club. We used our initiative and turned this into a project. We are now producing face masks for other clubs too.

Some of the masks we have done so far for other clubs.

Not in our District? Not a problem we can send your mask WORLDWIDE.

Profits from this project will be donated to Rotary Foundation.

Smile International Presentation

Tonight we were joined by Clive Doubleday who talked to us about how he and his family created Smile International.

We learned about how over the years they have made a remarkable difference to millions of lives throughout India, Kosovo, Zimbabwe and Uganda. They started by taking things to these countries however they now focus on sponsorship projects that source items from local economies where they can.

There are many ways that people can support this charity by

• sponsoring a child - for .83p a day a child will receive an education, regular food, health check-ups and much more

• sponsor a widow - .66p a day can help transform their lives through education and much more.

bike2give Update

As you are aware we had to postpone our 2020 bike2give challenge and it looks like this year too will be impacted by the pandemic!

We have already raised so much money that we want to give to the charities so we are reinventing the challenge - the Rotary e-club of District 1070 Rotarians will complete the distance VIRTUALLY. 

Between the 11 of us, and any friends that would like to join us,  we will aim to travel the 4,169 miles that our riders would have completed in the bike2give 2020 challenge. 

We will use Strava to clock up our miles.  We will use any means necessary such as in home machines and our permitted allowed exercise outside. 

Once we have reached our goal we will release our donations to the charities.

It is not too late to share your support by donating to our challenge please do so here:

The Chase Is Over!

This year’s Wild Goose Chase has finished. Despite being in the middle of a global pandemic we still managed to race around (sometimes only within our houses) to complete our missions.

Here are some of our best bits.

The winners this year were the BLUE TEAM, congratulations to them. They racked up a whopping 6,700 points.

Using this free app has allowed us to stay connected and have fun.

I am sure that we will play again next year. If you fancy taking part next year July -September just let us know.

Wild Goose Chase is back!

Each year during the summer our club participates in this challenge. It uses the app Goose Chase and allows us to stay connected, complete service and have fun no matter where the summer takes our members.

This year we have two teams; The Blue Team and the Yellow Team. Each member has been put into a team. All you need is a smart phone and you can join in too. Each team can add members so if you would like to play along with us this year just let us know and we will send you an invite.

Here are a few challenges from last year:

This year we will obviously have to think very carefully about what challenges we have with the risk of Covid-19 being everywhere. We will remember to wash our hands regularly and socially distance.

Our hotel is open!

The e-Club’s wildflower meadow has recently been furnished with a three-story hotel – a bug hotel that is.

The bug hotel was designed and built by some of the pupils of Nicholas Hawksmoor Primary School and on Tuesday 14 July they assembled it in a nice quiet place. 

The wildflower meadow is still flourishing with new flowers appearing all the time such as the wild carrot shown here.

Winning design.

The children also had a bug hotel design competition run by the E-Club.  The designs were brilliant.  The winning entry shown won a bird box to put up at home and all the others received a certificate.

The wildflower meadow is as popular as ever with people taking photos of the different flowers and the bees and bugs living within it.  The meadow has made a huge impact on the people of Towcester and the surrounding villages.  The E-Club recently received a letter from a member of the community that said;

“I just wanted to thank you for the wildflower meadow, which has brought me and my family great joy over these difficult months. I have watched it develop from the grassy patch it was to the beautiful array of flowers, constantly changing, that it has become! Such an improvement!!A big “thank you” to those who had the idea, those who facilitated it, those who funded it, those who designed it, and those who did the hard physical work! It was well worth it. It is a very significant addition to the attractor the town - thank you again.”

Currently we have a temporary sign that has already been ‘moved’ and are therefor fundraising to erect a permanent sign. If you would like to contribute to this and the upkeep of the Wildflower Meadow then please click the link below:

https://www.totalgiving.co.uk/appeal/wildflowermeadow

Once the flowers have finished the meadow will be cut down and the area tidied up ready for the flowers to return next year.

Fan-Tastic Rotary E-Club of District 1070 Scrubs Up well for our NHS

Members from the Rotary E-Club of District 1070 have been using their time in lockdown to create Scrub-Hubs.  Enthusiastic sewing volunteers across Northampton, Kettering, Newport Pagnell and Coventry produced 83 sets of NHS approved scrubs, laundry bags. headbands and crochet face mask extenders for NHS and other frontline key-workers. 

With a Rotary District Grant and donated funds, President Rotarian Angela Woods set about securing fabric and getting the patterns cut and ready.  Members, and other helpers wanting to support our frontline workers, went into action, sewing up scrub sets.  Club President Angela Woods said “as an E-Club we have the flexibility to offer our membership to anyone in the South East Midlands. Meeting weekly on-line means the Coronavirus has not affected our ability to continue the good work Rotary does through our Club members and volunteers. The response to the scrubs project has been amazing.”  She went on to say “people from all walks of life often want to volunteer but time and location can be a problem.  Our Rotary E-Club offers a modern way, with a traditional organisation backing ordinary people who want to give something back to their communities.”  If you’d like to join us let us know.

The Rotary E-Club certainly embraces diversity and innovation.  One member who had been poorly with Covid-19 deciding to organise a "village scrub hub.” With support from her husband, she set about finding volunteers in her village who were willing to collect, sew and return scrub sets – this team of “Busy Bees” all shared the common Rotary motto of “Service above Self” and the project has brought them together online to share this success. Quotes from this group include “it was a challenge but I got to know my sewing machine better”,  “I feel I have helped in a small way to provide support for others” and “I learned something new and it has helped to lift my mood knowing the good I am doing!” 

There is so much concern about the negative impact of the lockdown, the effect this global pandemic is having on our mental health, and the local impact of social isolation, all of which has the potential for devastating problems across our region.  So, it is heart-warming to know - just one click away - are thriving friendships, a family ethos, innovative projects and a way of volunteering to help others all within the Rotary E-Club of District 1070.  

Gardeners' Question Time

Gardeners’ Question Time

Northampton Rotary Club & Rotary e-club of District 1070 invite you to a Gardeners’ Question Time in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust and Rotary Community Projects.

Wondering how to grow the perfect rose? Sick of slugs eating your grub? Wanting to grow your own veg but don’t know where to start? Fear not our panel of experts are on hand to help. By joining the webinar you will learn how to make the most out of your green fingers.

Join our panel chairman Johnnie Amos with guest panellists:

Nick Warliker:
Former head gardener to Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester.

Michael Brown:
Historic Gardener and creator of the medieval gardens at Prebendal Manor, Nassington.

Cheryl Jarvis:
Thenford Arboretum and Garden, specialising in herbaceous and water marginal plants.

Johnnie Amos Garden Designs features fifteen years experience in garden design as well as vast experience as a registered royal horticultural society speaker. Johnnie's experience ranges from a quiet country house garden to balcony & terrace gardens in Primrose hill, Chelsea and Kensington to the South of France.

Our experienced panellists will answer a selection of your detailed gardening questions and help with practical advice on ‘grow your own’ topics during this time of restrictions. 

Book your ticket now on the link below for £10 (plus a donation if you wish), submit your gardening question and or attach a photo of a plant. Before the event you will receive an email link to access the event.  

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_-gKXu6tTT0uC1V1magmGRA

You will be able to see and hear the panel in action using the link through the camera and loudspeakers of your mobile phone, ipad or laptop/computer and help us raise funds for the ‘Teenage Cancer Trust’ and Rotary projects in our Community.

Please submit your questions for the panelists and send photos of your plants to secretary.northampton@rotary1070.org by the 23rd June at the latest.

Time

Jun 25, 2020 07:00 PM in London

bike2give Boys Peddle To Their Goals!

A worldwide pandemic was not about to stop these two young men from completing their commitment. Scott and Sean, following government guidelines, completed their 610km cycle right here in the UK.

The boys were supposed to be part of the 11 riders that were taking up the 610km ride in France however due to the Covid-19 pandemic we were all placed on lock down and were not allowed to travel. As soon as the exercise restrictions were lifted the boys insisted on completing their challenge. Despite the team postponing the ride it isn’t definite that Scott and Sean will be able to do it next year. Scott is joining the British Army in October to be a Royal Engineer and Sean is starting an apprenticeship with the Northampton Police and starts university in September.

With support from the team the route was planned and the boys were ready to go.

Each day the boys were joined by a support driver or two to ensure they were safe along the way. Tracey Pahel, Angie Lonergan and Barry and Angela Woods drove each day. The Borner, Pahel, Howe and Willis families provided refreshments and fluids during pit stops.

The boys cycled for 6 days and Sean even had to go to work at Morrisons after completing his first days ride. Along the way they visited Towcester, Coventry, Market Harbour, Wellingborough, High Wicham and Newport Pagnell. They were support each day by members of the Rotary club and family members. Sean sustained a puncture nearly everyday and Scott crashed into a supporting cyclist (nothing but pride was hurt). Despite being extremely tired at the end of each day the boys continued with a smile on their faces.

Barry Hacket, team member and Rotarian, joined the boys on two of their days. Peter Borner ensured that their bikes were in good health. The ride to Coventry and back to Northampton was the hardest and deserved a little lie down along the way. Deep heat spray became Sean’s best friend by the end.

Looking tired but still had some miles to do.

We are extremely proud of these two young men. They are truly genuinely lovely people who keep to their word. We hope they are able to still join us next year with the rest of the team and wish them all the best in their careers. I am sure we will be hearing great things about them and their continued commitment to supporting those less fortunate than themselves.

E-club working hand in hand with Giving Wold

After attending our District Council meeting we heard about a brilliant company that gains surplus stock and then passes this on to charities that can give it to people that really need it.

It is so easy to get products from them to pass onto others. You register online, they check you out and then off you go. You can either pick items up from Leicester or they will courier them out to use for a small cost.

We went online selected products that we could pass onto others and then awaited a response.

The day after the lock down we were contacted to say our items were ready for collection.Because we were collecting items for vulnerable people,off we travelled to the warehouse to collect the items.

It just fit in the car.

Within our order we had:

• Clothing for children and adults - donated to the homeless and low income families

• Toiletries - donated to the homeless shelter

• Colouring pencils and pens - donated to children to help with studying at home during lock down

• Bars of soap - we put these through elderly people’s doors with our support line number on.

• Baby items - donated to Northampton General Hospital for new families

• Books - donated to hospital wards to keep patients amused

This is what we have passed onto those in need thanks to Giving World. I do believe that these items have help more than 1,623 people.

All of the items from Giving World are brand new. You are not allowed to sell any items they must be donated to those in need. We are currently looking to see if we can receive more products that we can donate to those in need.

Sewing to help Scrub out COVID-19 by sewing up scrubs for our front line workers.

When our Assistant Governor for Area 6 announced that there was a share of £1000 that we could apply for we jumped at the chance to help during this terrible time. We decided that we would request some funds in order to buy fabric to make scrubs for our front line workers. We also want to make scrub bags (these are used to bring the scrubs home so they can be washed safely), Headbands to protect their ears from the mask elastic and scrub caps. All of these products are currently in very limited supply. We are not only wanting to help the NHS hospitals but also the care homes and any one else that needs PPE.

Already established throughout the country are groups of volunteer sewers that are making scrubs, they are called For The Love of Scrubs. We made contact with a local group to see if they needed our help.

All off to the cutters to be turned into scrubs.

So far we have purchased 300m of fabric from Fabric Emporium, Northampton and we are on our way to making the much needed scrubs. Fabric Emporium also donated some fabric. The bit I was dreading and is very time consuming is cutting out; fear not help was at hand when one of the co-ordinators of the Facebook group said that a company have generously programmed their machines to cut fabric into scrubs. This was excellent news as it means that we can get the scrubs completed sooner. We are waiting for the cut product to be returned and then the sewing machines will be up and running.

Well that sounds like we are sitting on our fingers doing nothing, we are not! We are using fabric that we already had and donated bedding (quilt covers, sheets and pillowcases) to produce scrub bags, headbands and scrub caps. Along with that we also have members that are crocheting mask adaptors to prevent sore ears from wearing a face mask all day.

I think it is safe to say that we are a club of action and despite not being able to meet up we are as busy as ever in our #DOGOODERY and #SERVICEBEFORESELF.

If you would like to make a donation of used bedding or money towards more fabric then please get in touch.

angela.woods@rotaryeclub1070.org

Help One Another, Please

Please think of each other at this uncertain time. When going shopping check with your neighbours first to see if they need anything. It is becoming incredibly hard to book home delivery slots with the supermarket so we, as neighbours, need to take up the slack.

With the current advise it will not just be our elderly community but anyone in our communities that may need to self-isolate.

This virus does not discriminate against sex, race or ethnicity so our help should not.

There are many ways that we can help each other.

• dog walking

• shopping

• phone calls

• dropping newspapers off

• checking in on the elderly or those that do not have family nearby

  If you need to stay inside PLEASE do. No one will judge you. We all need to stick together to support one another.

If you need assistance please contact us you can do so by:

email: angela.woods@rotaryeclub1070.org

facebook: www.facebook.com/rotaryeclub1070

telephone: coming soon

Cancellation of Dodgeball Tournament and other fundraising

At the moment we find ourselves in times that we have never faced before. Our entire world is at risk of being infected by the COVID-19 virus. It is a virus that does not discriminate against race, sex or religion. The UK is currently not facing too many restrictions however who knows what the future holds. With that said, we have decided to do our bit in helping to stop the spread of the virus. We have decided to postpone the Dodgeball Tournament, Tombola at Weston Favell and the last two bag packs that we had planned at Morrisons in Northampton.

Our decision was two pronged both thinking of our club members that would be volunteering and our communities. We did not think it was the best option to spend a prolonged amount of time in a public area where we have no idea where others around us have been. Also families are potentially going to find themselves in a situation where they may not have an income or an extremely reduced amount of income that they will need to pay for bills and food. We therefore feel that is not fair to even ask others to donate to our cause at the moment.

We would like to ask that everyone looks after each other. We are all in this together. Please support others if you can by going shopping for vulnerable people if you are able to. Listen to the government and NHS advise.

As we are an e-club we are very lucky that we are still going to be able to meet online each week regardless of any restrictions that might come into place. If you would like to join a meeting please contact us and will send you an invite. We always welcome guests to join our meetings.

If we, as Rotarians, can do anything to help you please contact us and we will do our best to help you.

Our First Santa Sleigh

One project that most Rotary clubs already do are Santa Sleighs we hadn’t embarked on this until now. We have taken a different approach

On Friday 13th December 2019 at the St Crispin Retail Village
Anna King, Activity Co-Ordinator of @stcrispinretirementvillage, Northampton
Upton & Parish Council @upton21
Rockit Children’s Boutique @rockitboutique
The St Crispin Valentine Singers
One Stop @OneStopConvenienceStores all joined in as part of @stcrispincommunity to entertain the children from the Woodleys Park Day Nursery @WoodleysParkDayNursery and Rhymetime Nursery @RTDayNursery.

The main event for the children (both big and small!) was Santa Claus himself. His sleigh was looked after by the elves of the Rotary E-Club of District 1070.

Everyone was looked after by Tick Tock Coffee & Wine Bar
@TickTockCoffeeShop, who provided much appreciated warm drinks and mince pies.

The St Crispin Valentine Choir completed a wonderful seasonal atmosphere with their carols. Donations to charities support by Rotary were made during the event and will be much appreciated by the recipients.