A chance to serve and be sociable
A club that supports charities and organisations in Newark and around the world marks its 21st anniversary on Tuesday.
Newark Castle Rotary Club was set up in 1987 to meet in the evenings, for those people who could not attend the Newark Rotary Club, which meets during the day.
Around 120 people are expected to attend its charter anniversary dinner at Newark Golf Club.
Past and present members have been invited, along with the president of Newark Rotary Club and Mayor of Newark, Mr Bryan Richardson, and the district governor, Mr Roger Pursey.
Over the past two years the club has raised nearly £60,000 for local and national charities and organisations.
Last year it raised £5,000 for the Rainbows Children’s Hospice in Loughborough through its Christmas grotto in The Buttermarket shopping centre.
The club has run the grotto as a joint venture with the Advertiser for the past five years.
Around 800 children visited the grotto and members took it in turns to dress as Father Christmas.
To mark the centenary of Rotary International the club created a bronze street plan of the town, which is on display in the grounds of Newark Castle.
The £15,500 map was unveiled last spring and is set on a stone plinth near the entrance to the grounds.
Important landmarks are marked in braille and have textured detail on the roofs of the buildings.
The club’s president, Mr John Barker (62) of Vicarage Court, Coddington, has been a member for eight years.
He initiated a project to raise nearly £10,000 to provide 450 desks for a school in The Gambia after he saw the lack of facilities while on a family holiday.
They used local tradesmen and found a Rotary club in The Gambia to oversee the project. Mr Barker has kept in touch with the school and has returned on several occasions.
A founder member, Mr Dave Strange (57) of Allington, wanted to become involved with Rotary because he wanted to widen his circle of friends.
Mr Strange, who is deputy head at The Grove School, Balderton, said: “Nearly all my friends are teachers. Nearly my whole life is about education. I couldn’t make the lunch time club so I came along and helped form it.
“It’s nice to mix with professional people who aren’t to do with teaching.
It’s a friendly club. We do an awful lot locally and nationally,” he said.
Mr Strange is a former president and is currently chairman of the vocational committee.
His association with the school has meant he has encouraged pupils to become involved with some of the club’s projects, such as getting youngsters to fit smoke alarms, provided by the Rotary club, in elderly residents’ homes.
He said he also encouraged pupils to enter Rotary Youth Speaks, an annual public speaking competition, and to apply for small bursaries, which can be used to pay for travel expenses for job interviews.
“There are lots of little ways that we help.
“Rotary is about service above self. It’s not just about raising money, but giving up time,” he said.
The club has 36 members, eight of whom are women, and meets weekly at Newark Showground.
Miss Charmaine Fenton of Tannery Wharf, Newark, became a member at the end of last year.
She said she missed being part of an organisation after retiring.
“It’s something fulfilling for me where I could help and contribute.
“Some clubs still don’t have women. It is incredibly old-fashioned.
Lyn Crabtree of Blatherwick Road, Newark, said because of Rotary she had got to know people from different cultures.
Last year she hosted a group of Australians who came over for a group service exchange, and more recently looked after the club’s cultural exchange student Leonardo Hissanaga (17) from Brazil during the festive period.
Mr Marc Slack (49) of Queen Street, Southwell, joined the group 20 years ago after going on a six-week cultural exchange to Vancouver, Canada, funded by Rotary.
He was put forward for the trip by a Rotarian friend and was invited to join when he returned.
Mr Slack, who runs Building Cosmetics Services Ltd, Southwell, said: “I saw the culture and meet new people.
“I had a superb experience of a lifetime and because of that it all seemed very enjoyable and worthwhile.”
“I liked seeing the look on the young children’s faces when we did the Santa’s Grotto and listening to the women’s refuge letter, which we receive every year thanking us for providing a donation, ensuring all the children in the refuge will receive at least one decent present,” he said.
Mr Slack said people often had the wrong impression of the Rotary Club.
“It’s not some stuffy organisation full of grey haired middle-class do-gooders.
“It’s an organisation committed to service and is full of people determined to have good fun,” he said.
