Celebrating with the E-Rotary Team in their Wellies

We wanted to hold a celebration of our E-Club’s success over the past year, a Charter and President’s Event that was informal, continued to provide opportunities for relationship building, whilst sharing more time to hear about our Service opportunities.

We Chartered as a Rotary E-Club in February 2012 with 27 members, celebrating this on the 18th May 2012, President Tim said he’d like to see our membership grow, so yesterday at our Charter Celebration it was great to know that our membership had now reached 37, with 13 provisional members in the pipeline.

Another objective that President Tim set last year was for the E-Club to develop partnership work, so it was a splendid that we had the opportunity to present Rotarian Rachel Davis (founder member) with £300 for the British Heart Foundation from the proceeds of the Virtual Balloon Race and £50 to Rotarian Kevin Leaning (founder member) for the Well Child Trust for his son Max’s efforts in the Scrmrun.

A lovely time was spent by those members able to attend, visiting Dartley Farm in the Cotswolds hosted by Rotarians Ola and Maria Baalack (founder members), the afternoon started with a guided Farm Tour with Ola telling guests about the farming, plus Ola and Maria’s passion to be good guardians of the countryside they now lived and worked in. The pride, passion and hopes were shared as Rotarians walked together listening at various stops on the circular route and relationships were built between those present as we wandered through the bluebells. Yes E-Rotarians can do it in wellington boots and even in the countryside, Tim and Janice were posting on Facebook to keep others involved who were unable to attend.

Back at the hunting lodge the Bring and Share Picnic went down a treat and this was followed by an excellent talk by Maria about her 3 month trip to India, experiencing involvement in the End Polio Now vaccination programme and meeting Rotarians, whilst enjoying learning more about the Indian culture, people and places.

An excellent celebration that captured the joy of E-Rotary Fellowship and gave us the opportunity to do this in style without the usual Rotary bling. We also managed to raise £80   for the Human & Hope Association towards a specific project we hope to help. Finally Junior Vice President Sinead Darker (founder member) became our video producer to get on with our promotional video of ‘Why join our E-Rotary’ as we all shouted CLICK FOR ACTION Sinead rolled the cameras.

Celebrating and promoting our E-Rotary Service

E-Rotary is starting to gain more interest in these Islands….

More E-Hubs are on the way as part of our offer to help incubate new E-Rotary opportunities. This weekend we see the creation of the Hertfordshire E-Hub, the East Midland E-Hub, whilst still helping with the District 1160 E-Hub and the West of Scotland E-Hub. It is also exciting that our E-Rotary is still attracting new members, especially with our new menu of ways in which to become involved.  Currently we have 35 members, 11 provisional members, 1 Associate Member, 7 Rotaractors and the Uplands Interact Club.

President’s and Charter Celebration Event on Saturday 18th May at the home of Maria and Ola, Dartley Farm, Nr. Bagendon just off the A417 outside of Cirencester. The programme will be from 12.00.p.m. until 3.00.p.m. to include a tour around the farm in the lovely cotswold countryside, a talk by Maria about her adventures in India, and a bring and share Barbecue/Picnic. Cost £5 per person all funds raised are going to the Human and Hope Association. Please ensure you’ve booked your places with the Secretary Janice.

Help us Roll Out the Barrel with Rotarian Michael Smith 

Plans are well in hand for Tierra del Fuego or Bust! A sponsored 25,000 mile journey in aid of Roll Out the Barrel, who provide a simple, achievable solution to the problem of collecting clean water. Can you help us promote this project to schools in your area, to friends across America or to anyone else you may feel may be interested. Please see Leaflet - 25000 Mile Challenge  and help us make every mile count.

Love to help end Polio

“I can’t hear you with all this noise. Would you mind staying behind afterwards to tell me what you know about how the fight started.” What a chat up line! But it was the sentence that changed my life uttered by the man I went onto to marry, says Janice Mason.

My dream is to compile a book of how people met, a collection of new beginnings, from the most incredible to the every day, the stories that you couldn’t invent, they just happen and change the course of lives.

All you need to do send your stories of how you and your partner met and about the pivotal moment that changed the course of your lives to janice.mason@1100rotaryeclub.org and we can raise funds towards End Polio Now. Please pass on this leaflet Love to help Thank You

DUCK SALES – are going well, don’t let anyone say E-Rotary doesn’t take action, over 1000 sold to date. The Rotary Club of Swindon Old Town hold their famous Duck Race on 27th May. Please contact us at info@1100rotareclub.org if you can help us sell more Ducks.

Poetry on the Pavement took place at the Festival of Rotary held on Saturday 4th May in Cheltenham.  Thank you to the poets from WFL and Rotarians who encouraged contributions from the public passing by, all to help promote our Young Writer’s Competition as part of:

More details and the rules can be found on their website WFL. This competition is open to all young people 7-17 years, regardless of where they live.

Some examples of our pavement poetry:

Rolling Out E-Rotary

It was a great pleasure on Tuesday 9th April, to induct Michael Smith (on the right) as a member of Rotary@1100, Michael had been proposed by Adrian Brewer (on the left) from the Roll out the Barrel project.

Michael will be our E-Rotarian on the Road….What are we attempting?

25,000 miles on a Yamaha Tenere XT660Z from Bristol UK (end of May) to Halifax, Nova Scotia, across Canada via Quebec, Toronto, Winnipeg to Vancouver THEN left into the United States and down to Mexico City. From there Central America to Panama, across the canal by ketch to Columbia and on some of the World’s most hazardous and dangerous roads through Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Chile to Tierra del Fuego arriving on or about 20th November 2013. Then a ride from there to Buenos Aires and fly back home.

That’s the task for Michael and his motorbike rider partner, our task is to support his ride through Social Networks and help him raise funds for the charity Roll out the Barrel. Calling our Rotarian friends across America can you help us Roll out E-Rotary, the Barrel and your Rotary as Michael crosses these miles?

Michael says ‘we fully expect to witness hardship and deprivation beyond our comprehension in Central and South America and  I decided to support a dynamic and growing organisation providing a simple, achievable solution to the problem of fresh water harvesting. ROTB provides manageable water collecting, Rotary Barrels for huge numbers of people who do not enjoy the clean water reticulation that we take for granted. A supply of clean portable water is one of the simplest facilities that prevents disease and millions of unnecessary deaths throughout the world each year, enabling people to enjoy good health and reduced mortality…. it is their undeniable right. We’d like to help raise £25,000 for ROTB from this journey.’

Roll Out the Barrel changes lives, with your help and Michael’s efforts we can all make a real and significant difference…..

More members have been Rolling up to E-Rotary this week, so we also welcome Rotarians Debbie Vance, Charlotte Mannion, Mark Ward, John Isles and still more are in the pipeline. It is encouraging that our membership is growing.

On Wednesday President Tim Rolled up at District 1150 (West Wales), invited by their Membership Development, Retention and Extension Committee Chair to talk about getting E-Rotary underway in their District. It is great that Rotary@1100 are giving service by helping others to consider the formation of E-Rotary.

It is still Autism Awareness Month and Rotary@1100 is still working on developing this E-wareness theme well after April ends. In the meantime it was good to see the Brunel Tower in Swindon shining out Blue on the 2nd April, joining in with the international Autism Awareness day to Light Up In Blue.

Hopefully everyone is still helping to roll out the information about the Young Writer’s Competition, working with the More details and the rules can be found on their website WFL. This competition is open to all young people 7-17 years, regardless of where they live.

Help needed!

As part of next year’s programme we want to support the work of the Trussel Trust Foodbank Network, does anyone know a Restaurant or Hotel who would sponsor the Rotary@1100 putting on a Rich Poor Person Dinner? This is where the attendees draw lottery tickets most end up with a bowl of rice and a few will get a good meal. We would use the event to raise awareness about the Foodbank Network Charity, whilst entrance would be by gifts of food.

 Rolling Out a Vocational Workshop  Community Act -Employment in June 2013

Lynne our Vocational Lead is very excited about this new workshop which is currently in the planning stages, to help explore how barriers to employment can be overcome, especially for more vulnerable members of the community e.g. special needs, mental health, veterans. Rotary@1100, working in partnership with HEALS, is looking at new ideas that can really get things happening. Members wanting to help with the workshop please contact Lynne via our website.

Easter E-Special

E-Rotary continues to make ‘We’re for Communities’ centre stage

Have your heard our District 1100 Festival of Rotary is happening this year in Cheltenham on the 4th May, 2013. Please book the date and visit our E-Rotary stand where we are holding our own Writers and Poets Corner to help promote our involvement in the Worcestershire Literary Festival.

Calling all young writers!
A FREE writing competition for young writers aged 7-17 years old.
Write 300 words or fewer, poetry or prose, on the theme: ’13′ (it will be lucky for some!)

Opportunities to:

• Win a cash prize
• Develop writing skills
• Read the work at WLF events
• Be published in an anthology
• Be published on the D1100 eClub website
Young writers have until 1 June 2013 to get competition entries in by email to youth@worcslitfest.com
Open to all Young Writers wherever they live in the age categories stated ~ see rules and guidelines for details.

Rotarians go quackers

The Swindon Famous Duck Race is with us again and eClubbers are now selling those lovely little yellow plastic ducks, at £1 a time. This is one of the few ways we as an eClub raises funds as we can undertake this activity  in partnership with the Rotary Club of Swindon Old Town.  We are going to try to sell 1000 ducks this year – Fundraising whilst having a quacking time.

Do you want to wish our President Elect Janice Happy 50th Birthday?

Join in with her celebrations by coming on the Walk 4 Wildlife 5 mile stroll in the countryside on Sunday 9th June, to help raise funds for the British Heart Foundation and the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, at the end of the walk we are promised Birthday Cake.

President Elect Janice is currently preparing for her Rotary Year 2013/14, putting plans into place, getting her eClub Team together, attending President’s Elect Training (PETS) and looking forward to the District 1100 Assembly, so that she can help our District 1100 eClub continue to support projects that demonstrate Rotary is We’re for Communities.

Membership continues to grow

We are pleased to welcome 12 new people as provisional members to our eClub, it is very exciting that our efforts in our community projects are encouraging others to join us. Please help us spread the message by telling others about the exciting way we are engaging in Rotary for busy people in the 21st Century.

What’s on the horizon for our E-Rotary?

Watch out for exciting details as to how one of our members supported by E-Rotary is to help raise funds for the Roll out the Barrel Project. More details in our next Newsletter.

Only last May 2012 we held our Charter Event at Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, now on the 18th May 2013 we are planning our Charter and President’s Celebration Event at Dartley Farm, Nr.Cirencester to include Farm Walk, Bring and Share Picnic and talk by Rotarian Maria about her adventures in India.  Cost £5 per person for funds towards the Hope and Home Association in Cambodia 

Also in the pipeline another Workshop entitled Community ACT – Employment, exploring how to overcome the barriers some people in our society experience (e.g. veterans, ex-offenders, special educational needs, mental health), who need help in exploring their vocational aspirations.

We also hope to explore ways as to how E-Rotary can help Community Development through investment in community assets and local micro financing projects. One such group our eClub would like to support is HEALS in Malmesbury.

Follow-up work to our Autism Awareness Workshop includes helping to celebrate World Autism Awareness Day on the 2nd April – Understand It and Make it Happen. The international campaign is to turn buildings blue, so if you see blue buildings tell people it’s about Autism .  We will be supporting this campaign by going blue on the internet and posting about Autism – don’t forget to repost anything you see to spread the word.  After Easter we will announce other follow up actions to be taken forward as we indeed help to Make It Happen.

Look out for Debbie’s Cheese and Wine on Saturday 13th July, to raise the final pennies for our 2nd Shelter Box, also this will be our handover day for the new Rotary Year 2013/14, Engage Rotary – Change Lives 

We’re for Communities – Making it happen

Yesterday (16th March 2013) as people started to arrive for our Autism Awareness Workshop who would know what the outcomes would be, all we knew was that 50 people were with us on this journey.

Registration takes place in Charity and Coffee Shop

Without going into detail of the whole day, you can see that through the pictures shown in this news update it was a fantastic event.  This was due to our excellent speakers and our thanks go to Robert Buckland MP, Dave King, Sally Grubb and Oriana Morrison-Clarke from the National Autism Society, Kirk Anderson a Community Nurse, Simon Kitson a Senior Psychologist and Jackie Smith the Head Teacher at Uplands School.

So now this is where the work starts and outcomes to the day are being typed up, but here are the main outcomes that we hope others will help us work on:

Conference begins

• Raising Autism Awareness in our communities throughout the UK, please in particular help your local branch of the National Autism Society.
• Support the ‘turn the Blue Light on’ so it shines all over the world for International Day of Autism on the 2nd April, please do something BLUE on you social networks.

Dave King talks about the Autism Awareness Alert Card

• Help spread the Autism Awareness Alert Cards, first launched with the support of Wiltshire Police across other Police Forces in the UK.
• We intend to follow up the day with further workshops: one about a more in-depth exploration of the affects of Autism, expanding on brief introductions of yesterday; our eClub will tackle similar issues to encourage community action; we have plans for a workshop on Mental Health.
• We are setting up a Task and Finish Group to look at how the District 1100 eClub can work in partnership with others in the community, to develop a business scheme that accredits businesses and workplaces that are Autism Aware (with training), plus to encourage the further development of work experience and employment opportunities and social enterprises to provide real jobs for people with Autism.
• To work with our partners the Uplands Educational Trust to develop further opportunities in Swindon and Wiltshire.

Jackie Smith Head Teacher tells us about the projects the Uplands Educational Trust are developing.

There were lots of other good ideas, that once we’ve evaluated the day and produced a short report will detail other initiatives that will require partnership work to address.

Collecting the ideas and considering how we are going to Make it Happen

Can we help Max raise funds for the WellChild national charity

WellChild is the national charity for sick children. WellChild helps sick children and their families throughout the UK as they deal with the consequences of serious illness and complex conditions. Their mission is to reach as many children and young people as they can, year after year. WellChild focuses on three key areas – care, support and research – and their involvement in so many aspects of children’s health puts them in a unique position.

To raise awareness and some much needed money Max will be ‘racing’ around Europe in a group of 100 cars all of which have had to cost less than £500 each! They don’t have an idea of destination of the route at the moment, they are only told our next destination as they reach each checkpoint! But last year his team covered 2200 miles in 3 days and at their furthest point stopped in Spain at the famous bullrun in Pamplona! He will be leaving the UK with the other 99 cars on the 2nd of May from Dover and hopefully returning with the remnants of a working car on the 6th May after covering some serious miles! All costs are covered by Max and his team mate Adam Blanchard so that 100% of the money that they raise goes to WellChild Children’s Charity.

You can sponsor him through a few channels: JustGiving ; By Text – Send “GRYF88 £3″ or another amount to 70070; at the Scrumrun Website; at the Wellchild website.

Please help the District 1100 eClub promote a new exciting project which we are developing in partnership with the Worcestershire Literary Festival

Calling all young writers!
A FREE writing competition for young writers aged 7-17 years old.
Write 300 words or fewer, poetry or prose, on the theme: ’13′ (it will be lucky for some!)

FREE workshop to help young writers prepare: Saturday 25 May at St John’s Library, Worcester, starting at 10:30.

Opportunities to:
• Win a cash prize
• Develop writing skills
• Read the work at WLF events
• Be published in an anthology
• Be published on the D1100 eClub website
Young writers have until 1 June 2013 to get competition entries in by email to youth@worcslitfest.com
Open to all Young Writers wherever they live in the age categories stated ~ see rules and guidelines for details.

Lewis the Treasurer of our Interact Club assisted by eClub member David, ensures that the Uplands Educational Trust serves the community before the Autism Awareness Workshop starts.

Bats, Balloons, Bling and Busy People

There is still time to book your place on our Autism Awareness Workshop 16th March, 2013 at Uplands School, Swindon, come to Understand It and help us Make It Happen

Two aims of the day are a) an expansion of the Autism Alert Card currently operating in Wiltshire, b) a kite mark for businesses who are Autism Aware. Please book your free place Autism Awareness Workshop and help us take Autism Awareness to a new place in our communities.

President John meets members of our new Interact Club

Interact Club launched at Uplands School on Wednesday 27th February, by visit of RIBI President John Minhinick.  Wearing his Bling he was greeted by Tom telling everyone ‘the Mayor of Swindon has arrived’. Tom our Interact Club President and Ricky our Vice President were introduced and a few words were spoken, cake was eaten and Sheila (President John’s wife) spent loads of dosh in the charity shop.

Lorna meets the President

Lorna, an eClub member, says of the visit: “It’s fantastic and demonstrates the importance and ethos of Rotary and the impact that it has with regards to providing what is needed at the right time to help support projects and good causes. The beauty of it is, is that it’s not about money and giving money away to places, it’s about the people and the networks that Rotary creates and how people’s skills, knowledge and contacts are used to help support and move projects forward . It makes me feel very proud to be part of such a group, even though I always worry about being a busy person which being part of the eclub is for, as I don’t get to meet all the members in the flesh.  However, the Rotary eclub works! Which is fantastic. I have met a few lovely members and I am sure I will meet many more as I progress on my journey through Rotary.
I was thinking about what Rotary is the other day and yes it is about service above self, but also it’s about providing experiences, opportunities and about learning journeys and making friends and connections along the way.”

See the publicity for this event in the Swindon Advertiser

Virtual Balloon Race won by “New Rotary”

Allan Berry the owner of the balloon “New Rotary” romped home to victory in our Virtual Balloon Race as part of our efforts to raise funds for the British Heart Foundation and the Rotary Foundation. Thanks to everyone who took part, New Rotary travelled 7390km, in second place DOC2013 which 7331km, third place BHF balloon which travelled 7292km to see all results please visit Leader Board

Bats and Hedge planting went on despite a cold February day 

Debbie aways keen to get involved

Our eClub takes environmental issues very seriously and when another opportunity arose to help the Stroud Valley Project to create new hedges to provide a highway for Bats, our eClub dressed up warm and got dug in!

Tim digs for warmth

Busy people are offered opportunities to join E-Rotary

On the 23rd February the Rotary E-Club of Canada One was chartered, E-Rotary is growing. Our President Tim is to be a member of the RIBI Membership and Retention Development Committee in 2013/14 with particular responsibility to help to lead on the growing and incubation of new E-Clubs in Britain and Ireland. At the RIBI Assembly in Birmingham over the weekend of 22nd – 24th February, Tim explained how once an E-Club is formed it is important to engage the new members in the Rotary activities, this required hooking into their passion.

We continue to seek new members to join our E-Club, why not email us at info@1100rotaryeclub.org for more information and an application form for a 2 month free trial.

Click for Action – Peace Symposium

As Rotary International celebrates its 108th Birthday this Saturday 23rd February, we think it is an ideal time to discuss, share, put forward ideas that will help develop better International Understanding and help in moving towards a more peaceful world.

We believe the simple ideas can help really spread the message.

So welcome to our first Click for Action – International Symposium, no cost spared in putting on this event, because we are based on the internet our discussion can be from the comfort of our homes! However we are really serious that the ideas or thoughts discussed here need to be consider as the first step of making it happen and action is a key priority.

Our Rotary International President gave us an excellent theme for year 2012/13 ‘Peace through Service’ he speaks at the close of the Global Peace Conference of his passion of his Dream coming True.

Please post in the comments boxes what you as a Rotarian or as a Rotary Club are doing to make our theme ‘Peace through Service’ a reality in your communities. Our Rotary International President Sakuji Tanaka gave us a theme which he wanted us to achieve in every waking minute of our lives. President Tim of our E-Club describes his personal experiences of gaining world understanding and how our E-Club efforts are helping towards Peace through Service in our Rotary activities:

“I remember as if it was yesterday visiting Czechoslovakia the year after the Russian invasion and their short lived revolution was squashed. I went to visit underground Scouting and was made very welcome even though all the activities were being undertaken in secret. Later in my early adulthood I was able to attend the 14th World Scout Jamboree in Norway and travel to Russia as a trainee Youth Worker. All these International experiences engaged me in wanting to be part of a force that helped bring peace to our world. Much was done through a pen pal communications network that I had helped to create.

So when facebook and other Social Networks came along, it was fantastic, the world had been brought through my computer to me and my understanding and friendship around the world was greatly enhanced. I could make friends in Sweden and then go and do Rotary together with my new friends. We could attend the Rotary International Convention and meet Rotarians who were already friends through Social Networks. It opened our minds to doing Rotary in a different way, through the E-revolution, wow E-Rotary was about to become a reality. Instead of just having Group Study Exchange visitors to stay, we could keep in touch, visit them and learn more about their countries.

Moving into E-Rotary has enabled our efforts to develop activities and projects which are enabling us to really make our theme this year real. From dieting for Duck Ponds in Gloucester, to purchasing Shelter Boxes, starting up Interact and Rotaract, to organising an Autism Awareness Workshop (see other activities on this website), we are making sure our plans are turned into action. It has brought into Rotary many new people who are enjoying being Rotarians, whilst they continue their 21st Century busy lives.

My vision is that as Rotary grows through both traditional Clubs and E-Rotary, we can encourage others within our communities to embrace ‘Peace through Service’, not just a theme for this year, but as something we do today, tomorrow and next week, month, year. By doing this our communities will become more sustainable, caring, cohesive, inclusive and better places to live. I invite visitors to this symposium to suggest ways that we might facilitate this ACTION, so that there is a legacy for our amazing world’.