New Beginnings
On 24th August we held our first in person meeting in nearly eighteen months at The Swan in West Malling. Many thanks to all at The Swan for making us so welcome and providing wonderful food to help make our reunion so special.
President’s Handover
President’s Handover 1st August 2021
Finally! The rain stopped, Covid-19 is hopefully in retreat and we got together for the first time in ages to celebrate our new Rotary year.
Over a picnic with strawberries and cream in William and Rosemary’s beautiful garden we enjoyed each other’s company and welcomed in our new President, Pam, who will take us on new adventures through the coming year. Pam thanked Mandy for her work over the past year and then welcomed Tony as our President Elect. Now, with restrictions easing, we can look forward to more fundraising events, travel and social gatherings. Watch this space!
50 years at Malling Rotary
Our fellow Rotarian, Gardner Crawley marked 50 years as a member of Malling Rotary by taking part in a 5k run in St Michaels and Tenterden on 6th June to support Team Ben Hammond. https://teambenhammond.co.uk/
Gardner explained, “Ben was a healthy young lad who died suddenly from an undiagnosed heart condition. Some of my shepherd apprentices were at school with Ben which is why I am supporting the Team Ben Hammond appeal for CRY screening sessions at Homewood School Tenterden by running in the Tenterden 5K.”
It was a glorious sunny morning and Gardner completed the 5K in 38.41 mins at just under 5mph (4.85) which was a fantastic result especially for the oldest runner on the day (Gardner’s words)! Congratulations to Gardner on this excellent result and for so many years service as a Rotarian .
Team Ben Hammond raises money for CRY (https://www.c-r-y.org.uk/)
Litter Picking 2021
Rotarian Anne pledged 54 miles to the “Million Mile Mission” organised by Keep Britain Tidy which was agreed by our club. This equated to to 6 people for 3 hours.
On 9th June they could be seen around West Malling with pickers and sacks in hand.
February 2021
Since my last message in October we have seen the rollout of the mass Covid-19 vaccination programme which started in mid December. With the help of Malling Lions and local Rotary Clubs we have raised a team of wonderful volunteers who act as marshals at the Leybourne Vaccination Centre.
As the centre opened its doors Andy Brading, the District 1120 local coordinator for the Voluntary and Community Sector Emergency Partnership from Maidstone Riverside Rotary assisted us by enlisting the help of Malling Lions and Maidstone Dawn Patrol and we had offers of help from Kings Hill Rotary, East Malling WI and friends of members.
As we asked for volunteers on Facebook the interest grew locally and to date our volunteer base consists of:
Malling Rotary – 5
Malling Lions – 6
Kings Hill Rotary – 5
Friends of Rotarians – 8
From Facebook/website -12
Maidstone Dawn Patrol – 3
Maidstone Riverside – 1
Thank you to everyone who is involved with this, we could not have managed without your help. A special thanks to Neil from Malling Lions who does so much to ensure everything runs smoothly, including sign making and displaying, putting out chairs and sorting out problems as they arise. We have received many messages of thanks from patients and staff at the centre which are on our Facebook page and on behalf of club I add my thanks to all.
This is Rotary in action and we plan to continue at the centre for as long as we are needed.
Mandy
June 2021
As we come to the end of another Rotary year it’s time once again to take a look at the past and look forward to the future of our club.
This year has been extraordinary. Like all other clubs we have hardly been able to meet in person for over a year and had to adjust to a life on Zoom. Despite this Malling Rotary has been very active and we have continued to hold our regular meetings all year mixing games nights with business meetings.
We launched this website last August and also relaunched our Facebook page which has been updated regularly. We have purchased new publicity material with the help of a District grant.
We marked World Polio Day last October with a display in West Malling and are most grateful to all the businesses there who supported us and allowed us to decorate the outside of their premises. A special thanks to West Malling Flowers as without their help and support we would not have been able to achieve such a stunning display of balloons and posters, drawing attention to Rotary’s role in the challenge to eradicate polio.
Apart from our Treasure Hunt last summer we have held fundraising events on Zoom and are grateful to everyone who took part in these and helped make them fun while raising money for our charities.
Since December we have organised the queue management at Leybourne Vaccination Centre. A huge thank you to all the volunteers who have joined us in making this contribution to the Covid-19 vaccination rollout. A very special thanks to Neil Cornford of Malling Lions and Kings Hill Rotary who has given his time and assistance tirelessly at every session. We would not have been able to provide this support without all these extra pairs of hands.
As we think about this summer and beyond I look forward to handing over to incoming President Pam and a return to (hopefully) more face to face meetings and social and fundraising events and our long awaited 60th anniversary celebration!
Mandy
Rotary Walking Group
We now have a members’ walking group which meets once a month to explore nearby countryside and parks. The latest was to Vinters Nature Reserve on a cool but dry late Spring morning
Quiz Night
Thank you to everyone who supported our latest virtual Quiz Night on Saturday evening.
We raised over £400.00 for local causes.
Watch this space for details of our next fundraising event!
Race Night
We raised £1000 for the Salvation Army
Many thanks to all Racegoers for making this such a success!— – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Thanks to the Volunteers
Thank you to all the volunteers who turn up in snow, rain and sunshine to help us in the community effort at Leybourne Vaccination Centre! A special thank you to Neil from Malling Lions who turns up every morning to put the signs up! (Surrounded by Tracy and Steve from Kings Hill Rotary)