Good News Tin

John Carlton-Ashton's Good News Tin Story:

I became President of our club in July 2000. One of my first innovations was to invite everyone to share their good news with fellow Rotarians, depositing £1 per item into our charity box, now our “Good News Tin”. This club habit has been continued by club presidents ever since.

Our club founder president in 1934 was Billy Durant-Wells and his son-in-law, Leslie Madle, a member of a Rotary Club in the Philippines called Malabon, began coming to visit us whenever he was in back from those islands. Each Christmas the Malabon club organised a party for the impoverished & handicapped children in the area and Leslie joined in with energy. Leslie ploughed much of his own money into this enterprise and in 2001/2 the club gave £112 from the Good News Tin. The following year there was nearly £200 in the tin. The club's giving has continued ever since, averaging about £1000 in more recent years.

Sadly Leslie, who by this time had been made an honorary member of our Club, died in the UK in September 2012. In his honour we decided to continue our giving from the Good News Tin every year at Christmas.

In 2016 we received as gift from Berkhamsted Bulbourbe Rotary Club a "Good News Box", carved from one piece of wood by one of their members . This replaced the old plastic collection box used previously.