We are a small, friendly, informal club, who are actively working in our community and on fundraising intiatives. We invite you to come along and meet us with a view to joining, and getting involved with our work for local and international communities, and to take part in our social activities. 

 

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10th September 2026: Rotary Relaunch Evening

We are delighted to announce that we held a Rotary Club relaunch event, as we consider how to "do Rotary" differently in the future. Please be in touch if you would like to be involved in this forward-looking initiative. Join the fun and help communities, both local and global! A few photos from the evening:

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Friday 16th May: Vegetable Planting at Chipstead Lakes Cheshire Home

Following planting loads of potatoes at our last visit, we are now delighted to have planted strawberries, and vegetables, and hope that the residents will be able to enjoy them soon. For the evolution of this project please see: 

https://flourishing.global/kent/

 

 

 

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Friday 16th May: Vegetable Planting at Chipstead Lakes Cheshire Home

 

11th March 2024: Chipstead Lakes Cheshire Home planting update and call for gardening volunteers

We are glad to see that Spring has come to some of the planters we were able to refurbish in Autumn. We're delighted that this project, which we are carrying out in collaboration with the local charity Spirit of Peace is gaining momentum, with new volunteers coming on board. If you would like to take part in planting activities with us, and you live in a reasonable distance of Sevenoaks/Chipstead, please do get in touch. There is plenty to do!

 

11th March 2024: Chipstead Lakes Cheshire Home planting update and call for gardening volunteers

We are glad to see that Spring has come to some of the planters we were able to refurbish in Autumn. We're delighted that this project, which we are carrying out in collaboration with the local charity Spirit of Peace is gaining momentum, with new volunteers coming on board. If you would like to take part in planting activities with us, and you live in a reasonable distance of Sevenoaks/Chipstead, please do get in touch. There is plenty to do!

 

 

We will soon be planting vegetables, so if you have any vegetable plants to spare, we could certainly use them.

 

 

Do get in touch if you are able to get involved in any way. It would be lovely to have more members of the local community taking part. Contact Heather-Jane: info [at] spirit of peace [dot] co [dot] uk or use the Rotary contact form https://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/contact.php?ClubID=736

 

 

 

 

Weds 4th March 2025: First Wednesdays Chamber of Commerce Meeting 

 

The Rotary Club of Sevenoaks is very pleased to be a member of our local Chamber of Commerce, and to take part in its regular events. The most recent event took place at the Aston Martin garage in Sevenoaks. These are wonderfully convivial meetings, and provide good opportunities for networking. It was a very well attended event.

 

 

 

 

12th December 2024: Christmas Meal

We enjoyed a delicious meal and a convivial time at Branded in Sevenoaks. 

 

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2nd December 2024: Collection for Demelza House at Riverhead Tesco

It was wonderful to spend the day collecting for such an amazing organisation. Demelza House does incredible hospice work with children and their families. https://www.demelza.org.uk/about/demelza-kent

 

Our thanks go to Tesco at Riverhead for allowing us to collect on their premises, to Bluebird Care (https://www.bluebirdcare.co.uk/) whose staff helped with the collection, and our fellow Rotarians at Orpington Crofton. 

It was truly heartwarming to hear from people of their support and appreciation for Demelza House.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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27th November: Planting and Rewilding at Leonard Cheshire Home, Chipstead Lake

Continuing to make a difference. This is the boat at the entrance, which has been given new soil and lots of spring bulbs. We have also replanted and tidied some of the plants which were originally in the boat. This is much appreciated by those who live there, work there or visit. Thank you to Chipstead Parish Council for their donation towards this project.

 

 

 

 

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Planting and Rewilding Eco Project at Chipstead Lake, Leonard Cheshire Homes

Following the Eco Event in July, a team is coming together to carry out planting and rewilding at a local Leonard Cheshire Home. We are delighted to have started this project, and that Caroline Halfpenny, our wonderful speaker at the event, has given us good advice.

Planters are looking brighter and tidy following our first planting session. This project is a partnership between the Rotary of Sevenoaks and the charity Spirit of Peace (www.spiritofpeace.co.uk).

Many thanks to the Leonard Cheshire home staff, our partners, and volunteers. Also thanks to Rotary Eco Fund, and Chevening Parish Council, for their support for this project.

 

If you’d like to join us for our next planting, or if you would like to partner with us on a planting and rewilding project in a local Kent space, please get in touch with info@spiritofpeace.co.uk

 

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GO WILD! KENT ECO EVENT, Saturday 22nd June 2024

 

 

 

Top left: jars of wildflowers; Top right: audience during introduction to Quiet Gardens; Centre: Heather-Jane Ozanne, David Craik (Rotary Co-President) and the Mayor, with audience; Bottom left: Heather-Jane Ozanne and David Craik (Sevenoaks Rotary Co-Presidents); Bottom right: jars of wildflowers

This event took place on Saturday 22nd June at the Bat and Ball Community Centre in Sevenoaks, Kent. Despite the Restore Nature Now march happening in London on the same day, we had a reasonable audience, and they showed great engagement with the event. Rotary was pleased to partner with other community organisations: Spirit of Peace and Sevenoaks Unitarians. We were glad to have support from the broader Rotary district. Thanks to Sevenoaks Town Council for supplying us with a grant towards the use of the wonderful facilities at the Bat and Ball Community Centre. We are very fortunate in Sevenoaks to have such a welcoming and well-appointed community space. Tea and cake were provided by Sevenoaks Unitarians.

We were delighted that the Mayor of Sevenoaks, Councillor Libby Ancrum, opened the event and spoke about the importance of working together. 

Heather-Jane Ozanne (CEO of Spirit of Peace) and Isabel (Spirit of Peace) introduced the Flourishing Process which Heather-Jane has developed, and shared an introduction video to the concept of Living for the Whole. (These resources are also available at the website of Spirit of Peace https://flourishing.global/about-us/)

The keynote talk by Caroline Halfpenny was highly informative and inspiring, covering examples of rewilding, as well as small actions that anyone with a garden or windowsill can take. 

Linda Later from Sevenoaks Town Council gave us hope by showing that the Town Council has been making considerable efforts in the areas of biodiversity preservation and greener transport.

Isabel de Berrie gave an introduction to the Quiet Gardens Movement, and some attendees have expressed interest in opening their gardens to people who are looking for a green space for quiet contemplation (www.quietgarden.org). Here were just a few of the actionable tips which gardeners took away from Caroline's talk:

Many people hadn't heard of glycophosphate, but it's an ingredient used in many weedkillers. It poisons the soil around it so it's important to avoid. There are a range of other ways to deal with unwanted plants and pests.

Everybody loves to see a hedgehog in their garden! But Caroline also explained how hedgehogs need freedom to travel, so that they can find enough food.

People had a lot of questions to ask about this tip - using your over-ripe bananas to fertilise plants. Caroline suggested that there are a couple of different ways to do this, such as infusing for several days in cold water or boiling to get a faster result.

Many thanks to Caroline for answering all our questions after the talk.

If anyone is keen to hear more from her, she is giving another talk at the beginning of September. You can find out more via her website: https://carolinehalfpenny.wixsite.com/

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BRITISH RED CROSS Charity Dinner, Friday 26 April 2024

We are delighted to let you know of our Rotary dinner, in aid of the British Red Cross, on Friday 26th April 2024. Please see the poster above.

It promises to be a lively evening, with our energetic and entertaining speaker, Jane Ollis, from Mindspire. She will talk about and demonstrate (volunteer required!) how to minimise the effects of stress in order to flourish. Jane is also a supporter of the Red Cross and a Kent Ambassador. 

Although the Red Cross is well-known for its humanitarian work across the globe, its important work supporting UK communities gets less attention. So we are very pleased to be supporting their work with people and families facing crisis in the UK.

We are also delighted that our dinner will take place at the Stag Plaza, a very valuable community hub in central Sevenoaks, with attached parking. Arrival and drinks at the bar will begin from 6pm, with dinner at 7pm. 

You can book the event through the Stag booking office, where you can obtain further details including the menu choices. Here is a link to help you:  https://stagsevenoaks.co.uk/film/fundraising-dinner-in-support-of-the-british-red-cross/ 

Book now to take part in this fun evening, and support a very worthy cause!

 

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PORCHLIGHT EVENT Monday September 18th 2023. 

 

We are delighted to announce that the evening raised over five hundred pounds for Porchlight. Members of Sevenoaks Unitarians and four local Rotary Clubs were present, as well as other members of the local community. Porchlight commented, "Thank you ever so much! That is an amazing amount, so generous. It will go not just a small way but a long way to supporting our work – thank so so much for your continued kindness." 

The most extraordinary aspect of our evening event to raise a few pennies for (and awareness of) Porchlight was the news that homelessness, and hopelessness, exists in a town like Sevenoaks – frequently earmarked as the “happiest” and “wealthiest” in the country.

 The information came from Porchlight volunteer Min Oliver as she explained how this wonderful Kentish charity is helping to break down the barriers to housing, mental and physical health, education and daily living skills.

Sevenoaks Rotary Club had already raised more than £3,000 for Porchlight through our charity dinner. Those who attended a second event at The Friends Meeting House in Bessles Green heard, in a little more detail, how the work of volunteers is helping so many people to reach their full financial independence. 

Here is a photo:

The joint presidents of Sevenoaks Rotary with Mim Oliver, our wonderful and informative and engaging speaker from Porchlight, in the middle.

 

 

 

 

Porchlight is Kent's largest charity for homeless and vulnerable people. They exist for people who have nowhere to go and no-one to turn to. Some are living on the streets, others need support because they are risk of losing their homes. Porchlight offers a wide range of support, including helping people into employment. Homelessness is a growing problem in Kent.

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CHARITY DINNER Friday 17th March 2023

 

 

 

Wreath Laying on Rememberance Sunday 13th November 2022

 

Members of Sevenoaks Rotary Club were pleased to attend our local Rememberance Service at the War Memorial by the Vine Cricket Ground. We joined with members of the Council and many other community groups for this moving ceremony. Our Co-Presidents laid a wreath on behalf of our club to honour all who had served, and especially those who gave their lives. 

 

 

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Charity Event with Local Unitarians for the SERV Kent Bloodrunners Charity

 

Here are some photos and a report of our recent event with SERV Kent/Bloodrunners.

 

 

 

Co-president David Craik handing over the donation cheque from our club

 

Terry Sayer of Bloodrunners delivering his fascinating talk

 

 

If you are driving on a motorway, or through a town or even along a dark country lane and suddenly spot a motorcyclist wearing a distinctive red and yellow braded jacket with the word BLOOD inscribed on his you should know he is an Emergency Response Volunteer on his way to the nearest hospital. Securely strapped on the back of his bike will be two large covered boxes containing precious supplies of blood.

 

In October 2022 members and guests of Sevenoaks Rotary Club were delighted to welcome fundraising co-ordinator Trevor Sayer to explain more about Kent's volunteer team and their extraordinary mission in delivering blood and other vital supplies to hospitals and homes throughout the county.

 
Mr Sayer, who was accompanied by a few fellow ‘bloodrunners’, said they were officially known as ‘Service by Emergency Response Volunteers’ and proudly told his guests that his Kent team had recently won the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service.

 
The Kent Bloodrunners normally set off on their motorbikes (a few use cars) to deliver blood products to hospitals overnight and during the weekend. However, the Covid pandemic called for a 24-hour service which put great pressure on the team. They responded brilliantly, chalking up more than 8,000 calls since the start of the outbreak. This was more than twice the number of their usual annual average.

 
Explaining more about the blood-bike missions Mr Sayer said the two, or four wheel couriers also often carried other emergency medical items including X-rays, samples, drugs, and documentation between hospitals and other healthcare facilities.

 
He explained how the first blood bike volunteer group was started in Surrey by Margaret Ryerson and her husband. In time this grew into a Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes and by 2008 was promoting professional standards across all the member blood bike groups, including Kent. Today the team is based at the Medway Services on the M2 near Chatham. How proud they were to be given the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service with “special designation for additional impactful support during the early months of the COVID pandemic.”

 

It was a privilege to meet them and hear their amazing story -- how from their humble beginnings they now have more than 180 members and around 20 controllers who coordinate operations from their own homes. 

 

 

 

The evening received over £300 in donations for Bloodrunners, who have kindly provided us with a certificate.

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Proclamation of King Charles III, Sunday 11th September 2022

Members of Sevenoaks Rotary Club were pleased to attend our local Civic Proclamation of King Charles' accession to the throne. 

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Do get in touch with our Membership Officer to find out how you can take part in our club activities.