Walk the Extra Mile for Shelterbox

The Rotary Club of St Austell has raised £5,000 for the international disaster relief charity Shelterbox

Through themed fundraising dinners, a night of music, and a rainy sponsored family walk, the members of the club and the wider community came together to cruical funds for people who have been left without shelter after disaster or conflict.

The Rotary Club of St Austell which is one of the oldest in the area,dating back to 1922, sees itself as being a place for fellowship and a good sense of fun whilst aiming to serve the local and global community. It Has supported Shelterbox for many years and is currently chaired by president Elke Deeley.

Elke says: "as a club we have been raising money for Shelterbox for many years. We Plan a variety of fundraising events for the charity throughout the year and Make sure there is something for everyone to get involved in.

"In our latest fundraiser - Walk the Extra Mile - we took inspiration from the charity's own statement of going the extra mile for disaster relief and decided we should do the same, quite literally ... in our walking boots!

"We organised a sponsored walk with different routes of varying difficulty to make it as accessible as possible for people wanting to join in. The event was open to members of the club and the wider community and despite the dismal weather people still turned up to walk their extra mile - some even opted to do so in their own back garden.

Incredibly, nobody seemed to mind getting soaked through. The support was amazing. Smiley faces all round, happy to be raising funds for an important cause.

A good number of intrepid slouls braved the rain in the sponsored walk, which set off from Pentewen Sands Holiday Park. the trail took people along the Pentewan Valley Trail or up to Heligan.

Wlakers were treated to sea shanties by local band 'Press Gang' and heard more rom Rotary member and Shelterbox ambassador, David Earl. As Damp walkers dried off David chatted about Shelterbox's projects around the world and his own personal fundraising for the charity - a skydive to mark his 80th birthday.

As well as our walk, we held a magnificent concert at St FimbarrusChurch in Fowey in March organised by Marlene Bowden, with fabulous performances by Restormel Concert Soul and Swing Band and Imerrys Mid-Cornwall Choir. Another special treat was listening to MarleneBowden play the piano, and Partick Saunders on the clarinet - just exquisite! We also held two themed dinner evenings organised by Ross Jerome with food from around the world.