About Us

Welcome to the website of the Rotary Club of Ashby de la Zouch Castle

We aim to have fun and help people.

We are one of three Rotary Clubs in the North West Leicestershire town of Ashby de la Zouch. We meet for breakfast at The Bistro of Ashby on Tuesday mornings at 07:15 a.m. throughout the year except for the first Tuesday of every month, when we have an evening meeting at 7:30 p.m. We pride ourselves on having a varied programme of fundraising, events, and social activities. Our club was formed in 1995 and has approximately 40 members of all ages.

We organise a range of fundraising and community events throughout the year in Ashby and the surrounding areas. Significant ones well-known to the public include the Santa Sleigh Runs around Ashby and the surrounding villages, working with the other two Ashby Clubs, and the Ashby Santa Fun Run and Walk, now established fixtures for the Ashby Christmas celebrations. Both of these events, while primarily bringing community events to the town, also raise significant sums for local and Rotary charities.

Our other community activities include supporting other organisations to assist with marshalling duties and allowing community or charity events to occur. For example, we partner with Conkers for their Fireworks Display each November, with Ivanhoe Runners to help with their annual Aldi Ashby 20 Road Race, and with Ashby Town Council to provide marshals for events such as Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday in the town.

Our youth team organises or collaborates to provide many opportunities for local youngsters to participate in Rotary-founded competitions, such as Young Musician, Young Writer, Young Chef, Youth Speaks, Young Environmentalist, and Young Photographer. We also recognise youngsters who positively impact our community with the Rotary Star Awards and support the Rotary Young Leader programme.

Our International and Foundation activities support Rotary International and other charities working mainly outside the UK. These activities include ensuring we donate to the Rotary Foundation, which supports humanitarian activities worldwide. We also actively support the End Polio Now charity, which aims to eradicate polio worldwide. We also provide emergency funding for charities such as Aquabox and Shelter Box, which provide disaster relief during global crises.

Our Environmental team promotes the protection of our environment. Specifically, it looks after several green spaces in Ashby, including the Peace Garden on Market Street and areas around Hood Park. We also support local environmental initiatives, such as cleaning up, reclaiming, or wilding spaces needing attention. We strive to reduce the club's and members' ecological impact.

We also enjoy various social activities, including walks, cycling, quiz nights, croquet, skittles, UK and overseas trips, themed evenings, and many more—having Fun while Helping People.

If you'd like to learn more about what we do or would like to come and visit us at one of our breakfast meetings, please contact us via our Contact page.