2024-25 Highlights

During the year we will be updating this page with details of what the Club has been doing in the Rotary year that started on 1st July 2024

Hambleton Foodshare Donations Update - March 2025

Updating earlier entries, we are pleased to report that we have just delivered the last batch of Air Fryers to Hambleton Foodshare to complete our specific project to provide equipment for the Foodshare that they will be able to allocate to those who have no suitable cooking facilities. Adding to money raised by the Club, as part of our general fundraising, of just over £250 we were pleased to receive some support from The Rotary Foundation - Rotary's own charity - of £130, meaning that in all we have been able to purchase 10 Air Fryers and 3 Slow Cookers for this purpose.  

We continue to do top-up shops from our separate allocation for food and household items where there are shortages in the store. So far in the current Rotary year we have spent around £740. This means we have a further £600 available for further shops in the next quarter.

Schools Technology Tournament - 4th March 2025

A record number of teams from North Yorkshire and County Durham schools competed in this year's highly-successful Rotary Technology Tournament.

A total of 165 students from 11 schools in places including Northallerton, York, Darlington, Thirsk, Richmond, Leyburn, Catterick and Ferryhill took part in the tough annual challenge of engineering initiative at Catterick Garrison.

With no prior knowledge of the task ahead of them, they split into teams of four with wood, drills, glue and batteries to build small electric cars capable of negotiating a narrow pipeline runway. A short timeframe was provided for completion and the cars then had to be tested in front of a team of judges from local Rotary clubs.

Winners in the Foundation category were Richmond School, with St Francis Xavier School, of Richmond, second and Risedale School, from Hipswell, third. Winners and runners-up in the Intermediate section were Cundall Manor School, with Northallerton School & Sixth Form College in third place. Winners and runners-up in the Advanced section were Northallerton School & Sixth Form College, with Breckenbrough School in third place.

The lead organiser this year was our Club member Anne Ash, with support from members of the Club and from the Northallerton, Thirsk, Richmond and Wensleydale Rotary clubs. Facilities were kindly provided by 1^st Close Support Battalion REME.

“It was fantastic to see schools and colleges from throughout our region working together in their teams to crack a very tough and complex challenge,” said Anne. “The students showed fantastic teamwork and inventiveness and feedback from teachers has been very positive. This was my first year of organising the event and I couldn’t have done it without the incredible support from my fellow Rotarians. I’d also like to thank everyone at 1^st Close Support Battalion REME for making us so welcome.”

Our picture shows one of the teams testing their finished model.

If you want to see some further pictures you can follow this link to our post event coverage in the Darlington and Stockton Times

Further Funding for Herriott Hospice@The Lambert - February 2025

Following our visit in January, the Club became aware that there were still a number of items of equipment needed to finish equipping the hospice rooms in advance of opening the facility.  We were pleased, therefore, to be able to fund the provision of drug cabinets and dementia friendly clocks in each of the 6 hospice rooms by giving a further grant of £744.

Work completed on the Borewell Project in India - January 2025

We are pleased to report the speedy implementation of the project we funded to recharge borewells in the Pune district in India, working with two Rotary Clubs in India and with assistance of a grant of £380 from the Rotary Foundation.

As well as the £3,300 sent by the Club, the local Rotary Club of Pune Metro was also able to provide some funding, so the final number of borewells dealt with was 23 rather than the 19 we had hoped could be dealt with by our contribution.

Traditionally borewells are drilled to a single level to tap a specific groundwater source.  The technology used in this project allows engineers to assess the availability of additional upper levels of groundwater, particularly those occuring during the rainy season, and put carefully planned openings in the wall of the well to collect additional water. This all sounds quite complex - but the outcome on the surveyed wells that have been dealt with in the project is that the expected increase in yield will be a stunning 1500%.

Our picture shows the team and villagers at one of sites during the works

Donation Update - January 2025

At the start of 2025, the Club has made a number of donations from funds raised over the last few months.

At our Charter Dinner in October our raffle raised £300, and we were pleased to present this formally to Herriot Hospice Homecare when a number of Club Members visited the impressive new facilities at Herriot Hospice@The Lambert on 8th January. We look forward to hearing that the facility will start to welcome it's first users in the near future.

We have agreed a number of other donations.

The first of £545 was for the Pendragon Community Trust to purchase a replacement colour-change Projector for their multi-sensory room.

We have also given £500 to ShelterBox, one of the charities we try to support ever year to help in their relief work worldwide, and another £500 to Bloodrun EVS to help fund their invaluable work in the Region.

Work about to start on the India Borewell Project - December 2024

Earlier in the year members of the Club undertook a sponsored walk to raise funds to restore and recharge Borewells in villages in the Pune Distict in India. As well as donations and related gift aid we were succesful in our application for some additional grant funding from The Rotary Foundation, who awarded us £380 for the project.  Altogether the amount we have been able to send to our partners in India is £3,300 and this will be sufficient to improve 19 village Borewells and mean that villagers will have improved water supplies and will not have to travel long distances to collect their daily water requirements. With funding in place, work is due to start shortly. Thanks go in particular to the Rotary Clubs of Pune Metro and Poona West for working with us on the practicalities of the project.

Our Christmas Supermarket Collections - December 2024

This year we will be collecting at Sainsbury's and at Tesco. The money raised at these collections goes to our Rotary Club projects, and in particular supports our various youth projects across the year. Thank you to our hosts, and also to everyone who has been so generous in their donations.

Our picture is of one of the teams at Sainsbury's on 14th December, where we collected £432, and we look forward to collecting at Tesco on 21st December.

Supporting Hambleton Foodshare - December 2024

Earlier in the year the Club held a very successful Indian Extravaganza Evening at The Forum and the money we raised from this event will be spent over the months ahead doing shopping for shortage items, as required by  Hambleton Foodshare. During December demand has been high, and we have now done two shops and spent around £500 of the overall £1,360 raised at the event.

The Club has also agreed that some money raised at other events should be used to purchase cooking equipment for Foodbank users who do not have a means to cook, and the first purchase of air fryers and slow cookers has now been presented. Thanks also go to the Rotary Foundation who have given us a top up grant of £130 to increase the fund available for this project. Overall we have a budget of £380 for these purchases in the current Rotary year.

Our picture shows the presentation of the first shop including equipment, when we took it to the Foodshare in early December.

A trip to Kerala in India - November 2024

8 members of the Club, with family and friends making the party up to 18 in total, had a 2 week tour of Kerala. We had a great time with lots of new experiences.  Thanks in particular to member Sandhya for all her hard work in coordinating the trip.

Whilst we were there we were privileged to be able to visit a Special School in Cochin where we were made very welcome by the staff, pupils and young adults and learnt about their work and activities. We had a collection in aid of the school and donated 25,000 rupees, about £250, towards to work of the School.

The school had put on a short programme showcasing some of the musical and dance talents of members of the school.  Our group reciprocated with an off the cuff rendition of a few verses of "Old MacDonald had a Farm"!

On our last night in India some of us went to visit the Rotary Club of Cochin South.  We were made very welcome and shared information about what each of our clubs had been doing recently. After the meeting we had a chance to meet individual members and share our own tales. We hope there may be ways in which the Clubs could work together in future.  

Bonfire Night - Collecting at the Town Fireworks - 5th November 2024

One of the things the club does each year is to support the Town Fireworks Display by helping with the bucket collection which helps to raise money for the event for the following year, and our teams were out and about round the site as usual.  The collection this year came to over £3000, which will be put towards the 2025 event. Thanks to the Town Council and everyone else involved in putting on this great community event.

A visit to the Pendragon Community Trust and a surprise - 28th October 2024

The Club had a trip to see the Multi - Sensory Centre run by the Pendragon Community Trust, and hear about their work with adults and children with special needs. 

A last minute arrangement meant we were joined by Rotarians from Uganda who were in the area on a visit, and it was good to meet them and their visit hosts.

The impressive facilities were described to us by the team, and we were able to try out some for ourselves - including the ball pool. The Trust do great work with their service users , who come both from the immediate area and further afield. 

The last weekend in October meant it was time for our bi-annual book and postcard fair. Once again we had a good turnout of sellers and buyers, and the Club also raised money from running our tearoom. We were very pleased to raise just over £1200 for our Rotary Projects.

Rotary Peace Conference in Bradford - 26th October 2024

The School of Peace Studies at Bradford University is one of only 7 Rotary Peace Centres round the world, and each year this Seminar gives an opportunity for the current 10 Peace Fellows, funded by Rotary to complete a Masters course at the School, to present their work and tell us something about themselves and their hopes and aspirations as they make careers in many different ways - looking at things like peace and conflict and sustainable development. The 2024 Seminar was, as ever, a stimultating day with plenty of opportunities to hear presentations, ask questions, talk to like minded people about these issues, and even join in with some fun interactive activities.  Oh - and of course the lunch served in the University Student Hub was as ever excellent Yorkshire fayre and an added bonus of the day! All round another great day. 

On 27th September a joint meeting of Northallerton and Northallerton Mowbray Rotary Clubs was held at The Golden Lion, Northallerton, and at the meeting both students told the clubs about their experience.

The presentations concluded with certificates being presented to Joshua Proud by Northallerton RC President David Ison, and to Jacob Heys by our own Club President Chris Horler. Also on the photos are the Rotarians who had acted as mentors on the course - Cindy Stephenson and  Rosemary Wilkinson.

Presenting a Certificate of Appreciation to REME for their ongoing help with the Technology Tournament - 20th September 2024

Every year the Club works with four other Rotary Clubs (Thirsk, Richmond, Northallerton, and Wensleydale), to put on a Schools Technology Tournament at Catterick Garrison.  And we could not do this without the great support we receive from the 1^st Close Support Battalion of REME based at the Garrison, who provide us with our venue.

To mark this support, provided over a number of years, a Certificate of Appreciation was presented to REME as a sign of the appreciation of the five clubs. Geoff Colls of the Thirsk Club presented the certificate.

It was great to meet some of the REME team, and also an opportunity for Rotarians from the Clubs to get together for a catch up.

We look forward to the 2025 Tournament which will be held next March.

An Indian Extravaganza - 7th September 2024

An Indian Extravaganza organised by the Club to raise funds for Hambleton Foodshare proved a spectacular success, raising £1,360. 

A packed audience at The Forum in Northallerton was treated to a thrilling showcase of traditional Indian dance and a sumptuous three-course meal of southern Indian foods. 

The dancers demonstrated their skills in a range of rhythmic routines, some dating back 500 years. The performers, Sahana Sreedhar, Aaadya Kashyap and Siri Puthuraya, are all based in the North-East and study under the tutelage of their guru, Mrs Chamundeswari Pani. They specialise in the Bharathanatyam dance form of southern India and have practised for year to perfect their skills. 

The evening concluded with an Indian-themed quiz and a raffle.

Club President Chris Horler said: “It was an absolute privilege to be able to host such a wonderfully entertaining group of dancers. We had a fantastic evening in support of Hambleton Foodshare, who do such valuable work in our local community. A huge thanks to the dancers and to everyone who worked so hard behind the scenes to make the evening possible.”

Vocational Visit to Sri Lanka – 29^th July to 9^th August 2024

Members Anand and Sandhya Nadgir joined a very interesting and worthwhile health related Rotary project in Sri Lanka, involving Rotarians from a number of UK Clubs, as well as local Rotarians in Sri Lanka, working with the Faculty of Dental Sciences at Peradeniya University in Kandy.

The project involved medical professionals from the UK Clubs forming a Vocational Training Team dealing with aspects of Dental and Maxillo-Facial Disorders.

Anand contributed to the main project and both he and Sandhya were able to make a number of presentations, on their areas of expertise, to local clinical staff.

It was also a great opportunity for fellowship with those involved, and with the local Rotary Club, and there were opportunities to visit local attractions as well. 

Young Writers Competition 2023-24

At the end of the last Rotary year the Club held local rounds for the Rotary Young Writers Competition - and we now have pictures of the presentations to the finalists.

A total of 28 students from Northallerton School & Sixth Form College and Bedale High School took part in the Young Writers challenge. They were invited to submit short pieces of poetry or prose on the theme of “rebuilding”, which could be interpreted as broadly as the students wished and was designed to inspire their creative talents.

Students in the 14-to-17 age category were encouraged to think about their vocabulary and language in their work of fiction or non-fiction. Judges considered their ability to engage interest and be consistent in their power of argument.

“The standard of entries was hugely impressive,” said Anne Ash, youth lead at the Club. “Rebuilding lives and communities is one of Rotary’s main themes and this really fired the students’ imaginations. This is the first year we’ve held the Young Writers competition and it’s greatly encouraging to see the wealth of creative talent these students possess. We’d also like to thank the staff at Northallerton School & Sixth Form College and Bedale High School for encouraging them to take part.” 

Bedale School photo shows students with Bedale High School teacher Stacy Cann (back, left) and Rotarians Kevin Hardisty and Anne Ash

Northallerton School photo shows (L-R): Robert Stevenson Brown, Head of English at Northallerton School & Sixth Form College, with students Bethany Ring and Libby Pratt and Rotarians Kevin Hardisty and Anne Ash

Club Handover - 1st July 2024

July sees the start of our new Rotary year.At the helm for the next 12 months as Club President is Chris Horler. Chris joined Rotary in 1993 and transferredc to our Club in 2021. Whilst a member of the Rotary Club of Bedford, Chris completed a year as their President, so brings a wealth of experience to his new role.

Chris says "I am delighted to be President of the Rotary Club of Northallerton Mowbray for the next year. It is a great club, full of enthusiastic people who havde a common aim of helping people here and abroad. We organise events where we have fun raising monies and giving help to the needy in the community. Everyone is welcome!"

There was a light-hearted moment when outgoing President Anne Ash had to stand on a chair to adorn our tall incoming President Chris with the chain of office.

As part of the Handover, Tony Wood becomes President-Elect, and will take over as President in a year's time.  Anna Naughton remains as Secretary, and Geoff Wall as Treasurer.