OUR HISTORY

The Rotary Club of Chichester Harbour (RCCH) was accepted into Rotary International (RI) and Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland (Rotary GB&I) in February 1998, becoming the first dual-gender Rotary club in the city of Chichester. At its inception, RCCH started with 21 members – 11 male and 10 female – and became Chichester’s first Rotary breakfast club, complementing the city’s other two Rotary clubs: the ‘Chichester Club’, a lunchtime club, and ‘Chichester Priory’, which holds evening meetings.

RCCH’s success is self-evident today. Five of the original members are still active within the club. Twenty seven years later the club is still thriving and very active. We have constantly enjoyed a membership with a diverse range of skills who continue to employ their knowledge in delivery of “service before self”. The club has always made a considerable contribution to community needs, both from fundraising and delivery of services to those in need, working with nominated charities. It also has a consistent record of participating in fundraising activities in respect of international emergencies, and supporting local youth opportunities.

One notable success has been the appreciable amount of sponsorship money raised by the literally hundreds of cyclists who have participated in the annual Chichester to Chartres cycle ride that is organised and marshalled by RCCH volunteers. During the 10 years that this cycle ride has taken place, a sum in excess of £110,000 has been raised and shared between various local charities and used to fund RCCH’s own charitable activities.

Whilst we’ve stopped cycling to Chartres , we now cycle more locally each Sunday, our main fund raiser each year is our annual Golf Day. In its first 5 years we’re raised over 55000  primarily for 3 local charities Chestnut Tree House Hospice , St Wilfrid’s and Sage House.

Membership of RCCH has steadily increased over the years, whilst remaining gender-neutral, and as of December 2025 the club had 49 members.The early start (and finish) for breakfast meetings has in the hectic 21st century proved a winning formula for attracting younger members who are currently in employment.

Since its inception in 1997, RCCH has always placed a strong emphasis on the importance of social activity and having fun in encouraging and building a strong, reliable membership contribution. These factors have contributed to the club’s members working successfully together, and are borne out by the club’s excellent results.