Business Meeting

ROTARY CLUB OF CHESTFIELD

Club Meeting online 21st January 2021 @ 7.30pm

Present:           Dave C, Sue, Pat, Lesley, David B, Andrew & Jean M, Hilary, Godfrey, Pete,                                            David K,  Robert, Paul, Andrew B, Kathryn (later), Margaret.

Apologies:       Gordon

Guests:            Caroline Mumford

Discussion:      Hilary informed the members present about the Easter Parade.  The format will be a parade on foot in small groups of no more than 10 persons.  Easter bonnets or fancy dress optional but encouraged.  The parade will follow the same route as we do for the Xmas collection.  There will be a children’s competition, probably for the best Easter bonnet.  The competition will entail taking photographs; Margaret has very kindly provided us with suitable permission forms for this.  Trevor will lend us the speakers for broadcasting music.  Suggestions from the membership for suitable songs for Easter, please.  The date will be Easter Saturday 3rd April.  Nearer the date, we will need members to confirm who is going to take part.  Paul said we should remember to advise / get permission from the police.

                        Andrew advised members about Walk4Water.  15th February, is the earliest when schools might be advised when they will be allowed to re-open.  So it will be about then that we will have to decide whether W4W can go ahead.

                        Although we haven’t been able to meet in person, those of us who have attended zoom meetings are familiar with our new member Margaret Cox.  She has completed her application forms, and the Board are proposing to the club membership that we accept her as a member.  In normal times, a new member would attend a breakfast meeting and do a ‘life story self introduction’ following which the members would vote on his/her acceptance.  Of course we can’t do that now - and not all of our members are comfortable with online meetings.  Margaret therefore gave a brief self-introduction to those members present, the main points of which are as follows:

-    she is 58 years old, married with 2 children, both boys, and 4 grandchildren.

-    She is a special educational needs teacher for 30 years, working now locally as a supply teacher.

-    She was an adult leader in Scouting for 20 years, working with the cub scouts in Dartford.  She was an Akela for 10 years.

-    She has a home in Dartford, but mostly lives in a residential caravan on the same site as Pat.

-    Her hobbies include walking, knitting, baking, reading, and grandchildren.

                        Hilary added that Margaret’s experience of working with children and young people has already been useful to the club in terms of knowing what permission forms to us in connection with the Easter Parade (above).  Members who wish to comment on Margaret’s membership should email Dave C on: dave.coupland@yahoo.co.uk  (Don’t use Dave’s laptop address - his laptop is currently buggered, if you’ll pardon the expression).

                        Lesley spoke about the future of club meetings, referring back to the membership survey conducted some time ago.  The survey indicated several possible options:

-    continue breakfast meetings with possibly 5-6 evening meetings per year.

-    Monthly evening meetings.

-    Alternate between breakfast and evening meetings.

The option which Lesley is proposing, and which the board has endorsed is to hold 8x evening meetings per year, plus 42x breakfast meetings.  In effect 50 meetings per year with 2 weeks over the Christmas period when we don’t meet.  Of the evening meetings 3x would be purely social, 5x would have a speaker.  This proposed was voted on by members present; the vote was in favour of going ahead, with no abstentions or votes against.  Lesley will circulate a calendar of meetings shortly.  Members not present who wish to comment, please contact Dave C using the address above.

                        Robert spoke about the online Quiz Night.  This will be on Saturday 6th March from 7.00pm for a 7.30pm start.  Cost will be £5 per screen.  It should finish by 9.00/9.30pm.  Monies raised will go to local food charities.  An invitation will go out to all members in a couple of weeks.  In order to raise as much money as possible, members are urged to invite friends and family, as W ell as joining themselves.

                        Paul as Chairperson invited Caroline to tell us what is happening with the Umbrella centre.  Caroline said that she has run the cafe at the centre for five years.  Since the pandemic she has started a social pantry or larder.  This is different from a food bank.  People pay £4 but then they can choose 20 items they want.  Caroline now has 13 volunteers, who are trained in food hygiene, and 62 families who use the service.  In order to comply with pandemic restrictions, people have a timed appointment to visit the larder, and some families have items delivered.  Additionally, the volunteers can supply pre-cooked frozen meals - 800 between September and January.  The centre also has a link with a local chip shop which runs a pay-it-forward scheme with its customers.  In response to questions, Caroline explained that there are a number of local food retailers who will donate food they can’t sell, which would otherwise end up as landfill.  Caroline’s aim is for the centre to maintain a long-term relationship with families in need, not just a one-off at Christmas.  The centre does accept cash donations, and they are always looking for food-related equipment eg freezers.  Caroline hopes to eventually be able to link up with corporate sponsors, not just individual donors.  The centre’s website is:  theumbrellacafe.co.uk

                        Robert passed on greetings from other Rotary clubs:  Canterbury Sunrise, and Aachen in Germany.

                        Members asked after Gordon.  He remains in good spirits.  He was going to attend this meeting, but he told Paul  was due for another session of chemotherapy and might not feel well enough afterwards.

                        Godfrey thanked members who have contributed cakes for distributing to the NHS as a thank you and gesture of appreciation to the latter.  Tankerton WI have also contributed.  So far he has taken cakes to hospitals in Canterbury and Ashford.  If we have more then we can also include the Whit & Tank, plus Estuary View medical centre.  Members were very keen for NHS staff who are less in the public view to be beneficiaries as well eg lab technicians, porters etc.

Date of Next Meeting:             Thursday 4th February @ 8.00am