OUR FUND RAISING EFFORTS - WHY?

EVERY PENNY WE RAISE FOR CHARITY WILL BE GIVEN TO CHARITY - THERE IS NO SKIMMING OR TOP-SLICING.

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Some people think of Rotary as simply a fund raising organisation. A few years ago, when we were 'rattling tins' in front of Mirfield Coop one person asked: 'is this all that you do?'

Of course we do rattle tins - occasionally. But we also do other things to raise funds. Why do we raise funds?

In recent years we have donated £3750 to Kirkwood Hospice and over £1000 to Ravens Hall School.

The money we raised also helped us to support a Young Chef competition, send two young people to a leadership training course, help Matrix and the Salvation Army. We also were able to sponsor one young adult to attend Youth Sail were people spend a week at sea under sail.

Rotary is proud that every penny raised for charity is used for charitable purpose. There is no top-slicing or skimming of money we raise. So, if you want 100% of your money to go to someone in need then Rotary is the channel.

Our most recent fundraising event was Carol singing at Mirfield Co-op - a great local business who regularly sponsors our events. In just 1 hour the good and generous people of Mirfield donated £290 despite the restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ravenshall School

A visit to Ravenshall School is always uplifting and inspirational. A feeling of love and caring eminates from all who work there and this embraces the children giving them confidence to acheive and become fulfilled. On our last visit our President Gill Poole and Rtn Elizabeth Higgins enjoyed a most moving production of the Christmas Nativity Play. Every child had a part and we could see the joy in their faces when they were on stage and acting out their part. What stunning stars, sheepand shepherds graced the stage.

The demands on the school are growing and children attending with ever more complex needs. More specialist equipment is needed and our members through the good offices and skills in Indian cooking of Chris and John Philip raised £500. Thanks to a Rotary District Grant this was doubled to £1000 which has already been put to good use buying teaching aids.

Mirfield Rotary Sing for Children’s Mental Health!

Rtn's Liz Higgins and Gill Hawksworth of Mirfield Rotary Club have presented a cheque for £312 to Tom Taylor, Director of Northorpe Hall Child & Family Trust. The funds were raised from donations collected during an enthusiastic Saturday morning of carol singing at Mirfield’s Cooperative supermarket just before Christmas 2017.

Tom Taylor said “Mirfield Rotary and the Coop have given us fantastic support in recent years, helping us to support more children with their mental and emotional health.”

North Kirklees Women’s Refuge

Our club supports the North Kirklees Women’s Refuge, which provides accommodation and support for women affected by domestic violence. The club gave them a significant donation last year.

On 25th January 2021, the club’s speaker was Shaffia Katun from the Women’s Refuge, who gave us an update on their progress and outlined how we can help them in the future. She explained that the Refuge needs support with bed covers and explained they had to be new.

In response to this our corporate member Jay-Be Ltd has kindly offered to provide them with thirty single mattresses and also invited one of their suppliers, John Cotton Ltd, who also generously offered to match the 30 mattresses with 30 sets of bedding and pillows.

The club and the Women’s Refuge are very grateful to Jay-Be Ltd and John Cotton Ltd for this generous offer.

Rohingya Refugee Camp Fire Disaster

On 22 March 2021, a fire that had started during the late afternoon in part of the refugee camp in Bangladesh, destroyed a large portion of the camp, killed over a dozen people, and left nearly a thousand injured or missing. Thought to have begun when gas cylinders used for cooking exploded, 100 firemen fought the blaze, which burned for around eight hours until midnight.

The fire displaced roughly 50,000 Rohingya refugees of the genocide in Myanmar and destroyed many buildings, including schools and food storage centres. Some observers reported that rescue efforts were hindered by barbed-wire fencing around the camp, suggesting that it may have slowed down escapees and possibly contributed to the casualties.

With our close links already established with the refuges there the Rotary Club of Mirfield responded within a few days and raised £1850 which was sent and immediately used to give front line aid to those who had lost everything once again.

Most of the funds raised were focussed on giving support to widows and orphans to provide clothing and other essential items.

The photographs show individuals receiving aid. The young boy, whose father was slaughtered in Myanmar, as now lost his mother in the fire.

"Further to the devastating fire in the world's largest refugee camp that destroyed thousands of dwellings and killed many of the Rohingya refugees from Burma the Rotary Club of Mirfield has continued to provide aid to over 200 people who lost everything in the fire. This week at the conclusion of Ramadan we distributed sleeping mats and clothing to those in great need. Over £2000 of aid has now been distributed."

Photo below shows Rohingya ladies collecting articles bought with money from Mirfield Rotary