Communities at Home

It has been a different year for the Community Team this year as the Coronavirus restrictions have meant that many of the things we would normally be out and about doing just weren't possible, but that doesn't mean we haven't been busy!

FLOWER BEDS

From early summer through to mid October Rotary Elgin supports the maintenance of the flower beds at the western approach to Elgin and this year was no exception. The team of volunteer Rotarians did a fantastic job keeping the weeds down and the plants looking lovely.

In July Rotary Elgin also agreed to support and maintain the flower bed in the main square in Lossiemouth. These photos show the before and after views of the first phase of this project. Once again George West and his team of volunteer Rotarians step up to the challenge. Since the initial tidy up a rota of volunteers continued to weed the bed when necessary and we have added some additional plants including Rotary crocuses for additional colour and interest.

HAND SANITISER DONATIONS

On Thursday 27th August 2020, donations of 72 litres of hand sanitiser were distributed on behalf of Rotary Elgin and supported by Moray Office Supplies to five local care homes, Abbeyside, Abbeyvale, Andersons, Spynie and The Grove.

Funding from the Rotary District Emergency Fund, to be used for a coronavirus related purpose, was topped up from Club funds and it was decided to purchase hand sanitiser for the five care homes that Rotary Elgin are connected to through their Winter Entertainment Programme.

Alan Elder of Moray Office Supplies and a former member of Rotary Elgin very generously agreed to provide the stock of hand sanitiser at cost price.

WINTER ENTERTAINMENT

Under normal circumstances the Community Team would coordinate a programme of Winter Entertainment to be delivered to the care homes and residential facilities in Elgin. As restrictions could not permit this to go ahead this year we helped organise DVD recordings to be shared instead. Thanks to Rotaract Moray for sharing their productions alongside recordings from the various groups who provide the usual Winter Entertainment programme.

CARING AT CHRISTMAS COLLECTIONS

One of the favourite times of the year for members of Rotary Elgin is the festive season when we don our yello tabards and get out and about in the community, packing bags, collecting on the Plainstones and accompanying Santa on his sleigh as part of our Christmas Collections.

Sadly this year we didn't feel this would be the best thing to do, for although we love to chat to friends old and new during this time we wanted to do our bit to keep everyone safe.

Instead we decided to head online and launched the Rotary Elgin Lucky Stars draw on Facebook. In the run up to Christmas we offered the opportunity to win a giant cheesecake donated by the very talented Rotaractor, Peter Mutch, and a Christmas Hamper that had so many donated items we needed two baskets!

These were very well supported, with the cheesecake selling out in only a few days. Thank you to everyone who bought a lucky start and keep an eye out for future events.

The Caring at Christmas collections have also benefitted from a number of other initiatives undertaken by Club members and also the online Carol Concert produced by Rotaract Moray.

The funds raised from our various Christmas activities and from Rotaract Moray have now been distributed to Elgin Youth Cafe, The Samaritans and Avenue. Each charity received £1,000 which will be used locally. These charities were suggested by members of Rotary Elgin who were keen to support young people, and in particular their mental health. All were delighted to receive the funds and if Rotary Elgin can make a difference to even a small number of young people or save one life it will be funds well spent.