Ambulances for Ukraine

We raised nearly £17,000 from our Children's Christmas Carol Concerts and a fashion show event and supplied two ambulances full of medical supplies to Kharkiv in Ukraine



Our two concerts on 5 December 2022 were highly successful events with enthusiastic performers and large audiences. Great St Mary's Church was nearly full. As well as the nine primary school choirs we had a last-minute inspiring contribution during the second concert from a choir of Ukrainians who are living in the Cambridge area. Sergii Savytskyi, President of the Rotary Club of Kharkiv International, gave moving speeches about the situation in Ukraine and the response of people in the UK to it.

One of our members arranged a lively fashion show evening before Christmas, giving members and friends a chance to make some useful and enjoyable present purchases.

Our aim was to raise enough money to send one second-hand ambulance full of medical supplies to Ukraine. We have in fact raised nearly £17,000 with concert and fashion show ticket sales, donations and contributions from our generous sponsors. This has allowed us to send two ambulances. They were driven to Kharkiv via Poland in 36 hours by a team of drivers led by Sergii Savytskyi (click photo above to enlarge), President of the Rotary Club of Kharkiv International, and arrived in late December. The pictures show them outside the National Medical University of Kharkiv.

Sergii Savytskyi also spoke at our meeting on 16 August. Kharkiv, in North-Eastern Ukraine, is the country's second-largest city. It has been the location of some of the fiercest fighting of the war, but is currently in Ukrainian hands, albeit under constant attack. Sergii's presentation gave a graphic description of the appalling effects of the war on the civilian population, and of the massive efforts by Rotary clubs in Ukraine and the bordering countries to the West to provide humanitarian aid to those affected and displaced. To view his video presentation click here

Sergii returned on 24 January 2023 and spoke again about his home city of Kharkiv, Ukraine's academic capital. There are 31 university colleges with 130,000 students in a city that is normally home to 2 million people. The scrolling photos at the top of this page show our club Centenary flag in front of some of the many damaged buildings.

There is a short film about the universities in Kharkiv on YouTube - click here

On 24 January we exchanged certificates of twinning of our club with Kharkiv International, which signify our continuing commitment to routing support for Ukrainians in Ukraine through them, and to maintaining regular contact.
 

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Our ambulances arrive at the National Medical University of Kharkiv

Our support for Ukraine tops £32,000

back We raised funds supporting Ukrainians both in Ukraine and in Cambridge & East Anglia from several events in 2022

'What We Do' Main Pages:

This year's theme is 'Wonderful Water'

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Our annual competition for budding artists - the theme this year is 'Wonderful Water'

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What has it done for me?

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Our annual opportunity for Young Photographers to show off their skills, with Local, District and National stages.

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At the Centre for Computing History

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We have been awarded a Bronze Certificate, in recognition of donations to Shelterbox of £2,000 in 2023-4

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Rotary Clubs worldwide are spear-heading the drive to eliminate polio

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We are supporting this successful and worthwhile cause, currently with £500 of investment in multiple small enterprises

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There are many myths and pre-conceptions about Rotary - this page seeks to dispel them.

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Several of our Local entrants had success at District and National level last year. We are running our competitions again this year

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34 of our members and friends are walking to plant trees with Treekly

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Our popular event for school choirs and their families & friends raised over £15,000 for local children's charities. The 2024 Concert will be on Friday 13 December at West Road Concert Hall - details coming soon

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We organise two-day breaks at a National Trust site in N Norfolk for young people aged 12-15 who probably won't get any other holiday

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Combating AMR was the focus of our 2023-24 President's Charity, Antibiotic Research UK. We raised nearly £6000 in support

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Our members take part in many hands-on activities as listed below

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Our Junior Competition entrant has gone on to win at National Level. Our Intermediate Team won third prize in their group

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Chloe Folkes, 3rd National Prizewinner

Our Senior Winner Chloe Folkes has received 3rd Prize in the National Competition

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Past President John Martin uses his building skills to help the locals create a community centre for this deprived settlement in The Gambia, only a few miles from the luxurious tourist resorts on the coast

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We raised funds supporting Ukrainians both in Ukraine and in Cambridge & East Anglia from several events in 2022

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The East Anglian District and National Rotary Magazines feature the wide range of charitable and fellowship activities that Rotary Clubs enjoy

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We and our colleagues in the three other Cambridge clubs celebrated 100 years of Rotary service in 2022

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Our inaugural competition for budding computer experts, for the Francis Hookham Trophy

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Read the story behind this map and visit any of the operational WW2 UK RAF and USAAF airfields

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We are part of a worldwide movement of 46,000 Rotary clubs with a total of 1.4 million members. We enjoy a range of informal fellowship events while supporting local and international charities

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Cambridge Aid does great work in support of Cambridge residents in need. In 2019-21 we raised over £12,500 and we continue to support them

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RYLA offers an intensive 7-day course for 18-26 year-olds, helping them to develop as future leaders

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A sample of our members' varied interests and significant contributions to the local community

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A brief history of the Rotary Club of Cambridge together with some records which might be of interest to the wider audience

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Our members raised £1366 for Children in Need in Cambridge Market Square on 20 November 2021

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