What we did in 2024/2025

Heading up the Club through a busy year President Steve Davison expressed a wish to do more for the local community.   With that in mind, Blunsdon Primary School was given £250 so that it could purchase some desperately needed books and £350 was donated to the Blunsdon Community Shop to cover the cost of a new computer.  And £285 was donated to the Alzheimer’s Day Memory Walk organised by the Ridgeway Rise Care Home.

Support to the local community was also provided in practical terms.  One example was our annual Student Chef Competition at Swindon College which was graced by a surprise visit from the renowned chef Marco Pierre White.   Afterwards, Sian Vockins, chef lecturer at New College, sent this message:  “Just a big thank you for your continued support for our Rotary Competition. The students really love the opportunity to compete and take it all very seriously. We really appreciate your generosity and time spent with the delivery of this competition. Very many thanks." 

Members conducted mock interviews at Warneford School in Highworth.  And also in Highworth, our annual Young Musician of the Year Competition was held in St Michael’s Church .  It was a musical feast with performances from eight vocalists, seven pianists, two drummers, a bass guitarist, a violinist and a saxophonist.

Our donation of two Emergency Bleed Control Kits in cabinets made to Owen's World Foundation was mentioned on Greatest Hits Radio in their news bulletins.  The Foundation, which is dedicated to combating knife crime, is named after Owen, a young man from Penhill who was fatally stabbed in 2022

Two special Presentation Meetings were held in the year.  One in July, in respect of the previous year, and the other in May for the current year.  Local charities were invited to send a representative to accept their cheques in person.  At the first meeting, thirteen charities received £500 each and at the second £4.500 was distributed to five charities.

In December we erected a Rotary Tree in the NSPCC’s Festival of Christmas Trees in the Wyvern Theatre.  The Festival was open throughout the run of the pantomime, Cinderella.  One of our members decorated it with some unique Rotary wheel baubles he had made and also a glass slipper to acknowledge the panto’s subject.

Regular fundraising events were repeated.  The Swimathon raised £6,850 with approximately half of that going to the Thamesdown Hydrotherapy Pool.  The Christmas Sleigh Collection brought in £5,525.  The Quiz & Ploughman’s in conjunction with the Inner Wheel Club raised the most ever, £1,700, which was presented to the North Wiltshire MND Association.

The 250-Club was opened up to non-members but unfortunately no new contributors came forward.

Social events included a 2-night Weekend Away for members, partners and Friends of Rotary to go to the Brooklands Museum in Weybridge.  The Rotary District Skittles Competition returned - the Club narrowly missing a place in the quarter finals.  And another round of fireside suppers was held.