KIDS OUT DAY AT CHESSINGTON

In true Rotary spirit the Rotary Clubs of Croydon and Croydon Jubilee once again joined together to make it possible for Children and their Carers from Red Gates (Special Needs) School in Selsdon and the Deaf Unit at Norbury Manor Primary School in Norbury to attend and enjoy the annual Kids Out Day at Chessington World of Adventure on 12 June 2024. 

This District 1145 Event was again organised by Alan Knight and his wife Carole and in total there were nearly 2200 (up 244 on last year) taking part sponsored by 19 Rotary Clubs with 1255 Children, nearly 900 Carers and Adults and 52 Rotarians. In the end we sponsored 58 children from Red Gates together with 54 carers and with 6 children and 8 carers from Norbury Manor after there were a few inevitable last minute dropouts. 

It was bright but still quite cold on 12^th June, and I arrived at Chessington in good time to try and spot our schools amongst the large crowds arriving, to meet and greet them, and to distribute the last remaining stocks of Kids Out caps. They all had a splendid time and very much enjoyed the day. 

An event such as this really illustrates what Rotary can do and provide a terrific day out for over 1000 children. Hopefully our two Clubs can continue to make this possible for the schools we sponsor, but the only dark cloud on the horizon is that it appears that Chessington have made reference to potential (large) increases in cost for next year, which if significant could affect the viability of the event for us and many of the other Rotary Clubs involved. 

Adrian Curtis,
Croydon Jubilee Rotary Club