Thanks for Life: Clubs celebrate Rotary's 105th Birthday

Thanks for Life - End Polio Now

Elthorne-Hillingdon and Bicester clubs had Window of Opportunity displays throughout February promoting the End Polio campaign and Rotary activities in general. Anyone passing by the Victoria Road lights in Ruislip Manor could not have failed to spot the bright orange and green display splashed across six windows of an empty bathroom shop. (Perhaps a touch of poignant irony here, considering Polio spreads through poor sanitation!)

Bicester children could read all about the Polio Story in the large comic strip displayed, child-height, along the foot of the window in Crown Walk shopping arcade. Other aspects of Rotary activities, including a fully erected ShelterBox tent, were also on show within the shop, and proved a good talking point when club members held a successful Saturday morning membership drive.

Fortified by a fund-raising Curry Evening at Guilshan Brasserie earlier in the month, Faringdon & District enlisted the help of Thomas the Tank Engine to promote their presence in the Market Square on Saturday 20 & 27 February and also had a Window of Opportunity in Sadlers throughout the week.

Oxford had a novel approach to promotion by getting the Sony shop in the Westgate shopping centre to play the Thanks for Life videos throughout the day, while club members held a street collection in the main precinct. Loddon Vale explained the polio problem to the younger generation with a presentation to The Piggot School, Wargrave and Wallingford and Sinodun joined forces to present an exhibition on the work of Rotary at the town hall.

Polio Plus collections were held at branches of Tesco in Abingdon, Ascot, Bicester, Hayes, Hungerford, Newbury, Princes Risborough, Reading, Uxbridge, Windsor and Yeading, while Thame did a 'pub and restaurant crawl' to raise funds and neighbouring Haddenham held a Quiz evening. Didcotcollected outside Sainsbury's at the Orchard Centre and with other club fundraising have reached a total of almost