End Polio Paella Celebration

Every year, the Rotary Club of Billericay seeks to raise money to support Rotary’s most important and high profile project, End Polio Now.  

Recognition

Our efforts were recognised in February this year when we received four awards for our efforts in 2023-24 at the District 1240 Foundation Lunch:

• End Polio Now - Countdown to History.  The highest club contribution to End Polio Now in the District
• Every Rotarian Every Year (EREY).  Every member of the club donates over $25 to The Rotary Foundation Every Year
• One Hundred Percent Club.  Every member of our club is a “sustaining” member donating $100 or more to The Rotary Foundation
• Buck’s Bucket. The club with the highest percentage of sustaining members in the District

Fundraising Fortune

This year was no different and members worked together to collect donations for this first End Polio Now project of the Rotary year.  In total we directly raised £660 and by donating this as part of our GlobalGiving program, we received a bonus of over £260, so the total raised was over £920.  There will be Gift Aid on top of this at 25% generating another £165, for a total of £1085.

Thanks to the generosity of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, this amount will be tripled, so the total amount received by End Polio Now will be £3255 less some fees to GlobalGiving.  At prevailing costs for the End Polio Now vaccine, this is worth up to just over 32,000 vaccine doses.

Paella Party

Needless to say, club members were delighted with this result, and it was TIME TO CELBRATE!
For several years now, Patrick and Carol Rothon have graciously held a garden party for our club in their lovely garden at Brook Lodge, so they offered to hold a Paella Party this year on August 3, 2024 where we could all celebrate the success of our fundraising, with hopes that the weather would be kind and we’d all enjoy the ‘al fresco’ event.

The weather forecast suggested that it would be cloudy with sunny intervals, but no rain, so we could dispense with the usual marquees and an early start on Sunday saw Patrick clearing the lawn (again) and laying out the tables and chairs for the roughly 30 guests – five tables and thirty chairs on the lawn, plus a bar table and food table on the patio.  Nearly 30 members and guests mingled happily on the terrace of the house, drinks in hand, catching up on the latest news from each other.

Fortunately, the terrace is a sun trap sheltered from most of the wind, and although it was a cooler than in previous days, it was the most enjoyable weather of the week, fully justifying summer clothes.  The weather was dry, the sun was out, and conversation flowed easily.

Great Food and Fellowship

As usual, Carol and Patrick provided the meal (Carol’s inestimable chicken and rice paella, and this year, even a vegetarian alternative for those who wanted it) and all the soft drinks and beer which anybody wanted.   Both paellas were delicious. 

Carol worked hard, assisted by friend Pauline and Sarah Kettle, in cooking her chicken paella, and soon members were queueing up for the paella, and the salads on the nearby table.  It was delicious and most of the food was swiftly consumed.

Patrick thanked everybody for coming along to this social event, and especially for all they had contributed to the club’s fundraising for End Polio Now – this year there have been 25 cases of Polio in the world – in Pakistan and Afghanistan.  

Apart from Paella, and the drinks, other guests had helped by providing the wine - white, rosé, and red, and various desserts and cakes, so there was plenty of food and drink for all.  Many thanks to Carol and Patrick for all their efforts and for hosting the party!

Meal  over, it was time to circulate, with general interactions, conversation and discussions.  

If you didn’t manage to go along, you missed out on a lovely day with great food and great fellowship.
Despite this year’s increase in cases, we are hopefully in the last stages of this terrible disease, but we must continue to support Rotary’s efforts to rid the world of Polio.