Pictures from Events taken throughout 2016

Being a Member of Rotary or Inner Wheel isn't all work, we also have an active social life. So on the 15th December we got together to enjoy a joint Rotary and Inner Wheel Christmas Party. Good food, great surroundings and even better company - what more could we ask to end the year with?

One of the highlights in our District year is the annual Christmas Breakfast Meeting organised by the Rotary Club of Ascot and attended by Rotary Clubs from all over the Thames Valley. Pictured here (l to r) are District Governor Joy Arnott, Club President Andrew Vallance and National Rotary (RIBI) President Eve Conway. This picture clearly demonstrates that Rotary is no longer a Men-only organisation.

The Rotary Club of Reading Maiden Erlegh has donated £250 to the Salvation Army in support of the "Bed for the Night" operation they are running in Reading with several Churches, this being particularly important in the winter months. Photo: Rotary Club President Scott Trathen presenting the cheque to Colin Crosby of the Salvation Army.

During the lead up to Christmas hundreds of local children enjoyed having breakfast & tea with Santa or visited Santa in his grotto at the Sheeplands Garden Centre near Twyford. This plus donations at ASDA in Lower Earley and at the Henry Street Garden Centre in Arborfield raised a total of £7,832.

The weekend of 5/6-Nov-16 was a busy time for our Club. On the evening of the 5th we helped the Woodley and Earley Lions to run their annual Charity Guy Fawkes Fireworks Show in Laurel Park, Earley. During both days of the weekend we were also in Reading’s Broad Street lending a hand to the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal. Thanks to the generosity of the Reading shoppers we raised £2,586.33 which was an increase on last year's £1852. Our Rotarians were proud to provide this collection support in memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

Every year we play Golf in competition with our 'Mother Club' Loddon Vale. Our President Scott Trathen - pictured holding the cup - clearly enjoyed the game as did everybody who took part that day.

Together with Partners and Friends we enjoyed an excellent three course lunch at the Clink Restaurant in HM Prison Brixton. The appetising and tastefully presented food was prepared and served by prisoners. The Clink Restaurants allow prisoners to learn new skills, engage with the public and take their first steps towards a new life.

Our Club had the privilege of supporting Paralympic rowing champion Naomi Riches MBE as she passed through the Locks around Reading in her challenge to become the fastest woman to row the 165-mile length of the River Thames. The two-day ‘Great Thames Row’ was in support of IN-vision (in-vision.org.uk) a charity that helps people with nystagmus, the visual impairment that Naomi also has. Naomi was aiming to complete the challenge in 50 hours but in fact made the journey in just under 48 hours so she is eagerly awaiting confirmation of her achievement from Guinness World Records.

In addition to our Community and Charity work Rotary also supports and encourages young adults as they launch into their chosen careers. Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) is a leadership development program that covers a variety of topics including Leadership fundamentals, Communication skills, Problem solving and Community citizenship. Pictured here are our Club’s most recent RYLA participants from the Reading area proudly holding their Award Certificates.

Rotarians often perform voluntary work abroad, supporting charities or good causes. In this case our President Nominee Sarah went over to Rio to work as part of the 2016 Olympics marshalling team. She has been sharing pictures of her experiences and adventures via social media, and will be using some of them in a presentation to the Club when she gets back to the UK. She's clearly had a unique and wonderful time.

Being a member of the Rotary Club is not all work and fund raising. We also enjoy having fun at local events and as you can see from this press article we had a Stall at the Earley Green Fair. We have a game of some kind running, usually for the children of the area, with sweets or similar as prizes.

Every year the Royal Berkshire Hospital, in conjunction with other NHS Hospitals, runs Walk for Wards which is a sponsored walk that aims to raise vital funds to support the Hospitals. This year we had the pleasure of providing Checkpoint and Gateway Marshals in Englefield Park near Theale in Berkshire. The event raised around £12,000 which is a wonderful result that will benefit thousands of people over the coming year.

The first major fund raising event for President Scott Trathen - pictured - was the annual Rotary Charity Golf tournament held at Sonning Golf Club on 14th July. Eighteen teams of men and woman played the 18 holes. A fund raising dinner in the evening with a charity auction raised £2000. Proceeds of over £2,500 from the golf day plus another £2,000 already earmarked by the Rotary Club will be donated to the Royal Berkshire Hospital Charity to go towards the purchase of a new Faxitron scanner which will speed up the diagnosis of breast cancer. The remainder will go to supporting other Rotary good causes.

Our Rotary Year runs from June to July, so in June each year we hand over the reins from one President to the next. This year outgoing (2015/16) President Rose handed over to incoming (2016/17) President Scott. In case you're wondering, President Scott is Cornish and in the second picture he proudly displayed the flag of Cornwall.

One of our Members suffered a severe stroke and decided that he would undertake a charity walk to help raise funds for the Stroke Association. In spite of his restricted mobility, and being not only a thoroughly good person but also a committed Rotarian, he completed the challenge which was to walk from Reading Bridge to Caversham Bridge. Although it was only half a mile along the river that walk took him one hour ten minutes, he was determined to do it raising £430. We are proud of you Dave!

The stereotypical image of a Rotary Presidents Night is formal attire and dancing to a traditional band. Our Rotary Club likes to do things differently so this year our President Rose made her Presidents Night informal and with a Caribbean them. We had a great time.

We celebrated Queen Elizabeth's 90th Birthday in Sonning on 23rd April 2016. It was a memorable evening with great food, great entertainment and above all great company. Of the 65 people that attended a large number had played their part in the evening, decorating the hall, preparing and serving the food, delivering the presentations and managing the sound system. The journey through 90 years of British history was a wonderful reminder of how much had happened during Queen Elizabeth's reign.

On Sunday 17th April, Jennie Reeves (3rd from right) from Wokingham gained £233 worth of shopping in three minutes at the Woodley Waitrose store. She was the winner of a three minute charity trolley dash raffle run by the Rotary Club of Reading Maiden Erlegh. Waitrose kindly donated two hampers, one for £75 and the other for £50 as second and third prizes. The charities benefitting from the event were Daisy’s Dream and also DrugFAM the charity chosen by the Mayor of Woodley (3rd from left).

On Thursday 24-March-16 an Easter Bunny and two helpers from the Rotary Club of Reading Maiden Erlegh delivered 600 Easter Eggs to very excited children at Whitley Park Primary School in Reading. All the six Rotary Clubs in Reading helped with delivery to various groups and schools around the area on behalf of the Thames Vale Vultures Motorcycle Owners Group who generously provided the eggs.

On the 8th March 2016 our President Rose presented a cheque for £3,400 to the Royal Berkshire Hospital Charity in aid of their Ultrasound Scanner Appeal. We raised the funds from the 8th Reading Charity Art Fair. Dr Shez Hussain, consultant Radiologist at the RBH said, “We are very grateful for this donation…the state-of the-art machine will help reduce waiting times and allow the Royal Berkshire Hospital to see patients more quickly”. Pictured are the RBH Radiology Team, Charity Director Ian Thompson, Rotarian Chris Foley and Club President Rose Burgess.

On Saturday 5th March, seven young instrumentalists and six vocalists from around the Thames Valley took part in the second round of the Rotary Young Musician competition. Outstanding performances of classical and popular music by instrumentalists, four girls and three boys and six female vocalists gave amazing performances of a variety of classical numbers and well-known songs from musicals. The Rotary District Governor from the Thames Valley area, Fred King, presented trophies to the winning competitors.

On Sunday 7th February, five young instrumentalists and six vocalists took part in a Young Musician competition organised and run by the Rotary Clubs of Loddon Vale and Reading Maiden Erlegh. The audience, in the hall of St. Joseph’s College in Reading, were first enthralled by performances of classical and popular music by five instrumentalists, three girls and two boys, on flute, piano, clarinet, cello and violin. Also, six female vocalists gave brilliant performances of a variety of classical numbers and well-known songs from musicals. Colin Moir, past President of the Rotary Club of Reading Maiden Erlegh and Anne Coulson, President of the Rotary Club of Loddon Vale presented certificates to all of the vocalists and instrumentalists.

A strong PR Committee supplemented by active PR from our Commercial Friends combined with a supportive local media results in excellent coverage for all our major events throughout the year. These clippings publicising our Christmas fund raising results – a total of £7,891 - are typical of the profile we have in the Reading, Wokingham and Henley area.

Between the end of November and Christmas Eve the Rotary and Inner Wheel Clubs of Reading Maiden Erlegh raised £7,800 by carrying out 'Santa support' duties at two local garden centres. On Friday 22nd January a cheque for £3500 was presented to President Rose Burgess by one of the Managers of the Sheeplands Garden Centre in Berkshire, where 1,200 children visited Santa’s grotto.

On Wednesday 20th January Reading Maiden Erlegh Rotarians, Inner Wheelers, partners and friends enjoyed a performance of Cinderella put on by the Wargrave Players. Every year this talented amateur dramatics group dedicates one evening performance to our Rotary Club with all proceeds - over £1,300 - going to charity.