Previous News
Andrew Baker, Treasurer of the Launceston Cricket Club has received a grant of £500 from Rotary, presented by our shop manager, Sandra Maizels, the money will be put towards the purchase of a new mower.
The Rotary Club of Launceston was pleased recently. to host members of their sister Inner Wheel Club, to share a meal and enjoy a presentation by popular campaigner Pat Orridge on a recently created hidden Garden close to Launceston town centre.
The garden was born as a thought during lockdown by both Pat and good friend Emma Gilbert, a local businesswoman and owner of the ground upon which the garden sits.
Emma and Pat have successfully shaped an overgrown plot into a usable space, offered for the benefit of local people who possibly have no access to outside relaxation areas.
Emma and Pat have used their extensive links with other organisations to convert the old garden into a recreational space for young people and a workshop for craft folk.
Rotary President Gary Cook, thanked Pat Orridge for the enthusiastic presentation and said Rotary was pleased to have assisted in starting this project by making a Community Shop funded grant.
For more information e-mail prospecthousecic@yahoo.com
Gary Cook is our "new" President for a second term 2023 24
Margaret Young is our new Vice President for 2023 - 24
Alan Maizels, our Secretary (right), being presented with a Distinguished Service Citation by our President Gary Cook. In recognition of 25 years service to Rotary and the Community.
Well done Alan....
We have a new President; Gary Cook, being presented with his chain of office by outgoing President Julia Hague
The death is announced of Barry Kressinger after a long illness.
Barry was an outstanding Rotarian, and his humanitarian service knew no bounds.
He used his impressive organisational skills to refurbish ambulances and fire engines and then, with the help of other Rotarians from his club and later other clubs in the District, drive them to Kosovo and other eastern European countries. He also helped to transport Aquaboxes as far as Nepal, with help from the Devon Fire and Rescue Service. Amazingly, he arranged the donation of an entire operating theatre from Derriford to Georgia. He was enthusiastic and determined, and his vision was inspirational.
He was awarded one of Rotary International’s limited number of International Service Awards, and truly embodied Rotary’s motto of Service Above Self.
On Saturday 19th March we celebrated our upcoming 75th Charter anniversary at the Arundell Arms Hotel.
Launceston College, working in partnership with Launceston Rotary Club have been working to support the education of students at Bunjakko Island Vocational School for the last 3 years.
This year, the project was to set up a ‘Needlework Class’ and create a vocational faculty that will provide opportunities for students to pay their school fees and develop new skills for future careers.
With support from Rotary UK they were able to transfer a grant to Uganda and with permission from the President of Uganda’s office, the machines were purchased.
You can see sewing in action at the link below
Sewing in Action
And at this link you can read the final report
Final Report.
The staff at the Launceston Health Centre have been presented with a Plaque honouring them as Citizens of the Year
The President Julia Hague with the District Governor Mike Champion
Many thanks to all the entrants to our Youth Photo Competition.
The standard of entries was truly very high.
Here are the winning shots from each age category.
Well done to the winners who received a trophy
Thank you Launceston!!
Have you either shopped at, or donated to, the Rotary Community Shop in Southgate Street in the last twelve months? If so, you may be interested to know what we did with the money.
We gave grants to
The Food Bank to help with increased demand
Blood Bikes, to courier urgent medical supplies
Threads to make scrubs
The Medical Centre for PPE
St. Stephen's School for their Breakfast Club
Launceston Lions for computer repairs for schools
The Medical Centre for dementia friendly signage for the new building
The Town band to keep them going
Age UK for transport to Pensilva
Forest for Launceston to get them going
and adopted a flowerbed in Coronation Park.
In all, we gave away.
£12,000
which is money raised by our customers, and will benefit everyone in Launceston in some way.
We hope to be open again before too long
As a part of The Coronation Park Trust plans to improve the area,
Launceston Rotary have sponsored a flower bed and today a plaque was installed.
As next year progresses it will be nice to see the different flowers appearing.
Message from the President of Launceston Rotary.
My President's charity is the wonderful Medical Detection Dogs, in whom I have a special interest. This charity was started 20 years ago when Claire Guest's dog diagnosed her breast cancer. Claire was unloading her car after taking her dogs for a walk when Daisy refused to get out. Instead she kept pawing at Claire's chest. and continued to distract Claire for the rest of the day. Claire has a psychology degree and had worked for Hearing Dogs, so she had respect for what her dog was trying to tell her. She found a small cyst in her breast, so she went to the doctor and. on further investigation, a cancer was discovered which was so deep that it would not have been found until it was too late. When she had recovered she set up the charity which trains dogs to identify various diseases including Parkinsons, malaria and several cancers. The dogs are more accurate at diagnosing prostate cancer than the tests are!
How do I know all this? because I know her parents and heard all about it at the time. Her father John was an Aylesbury Rotarian and his wife Maureen was in Inner Wheel and I have watched this charity develop over the years.
They are now training a team of dogs to sniff out Covid 19 before symptoms show and recently have been filmed in training at Paddington Station, demonstrating their skill to Matt Hancock and the Duchess of Cornwall who is their Patron. The dogs can process 250 people an hour - quicker than any test so far.
One way in which you can support this charity is by taking part in the virtual balloon race advertised. Buy a balloon for £3.00, personalise it and track it after lift off, and you might win £500!
The Club has received a Rotary Citation, one of only three awarded to our District this year.
In such a hard year we are proud that we have fulfilled all the criteria and a fitting conclusion to Lawson Ham's tenure as President.
An excellent week for Launceston Rotary as we welcome two new Rotarians, inducted on 2nd March.
Click here to see the Presidential Handover 2020 via Drone!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJrROt76Eng&t=16s
(This takes you to youtube.com outside of our website use back button to return to us)
President Lawson Ham welcomes a new Rotarian Adrian Riddock to Launceston Rotary
President Lawson Ham welcomes a new Rotarian Gary Cook to Launceston Rotary
President Lawson Ham presents a cheque to Mary for The Charles Causley Festival
Jo Heard our latest Rotarian being inducted
On Monday 6th January
Pat Orridge, from The Orchard Centre joined our meeting and offered advice on of furthering publicity, of items for sale at our Community Shop via online promotion.
The picture, taken by Pat, shows the Rotarians who were at the meeting
You can visit The Orchard Centre Facebook page at the link below
The Orchard Centre
Today (14/11/2019) we said goodbye to Rotarian Brian Jennings, who recently passed away, in a very moving Service of Thanksgiving at The Launceston Central Methodist Church.
Brian will be missed in Rotary as not only a dear and loyal friend, but as an innovator and active participant in all things fund raising. His good humour, and softly spoken but well thought out suggestions contributed hugely to how the club functioned over the years in which he was a member.
He had a way of encouraging involvement from other members and indeed introduced and welcomed new members into the club with open arms in his role as Membership Chair, and had agreed to be the Club’s new President in 2020. Brian embodied what Rotary stands for and the physical hole he has left in all the Club members’ lives will be filled with fond and heart-warming memories.
President Lawson Ham lays a wreath at the Launceston 2019 Remembrance Parade
6 of the 8 Rotarians who attended the 2019 Remembrance Parade
2019-20 Rotary Young Photographer
If you are under the age of 18 and interested in entering please follow the link here
https://launcestonrotaryuk.org/rotary-young-photographer-competition/
WE'VE GOT YOU COVERED!
Following a recent visit by Launceston Rotary to the police station to see the CCTV coverage of Launceston, a cheque for £2000 was presented by President Lawson Ham towards the purchase of a camera for Newport Industrial Estate.
It is hoped that local businesses will also contribute as the town centre coverage has greatly improved the safety of the residents there.
President Lawson has also recently become a volunteer, learning to man the control room at the police station. John Ellison (seen here) who is the CCTV co-ordinator, expressed his gratitude to Rotary for their generous donation, and would encourage other members of the public to volunteer a few hours a week manning the screens and making Launceston an even safer place to live.
A new book for Children has been released at the Victorian Market in Launceston, written by our Vice President, Sandra Maizels. Each copy sold raises £3.00 for "End Polio Now" and the Bill Gates Foundation is matching each £3.00 with a further £6.00.
Other Rotary Clubs can purchase the books for onward sale
John Whiting has received a Paul Harris Award for his long and outstanding service to Launceston Rotary, including holding the office of President, twice.
