Thank you for taking time to look at our website – I hope it gives you a taste of who we are and what we do.
The Rotary Club of Witney is part of the world-wide Rotary International organisation and is one of 65 clubs in Rotary District 1090, an area roughly corresponding to the Thames Valley region. We were founded in 1955 and currently have about 43 members (men and women; some in paid professional or managerial jobs, some retired). Our regular lunchtime meetings are on Mondays at the Marlborough Hotel in Witney’s Market Square.
Local activities
As a service organisation, we contribute to the life of local community in many ways. Some typical examples are:
- Together with Lions, Round Table and the ATC, we organise the annual Witney Carnival, held each year in early July. This is a major occasion for Witney, with a fancy dress procession through the town in the morning and entertainment for all the family on the Leys in the afternoon.
- For schools, we run the local rounds of the national Rotary ‘Youth Speaks’ competition. In this, teams of three young people demonstrate their public speaking skills on a topic of interest to them.
- For a number of years, we have organised the Rotary Concert, involving talented local performers in an evening of entertainment aimed particularly at the older local residents – and we provide transport where necessary to get them there.
International activities
Rotary is an international organisation with wide horizons, and we reflect this in our club activities.
- Rotary continues to lead a world-wide campaign for Polio Eradiation (with help from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation). In 25 years the number of countries with polio has been reduced from 125 to just 4, so the end is in sight. The Rotary Club of Witney has held street collections and other events to raise money and awareness in support of this campaign.
- Sadly disasters continue to occur. Following the earthquake in Haiti we raised enough to pay for five ShelterBoxes, each with a tent and enough basic living equipment to support 10 people. More recently, the flooding in Pakistan prompted a day’s collecting outside Sainsbury’s. The outcome was a further two Shelterboxes were added to two from the Witney Inner Wheel Club and a further two from our own Club funds.
As you can see, our program is varied, and we enjoy working together and supporting each other in our efforts.
If you think we can help you or your organisation, or if you are interested in finding out more about Rotary and the Witney club, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us through one of the links on this website. We will be pleased to hear from you.
Peter Davies
President 2011-2012