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Changing Patterns of Community Service
Whilst charitable giving has always been central to Rotary,
in the early days funds were indubitably raised by the Annual
President's Ladies' Evening - invariably a Dinner Dance, through
a raffle, by rummage sales, or by a Charity Ball, by a "whip
round" amongst members, by individual contributions often
from the President's own purse. For example in 1929, in collaboration
with the Stourbridge Rotary Club we provided the Toposcope
on Clent Hill at a cost of £79 equivalent to around
£2,700. Contributions to our share from members (£39-10/-),
left a shortfall which was made up personally by Presidents
Harvey, Wescott and Watkins (1927, 28 & 29) paying £3-5s
10d each, equivalent nowadays to approximately £140.
Perpetual beneficiaries in the thirties seemed to be the
Boy's Brigade's annual summer camp and the reporters form
the local press who enjoyed a weekly free lunch in exchange
for word-by-word press coverage of our meetings! Dreadful
thought!
Long before the Polio-Plus watershed, began the metamorphosis
from personal community service, described earlier ny P. P.
George McDonald, towards such major projects as the Weston
Boys' Home, Abbeyfield House and the "Flying Doctor"
Service.
In 1972, led by SVP Peter Cashmore, the Club organised a
Grand Buffet Dance in the Town Hall where 420 people danced
the night away to the dreamy airs of the Joe Loss Orchestra;
and established a "Jubilee Fund" which raised over
£1,518 for different charities included in the list
below. One fund-raising idea asked each punter to guess the
mileage to be covered by a new Austin mini on one gallon of
petrol. Each day a member drove the car onto the exhibition
stand in the Swan Centre. Whoever was nearest won the car!
In 1977 President Roger Hill led teams of Rotarians working
in three shifts to 'Landscape a garden in a day'. The club
provided the materials and almost every Club member provided
the labour to carry out this task at a pair of houses in Whittall
Drive, Kidderminster. The work was part of a project to enable
five ladies to live independently of Lea Castle Hospital,
where they had lived for most of their lives.
In common with Rotary Clubs worldwide, we have supported
innumerable requests for funding of individuals and other
charities such as:
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Kidderminster Association for Homeless
Families
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Marriage Guidance Council
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Probation and After Care Service
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NSPCC
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Holidays for underprivileged children
at Cleethorpes
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The Emergency Box Scheme
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A complete seagoing outfit for the
RNLI
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Dial a-Ride
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Church of England's Children Society
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The Red Cross
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Kidderminster Hospital Scanner and
other appeals
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Planting 600 trees at Bewdley
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The Jaipur Limb Centre
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Sight Savers in India
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School-year exchange students
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The Talking Newspaper
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Holidays at Weston Boys' House
Established in 1924 to provide a fortnights' holiday for
underprivileged boys aged 9-14 coming from 6 Rotary Districts
stretching from Cornawall to Staffordshire, the costs of this
house were mainly met by regular annual donations from Rotarians,
collections at District Conferences, personal gifts and donations
from Clubs like ours.
 The
Rotary Club of Weston-Super-Mare, with
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