What is Rotary?
Rotary was born in Chicago in 1905 when a local lawyer and two friends had the simple idea of fostering good relations among the business community. The membership of the group grew and they met in each others houses in rotation, hence the Rotary Club. Rotary is now a worldwide organisation operating in 168 countries with over 1.2 million members.
About the Battle Club
The Rotary club of Battle celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2006 and is one of 185 clubs within Great Britain and Ireland, with a combined membership of about 57,000. Our Club currently has 26 members and is open to both men and women. Weekly lunchtime meetings are at the heart of our activities where members share a meal and enjoy friendship with one another. Once a month lunch is combined with a business meeting and throughout the year we are entertained and informed by speakers on a wide variety of subjects. When there is a 5th Tuesday in the month the meetings are normally held in the evening with partners and friends encouraged to attend. The Club also organises a lively programme of social and sporting activities.
The Senior Citizens' Party
What does the Battle Club do?
Our aims reflect those set by the wider national and international Rotary organisation.
Community Service is provided in a number of ways notably by making donations to local, mainly charitable, organisations. These may either be for specific projects or general support. In recent times, Battle Area Community Transport, St Michael’s Hospice, the Battle Pre-school Playgroup, the Guides and Beautiful Battle have all received help. Fund raising is often part of social events but it includes Santa’s Little Helpers who hold a collection in the town each Christmas each year. In addition to fundraising, one of the main community events is the party which the Club hosts for the town’s Senior Citizens in the splendid surroundings of Battle Abbey School.
National and International Service
The Club is involved with national and international projects. For example, at home we have supported the Make-a-Wish Appeal enabling terminally ill children to make a dream come true, and the Guide dogs for the Deaf. Abroad, through the international Rotary shelterbox scheme, we have helped victims of natural disasters and shoeboxes containing basic items such as toys, writing materials, toiletries etc have been sent to the poorest of children in Eastern Europe. We continue to provide funds for Rotary International’s Polio Plus scheme for the eradication of polio in the world. We are also co-ordinating a project to help a women’s refuge in Ghana become more self-sufficient in food.
A visit to the Ghana Project National Youth Speaks finalists
Other Activities
These involve a mix of vocational and social events together with support for young people. The latter can be exemplified by our involvement in the national Rotary Youth Speaking competition and Group Study Exchanges enabling young business people to experience life abroad. Vocational events have included visits to the Royal Hospital Chelsea and a local vineyard. The social programme takes in sporting events, an annual Christmas dinner and a ‘safari’ lunch
Members enjoy meeting the Chelsea Pensioners
Papendrecht
Like many clubs we have formed a partnership with a club from abroad, in our case, Papendrecht in Holland. Not only are there exchange visits but a common goal is to secure the success of the women’s refuge project in Ghana.
Joining
If you are interested in enjoying the fellowship of Rotary and supporting the work summarised in this leaflet please contact the Club Secretary Roger Dennard on 01424 774447 or the Membership Committee Chairman Marian Rigby on 01424 222279.