Pakistan Flood Relief

Following the heaviest recorded summer rainfall for over a decade Pakistan has been hit with floods which have affected over 33 million people, over 15% of the country’s population, with at least 1,136 people losing their lives since the monsoon season began in June.

Early estimates from Pakistan’s planning minister, Ahsan Iqbal, put the cost of the damage at £8.5 billion, with remote communities cut off, communication lines damaged and 150 bridges destroyed.

Around 1 million homes in the affected areas have been damaged or destroyed, leaving behind millions in need of urgent shelter.

Tettenhall Rotary Club has made a donation to ShelterBox, Rotary’s global partner in disaster relief, who already have people on the ground.

Shelterbox are focusing their attention on the most affected areas of Sindh, Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). The charity has a huge amount of experience supporting communities affected by flooding having responded to flooding at least 75 times since 2000, providing emergency aid and support to tens of thousands of families around the globe.

The work of the charity – which was founded in Helston, Cornwall, UK by Rotarian Tom Henderson, OBE, with the support of the Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard – recognises that recovery starts with shelter. Having somewhere dry and warm to sleep, to prepare meals and be with your family is vital in helping people start the long process of rebuilding their lives. Emergency shelter offers privacy and helps to preserve dignity. It offers protection from the elements, animals and disease. It helps keep communities together. It can help to bring back a sense of normality, allowing children to go back to school. Most importantly, it empowers families to start the process of getting back on their feet.

In addition to tents and tarpaulins each Shelterbox contains essential items such as water purification equipment, tools and cooking utensils to help those affected recover and to rebuild their homes.

From Cameroon to Syria, all the way to the Philippines and the Caribbean, Shelterbox have provided shelter to over 2 million people so far. You can help to support their work by donating now at https://shelterbox.org/donate/

Rotary in Wolverhampton Community Fund Scheme.

Wolverhampton's four local Rotary Clubs and the James Beattie Charitable Trust have teamed up to offer small grants to local groups. 

We've got a fund of £10,000 available to help individuals, Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise groups working in our community to overcome problems arising from deprivation, poverty, disability and lack of opportunity.

This new fund follows on from similar schemes in earlier years which have demonstrated how small grants can have a big impact, helping individuals and groups through challenging times.

Groups and individuals who are established in their communities can apply for grants of between £250 and £500.

Applicants will be expected to demonstrate how a grant would make a difference to the well-being of local people and open up opportunities for them to develop their abilities and skills.

We'll need to know the number of people who will benefit from the grant and the extent and duration of the impact on them and the community. People benefiting from the grant must have a connection to the Wolverhampton area in terms of living or working in the City, or receiving services from an organisation based there.

Submitting your application:

First download your Application Form here.

Complete and email your application (as a Word attachment) to rotarysmallgrants@gmail.com by no later than 10th October 2022. Please quoting CFS22 in the subject line followed by the name of your organisation.

What happens next?

You'll receive an email acknowledging receipt of your application. Your application will then be evaluated by an assessment team, who may need to contact you to ask for further information by email or telephone.

By 1st December you'll be receive an email from us telling you whether or not your application has been successful - payments to successful applicants will be made very shortly afterwards.

Rotary Young Musician Competition

Are you a young musician? Do you want the chance to perform in front of an audience and get feedback from experienced judges? The Rotary Young Musician competition will be held at Wolverhampton Music School at 2:30pm on Sunday 5th February. Any amateur young musician can enter providing you’re in full time education and no older than 18 on 31st August 2022.

You’ll need to sing or play two contrasting pieces of any style and your programme mustn’t be longer than 10 minutes. You can be an instrumentalist or vocalist of any level, and you can enter individually or through your music teacher. You’ll be performing in front of experienced judges who will be giving supportive feedback to help you develop - and you might win!

You can find the full Information Pack here and download the Entry Form here. 

Entries should be emailed to youth@tettenhallrotray.org.uk - the deadline for entries is Friday 16th December.

September is Literacy Month

Rotary believes that education is a right for all and that it strengthens our communities – because of this promoting literacy in one of our core areas of focus.

The annual cost to the UK economy alone of adults leaving school without being able to read, write and communicate successfully has been estimated at £2.5 billion. That problem is likely to have been made worse in recent years as school children have been denied the education they deserve due to the impact of the Covid pandemic. 

In order to provide a safe environment for its pupils the Kings Church of England School in Tettenhall had to disband its library during Lockdown and once restrictions were lifted it became a priority for the School to open a proper library to help encourage a love of reading.

Tettenhall Rotary Club has been working with the School and its pupils to help re-open their library and to stock it with a diverse range of books from authors from a range of cultures and heritages reflecting the diverse backgrounds of the School's pupils. The library has been designed to nurture the love of reading among all of the School’s pupils, many who may be without access to books at home.

With the help of The Rotary Foundation £4,000 has been donated to the project - a project which the School knows will not only improve pupil’s reading skills, but will also help to deliver better exam results. When we improve pupils’ literacy skills and help them to achieve better results, we create opportunities for them to continue in education, gain further qualifications and to access more, and improved, opportunities.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II - Rest In Peace

We won’t be holding our regular Club meeting today but when we met last we remembered the service of our late Sovereign, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and observed two minutes silence before our final Toast to her.

Our Club President Mark shared his thoughts on death of HM Queen Elizabeth II:

As we learned of the sad news that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has passed away, the thoughts of the members of Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland are with the Royal Family as they grieve for their Mother, Grandmother and Great-Grandmother.

The Queen demonstrated extraordinary dedication and commitment to duty throughout her Reign and did so with a graceful strength and admirable determination.

We all have our own memories of how the Late Queen Elizabeth II impacted on our lives, particularly the example she set us as citizens and Rotarians who ourselves profess to place ‘Service above Self’.  She has, for 70 years, been the epitome of placing one’s life in the hands of one’s citizens at home, the commonwealth and in reality a global population.  We have been truly fortunate to have her sense of constancy, selfless humility and compassion through periods of great darkness and also great joy in those long years.  What a great life, well lived so that we all might thrive.

She reigned throughout decades of change, from the difficult post-war years, through to the new horizons of the 21st century, providing essential continuity for the nation, adapting and evolving the monarchy to better serve its people.

This is a period of public grief when people who do not know each other come together to mourn a national figure who has been consistent throughout our lives and for whom we have collective affection despite not knowing her personally.

We share our condolences to the Royal Family and His Majesty King Charles III at this sad time.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

1926 - 2022

Rest In Peace

Book of Condolence

A book of condolence has been opened at Tettenhall Library on Upper Street to enable people to pay their respects to the late Queen.

The Library is open Monday from 10 until 7, Tuesday 10 until 2, Wednesday and Thursday 10 until  5, Friday and Saturday 10 until 4 and on Sunday from 10 until 2.

A book of condolence has also been opened at Codsall Community Hub on Wolverhampton Road.

The Hub will be open from 9am to 5pm each day until the 20th September.

His Majesty King Charles III

“My Mother’s reign was unequalled in its duration, its dedication and its devotion. Even as we grieve, we give thanks for this most faithful life. I am deeply aware of this great inheritance and of the duties and heavy responsibilities of Sovereignty which have now passed to me.

In taking up these responsibilities, I shall strive to follow the inspiring example I have been set in upholding constitutional government and to seek the peace, harmony and prosperity of the peoples of these Islands and of the Commonwealth Realms and Territories throughout the world. In this purpose, I know that I shall be upheld by the affection and loyalty of the peoples whose Sovereign I have been called upon to be”

The local proclamation of King Charles III as our new monarch will be read by the Mayor of Wolverhampton, Cllr Sandra Samuels OBE, outside St Peter's Collegiate Church tomorrow (Sept 11), at 1pm. All are welcome so let’s show Wolverhampton’s support for our new King.

Full details are on the City Council website - https://condolences.wolverhampton.gov.uk/local-proclamation.html. Please share with your friends and family.

#GodSaveTheKing

 

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Following the sad news of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the thoughts of the members of the Rotary Club of Tettenhall are with His Majesty King Charles III and the other members of the Royal Family as they grieve for their Mother, Grandmother and Great-Grandmother.

As a service organisation we celebrate with thanks the life of a Monarch who so ably gave her all to the service of her people.

Floral tributes to the late Queen can be left at the War Memorial in St Michael & All Angels Church, Church Road, Tettenhall