In November 2019, as the UK suffered extreme weather conditions communities, large areas of Doncaster were evacuated.
Properties were swamped with flood water as the River Don burst its banks with the flow of water passing through it.
Some of the worst hit areas were Town End in Bentley and Fishlake.
Many Rotary clubs across Great Britain & Ireland came together to raise funds to support the victims affected by these floods.
In November, Doncaster Rotary was contacted by a fellow Rotarian Stuart Smith from Somerset offering his assistance.
Stuart, who had overseen the volunteer efforts during Somerset’s flooding in 2014 offered a wealth of knowledge and came up to Doncaster to see where he could assist.
An initial meeting was called with members of the three Rotary clubs in Doncaster; Doncaster Rotary, Doncaster St Georges, and Doncaster St Ledger to work out a plan as to how Rotary could help these flooded communities.
It was agreed that the three clubs would come together under the name of Doncaster Volunteers Action Group and assist the flooded community with their garden and external repairs.
It was agreed that the three clubs would come together under the name of Doncaster Volunteers Action Group and assist the flooded community with their garden and external repairs.”
The project got under way in the Spring when volunteers began with the clearing up and repairing of an allotment that had been swamped with six feet of water.
The group also took on the challenge of repairing a nursery that was flooded.
They cleared the flood-damaged play area, replenished it with fresh bark donated from gravelmaster.co.uk as well as repainted the play area with paint donated by Crown Decorating Centre.
Since Doncaster Council was overwhelmed with a backlog of work due to the coronavirus, the volunteers came together to assist them, by cutting the overgrown grass growing on the community area behind Yarborough Terrace.
Because of the COVID-19 lockdown in March, the project had to be put on hold until it was safe for the volunteers to continue.
After a few months of lockdown, the group was raring to get back out and it was decided at the beginning of June that it was safe to revive the project.
Since Doncaster Council was overwhelmed with a backlog of work due to the coronavirus, the volunteers came together to assist them, by cutting the overgrown grass growing on the community area behind Yarborough Terrace.
Thanks to Stuart contacting Mountfield Lawnmowers, they donated the Doncaster Volunteers Action Group with the equipment required to complete this task.
Since June, the volunteers have been out non-stop, from replacing damaged fencing to replanting boarders, the group are assisting the community where they can.
Wendy Barrow of Bentley said “I just want to say a massive thank you for all the hard work you and your team put in for us you have made our dream come true.”
