Sprinting Santa’s and swimming Rotarians

After holding a smaller version of the event in 2021, the Rotary Club of Grantham were delighted to confirm that the annual Rotary Swimarathon will be returning to its regular proceedings in February 2022. 

Teams of up to six swimmers take part in a swimming relay for 55 minutes, with each swimmer raising sponsorship for local charities, deserving projects and school projects in Grantham and the surrounding area. 

Teams can be made up of any group, from families, charities and volunteer organisations to businesses and schools, with 184 teams already signed up! 

Pupils and teachers at Sir William Robertson Academy with a selection of the equipment donated by the Rotary Club of Grantham.

The smaller event in June this year also had the additional event #SWIM55 which is available again this year. The combined events in 2021 raised in excess of £23,000 – an outstanding amount raised during the restrictions of the pandemic. 

The Sir William Robertson Academy, which had 16 teams in this year’s event and held a Bounceathon under the #SWIM55 banner, raised an amazing £8,500. This week the Rotary Club of Grantham was delighted to present them with camping equipment to enable a new group of 70 pupils to undertake their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award. 

Academy headteacher Mark Guest told the Grantham Journal: “This year sees the start of a new Duke of Edinburgh Scheme for us and the provision of this equipment will be a huge support to the pupils.” 

Those taking a stroll on Beacon Hill, Halifax will soon be able to sit down and enjoy the incredible view thanks to the local Rotary club creating a new viewing platform.

In this centenary year I said to Michael Steele it would be a wonderful opportunity to go through with the build and have a lasting memorial not only to the club but have a long-lasting piece in Halifax.”

The Rotary Club of Halifax are celebrating their centenary this year and used the occasion to complete a project they had planned over ten years ago.

Bryan Harkness, chair of the Club’s Centenary Celebrations, explained: “Some ten years ago when the economy was not brilliant, Rotarian Michael Steele, who was president at the time, had this thought. On his travels around the world, he saw that in many countries on their hills there were panoramic views with information about surrounding landmarks.

The project by the Rotary Club of Halifax made a mark in the local news.

“In this centenary year I said to Michael Steele it would be a wonderful opportunity to go through with the build and have a lasting memorial not only to the club but have a long-lasting piece in Halifax.”

The project will feature a seating area, made of Yorkshire stone with some mined from Southowram, and an information board and it is placed on a walking commonly visited by locals and visitors to the area.

The build is set to take around six weeks and the Rotary Club is hoping that the viewing platform and seating area will be completed by the end of March.

Roding Rotary Club, Essex have recently raised £1,100 to give those in Epping Forest with learning difficulties the chance to improve their cookery skills!  

The club held a lunch at Chigwell Golf Club to raise the funds that have been donated to Voluntary Action Epping Forest’s (VAEF) Ace Activities cookery sessions next year.  

ACE Activities offers a full range of activity and training programmes for adults with learning disabilities such as autism, Down’s Syndrome and anxiety disorders who are looking to learn new skills and meet new like-minded people.  

Sally Panrucker, who runs VAEF’s Ace Activities, said: “We are so grateful to everyone that donated and made this possible. We can’t wait to get cooking.” 

Those with learning disabilities in Epping will be able to enhance their cookery skills thanks to the funds raised by Roding Rotary Club.

Over the course of the pandemic, going out for a walk has become a vital source of normality for everyone while we have been stuck inside, so it is especially annoying when our usual walking route is ruined by footpaths in a poor state. 

Up in Lancashire, the Rotary Club of Rossendale had this problem brought to their attention by the Rossendale Ramblers, who had been working with a group of volunteers repairing styles and clearing overgrown footpaths. 

The club saw an opportunity to help and generously donated the group £500 for their footpath fixing fund. The Rossendale Ramblers were grateful for this support and have promised to support the Rotary club with their future outdoor activities. 

Finally, Ramsey Rotary Club got to get their running shoes on with a festive twist, as 50 runners donned Santa outfits for the club’s very first Santa Family Fun Run. 

In collaboration with Ramsey Colts FC, runners completed 1k laps around the Tom Jones Memorial Field in order to raise funds for the club’s supported charities and The Colts football teams.  

The Colts Cafe supplied the runners with hot beverages and bacon baps on a cold winter’s morning and the event was made possible by donations from local sponsors such as The Ramsey Town Council.