Council
This committee meets monthly and is chaired by the President and supported by the previous year’s President, Senior Vice President, Vice President, the Chairs of Committees, Treasurer, Secretary and two elected members. Decisions that have not been previously mandated are put to the next club business meeting for majority approval and then actioned. The Club operates with the following committees Community & Vocation; International and Foundation; and Club Service.
In addition, we currently have committees for Rotary Gold Hill Festival and North Dorset Charity Cycle Ride. These events plus other activities raise, on average, 20/25 k a year!
Over the past 57 years, we calculate having raised over £600,000 at today’s value to mainly local and national/local-based charities, including specific international projects such as eradicating polio and shelter boxes.
Community & Vocational Committee
This works to support the local community be it another group or individuals and also to raise funds by leading with club support on various events and activities.
Here are just a few examples of where we have given our support over the years:
- Air Ambulance
- Kids Out
- Swimming pool
- Castle Hill/Cedars
- Senior & Junior schools
- Westminster Memorial Hospital
We will also support charities but prioritise local need.
The committee has an active Youth section and we run Rotary Youth Speaks and Young Chef as well as two Rotakids groups in association with local schools. We have also worked with local schoolsgiving pupils help on interview techniques and with job seminars and work experience.
Some of these activities we share with our neighbouring clubs.
International and Foundation Committee
Much of the committee’s work is allocating our modest funds to those people abroad in the greatest need, often following national disasters, where we contribute to the Rotary-led shelter box and aqua box charities. We will also support local young and older people going abroad to work with disadvantaged people on community, environmental or ecological projects.
In addition we do like to support the smaller and lesser-known charities, and these have included over the years Water Aid, Polio Plus, Jaipur Limbs, Vision Aid, Dental Aid, Tools for Self-Reliance, Shoes Boxes, Smile Train, Hope and Homes for Children, which following a passionate talk by the founder Mark Cook back in 1997 this club agreed to give all the support we could. It is to the credit of a great Shaftesbury Rotarian, John Enderby (deceased 2014), that Rotary Great Britain & Ireland adopted the scheme and continues to raise many hundreds and thousands of pounds; the British Government also supported this charity.
We play a small part in supporting this great charity by contributing to the polio campaign to eradicate polio within the next 2/3 years. Rotary’s involvement in this project has been running since 1979 and has recently attracted the attention of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has donated several hundred million US dollars.
In addition, there is the opportunity for the committee to support ambassadorial scholars, a grant application for special foundation projects and Vocational Training Teams. Details of these activities are available on Rotary International Britain and Ireland website.
Twinning
This committee is responsible for arranging and maintaining our long-term twinning partnership with our Dutch Rotarian club in Heerlen. This alternates between the two countries annually.
