Supporting the local community

Helping the local community is one of the primary roles of Rotary and you may have seen Rotarians at work supporting communities without even realising it.

At the Rotary Club of Westbourne, we take our community service seriously. We always strive to give back to the area in which we work and live. Our club has engaged in the following activities:

  • weekly raffle for the last 8 years to raise funds for numerous charities
  • the Rotary Dorset Bike Ride in aid of Cancer Research UK
  • annual Christmas lunch for senior citizens
  • annual trip for underprivileged children to Poulton's Park (part of Rotary's "Kids Day Out")
  • afternoon tea for End Polio Now
  • Rotary Young Chef of the Year competition
  • annual Summer Fete at the Savoy Hotel, Bournemouth
  • health awareness promotion (part of Rotary's "Stroke Awareness Day")
  • Christmas present collection from local businesses for distribution to Barnardo's
  • scholarship award presentation to a local young musician
  • BBQ for volunteers at Cherry Tree Nursery
  • Santa's grotto in Westbourne and Boscombe. as well as Santa's float in Southbourne

We also present an annual Young Achiever Award to a pupil at our local primary school (St Michael's), recognising and rewarding the talent of the future of our town.

Charity Projects

Over the years, the Rotary Club of Westbourne has raised thousands of pounds for charities, both in the local community and worldwide, including:
  • Dorset Mind
  • Cancer Research UK
  • Julia's House
  • ​Life Education Centres
  • Barnardo’s
  • Chaos
  • Hope & Homes for Children
  • Shelter Box
  • Can’t Walk Away
  • Rotary Foundation (Rotary’s own charity)
  • Lewis Manning
  • Chernobyl Children
  • Stella’s School in the Gambia (enabling education)
 
The Rotary Club of Westbourne has an associated registered charity (Rotary Club of Westbourne Trust Fund, charity number 1111184), so that anyone making a donation can find out more about us. 

You can make a donation to our club's trust fund via our MyDonate page.

Global Projects

Rotary is an international organisation and also the largest Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) in the world. Each club has a role to play to make the worldwide community a better place to live.  To support global projects, our club has:
  • bought and filled numerous Aquaboxes
  • sent Shelterboxes for use in overseas disaster areas
  • sent Christmas presents directly to Romania in shoeboxes
  • supported the education of two children in Thailand via Plan International
  • supported the education of 10 children in The Gambia via Stella's School Scheme
  • supported several international ambassadorial scholars
  • raised funds for the Royal National Institute for the Blind (one of our members cycled across India)
  • organised a Classics on the Pier concert featuring two internationally-renowned musicians
  • held a tribute show at the Pavilion featuring several well known tribute acts

Four members of our club took part in the Rotaract Overseas Project Team to The Gambia, West Africa, in January 2009. The project included digging a borehole and installing a water tower and standpipes, so that a remote village had access to clean drinking water. They also constructed a washhouse for the same village. The team also built a toilet block as well as a wall and gates at a clinic in another village.