LATEST NEWS
The Rotary club of Maidenhead has regular weekly meetings and organises many events and activities. The club meeting venue is Taplow House Hotel, Berry Hill, Maidenhead SL6 0DA. Please check the calendar for up to date information on meetings and events.
For further information please contact the club (see bottom of page). |
Harry's Farm and Harry's Kitchen established in Kadapa, India
Harry’s Farm, at Aarti village, is situated on the outskirts of Kadapa. This organic farm uses traditional ways of farming (known as bund farming) to grow vegetables, used to feed the Aarti Village Community and to supply Harry’s Kitchen, which is based in the Women’s Wellness Centre in Kadapa itself.
The Kitchen is now fully equipped and functioning well. Training has started for young women and girls in culinary skills, nutrition etc. This training is intended to help them with their livelihood and hence financial independence. Harry’s Kitchen is currently the very first ‘women only’ café in Kadapa and importantly provides a safe and relaxing place for girls and women to come together. |
Club attracts new membersPresident John Hudson was delighted to welcome two new members into the club in recent weeks.
Helen Collett, an author, who joined recently, and Beria Bayizitlioglu Rodwell, an architect interested in architectural history and design, who became a member of Maidenhead Rotary Club at the meeting on Monday 4th March. |
Save the Date!
The annual Rotary Bikeathon, organised by Maidenhead Rotary Club, will be held this year on 7 July. Watch out for further information.
The annual Rotary Bikeathon, organised by Maidenhead Rotary Club, will be held this year on 7 July. Watch out for further information.
Club contributes to Gaza relief aidIn recent weeks, the club has donated £1,000 to the charity ShelterBox, after an appeal for help to Gaza. This follows on from a total of £3,909 that was donated to the same charity by the club last year.
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ShelterBox has launched an urgent fundraising appeal to provide emergency shelter and other essential items to people left with nowhere to live in Gaza. It will supply lifesaving aid for people affected by the crisis, made more difficult by this unpredictable and fluid situation.
ShelterBox and Rotary are project partners in disaster relief, providing an instant response to help thousands of people following disasters such as severe flooding or earthquakes, or conflict crises in countries such as Ukraine or Syria. Aid is provided that is appropriate to the needs of each community. This can be in the form of tents, hygiene kits, thermal blankets, solar lights, kitchen sets, mosquito nets or many other options – everything that is needed to survive. In September 2023, a devastating earthquake in Morocco which killed more than 3,000 people, left 500,000 inhabitants internally displaced and destroyed more than 50,000 homes. Family tents, kitchen sets, thermal blankets and solar lights were provided to support families as they recovered and started to rebuild their lives. |
Celebrating 119 years of Rotary!Rotary turns 119 today, Friday 23 February! It’s hard to sum up the impact Rotary has had in words. Almost as hard as it would be to fit 119 candles on a cake!
Since being founded by Paul Harris in Chicago in 1905, Rotary members have left an enormous mark on the world. Together, we’ve almost eradicated polio, we’ve trained peacebuilders, supported education for millions and much more. Every single day our network of 1.4 million changemakers across the globe are transforming lives, bringing people together and making a difference in our communities. Since Rotary was formed, peace has long been a cornerstone of our mission and we will always refuse to accept conflict as a way of life. |
Since Rotary was formed, peace has long been a cornerstone of our mission and we will always refuse to accept conflict as a way of life.
To mark Rotary Day 2024, we have put together a video that celebrates just some of the efforts Rotary has made over the years toward peacebuilding and conflict prevention. |
Mike Holness ObituaryA leading member of Maidenhead Rotary Club who was committed to improving the lives of others has died after a short illness. Mike Holness passed away unexpectedly at Wexham Park Hospital on February 9. He was 81.
His support of many Maidenhead organisations saw him deeply involved in the life of the town, while his membership of Maidenhead Rotary Club twice took him and his wife Frankie to India to help with immunising children against polio and building check dams. Mike served as chairman of governors at Altwood School in the 1990s and was an active Rotarian from 1996, serving terms as both president and secretary of Maidenhead Rotary Club and was also the club historian. Through Rotary he was a founding member of Maidenhead U3A. He was also involved in setting up his local Neighbourhood Watch and was a co-ordinator for the Boyn Hill area. |
Youngsters have their say in Rotary public speaking contest
Are animal rights as important as human rights? and is artificial intelligence a universal benefit? were just two of the thought-provoking questions explored by young people taking part in a Rotary public speaking competition.
The Youth Speaks event was organised by the Rotary club of Maidenhead and held at Newlands Girls’ School in Farm Road, on Thursday, January 18. The teams could debate a topic of their choice and the interesting subjects also included whether we should eat meat, should prosecutors be allowed to plea bargain, and whether the War on Terror was justifiable. |
Fitting tribute to Rotarian restaurateur opens in India
Underprivileged women and girls in a small town in India will be equipped with vital culinary skills thanks to a lasting legacy to Maidenhead Rotary Club member and restaurateur Himanshu Patel.
Himanshu, known to everyone as Harry, died from Covid-19 in February 2021, aged just 58. The long-serving Rotarian had run a number of restaurants in Maidenhead, most recently Gourmet Chicken in the town centre. More than £2,500 was collected in his memory and as a fitting tribute has been used to set up Harry’s Kitchen at the Aarti Home and Women’s Centre in Kadapa, a small mining town in Andhra Pradesh, India. |
Award recognises club's contribution to disaster relief
Maidenhead Rotary Club has been awarded a Bronze Partner Club certificate in recognition of its support for the Rotary disaster relief charity ShelterBox.
ShelterBox specialises in providing vital assistance in the immediate aftermath of natural disasters by flying in specialist containers packed with emergency equipment to aid families who have lost their homes, including tents and shelter kits with stoves, thermal blankets and clothing – everything people will need to survive. Over the last year Maidenhead Rotary Club has donated a total of £3,909 to the charity which has paid for shelterboxes to be sent to help people suffering from disasters and humanitarian crises across the world. These have included victims of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, and previously the huge explosion in Beirut and the famine in Yemen. |
Rotary Matters, our digital club newspaper
To read previous editions of Rotary Matters which are full of information about club activities, please click on the link below.
About Rotary
Rotary brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. Rotary connects 1.2 million members in more than 35,000 Rotary clubs in over 200 countries and geographical areas. Their work improves the lives at both the local and international levels, from helping families in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world.
Our weekly meetings are a great way to keep in touch with what's happening in our local area and further afield and also catch up with friends and contacts. We welcome visitors and new members to our meetings - as a Rotarian you are welcome at any Rotary meeting anywhere in the world.
Rotary’s motto is “Service Above Self” and it inspires members to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards, and promote good will and peace in the world.
Rotary brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. Rotary connects 1.2 million members in more than 35,000 Rotary clubs in over 200 countries and geographical areas. Their work improves the lives at both the local and international levels, from helping families in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world.
Our weekly meetings are a great way to keep in touch with what's happening in our local area and further afield and also catch up with friends and contacts. We welcome visitors and new members to our meetings - as a Rotarian you are welcome at any Rotary meeting anywhere in the world.
Rotary’s motto is “Service Above Self” and it inspires members to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards, and promote good will and peace in the world.
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 Maidenhead, we take our community service seriously. We always strive to give back to the area in which we work and live. |
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Contact UsIf you're interested in joining our club, want to find out more information or are looking for support for your charity or event please do get in touch.
Tweet us on: @MHeadRotary |