Maidenhead and Windsor Vision president Jo Ayre with the boxes of Christmas presents for members. Photo: Maria Scavetta/Photogica
Rotarians are helping a charity for the visually impaired in the Royal Borough play Santa to ensure its members do not miss out on seasonal goodwill this Christmas.
Maidenhead and Windsor Vision is providing shoe boxes filled with treats to its 110 members in Maidenhead, Windsor, Ascot and Binfield. And each member will also enjoy a home delivered Christmas meal cooked by Chris Burns Catering, which has served up lunches at the club’s monthly meetings at SportsAble since the millennium.
The parcels - packed with biscuits, sweets, toiletries and items like hand sanitiser and Christmas cards - will be delivered by the charity’s team of more than 40 volunteers, many of whom come from Maidenhead Rotary Club and Maidenhead Thames Rotary Club.
With Maidenhead and Windsor Vision closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, lockdown has been hard for many of its more vulnerable members who have been forced to isolate.
President Jo Ayre has been phoning every member once a fortnight to check on them and provide essential contact. She said: “It has been a very difficult time for our members and they really appreciated the phone calls and I am sure they will love the gifts and Christmas meal. We really wanted to show them how much we are thinking of them.”
Jo also thanked financial supporters, including the Louis Baylis (Maidenhead Advertiser) Charitable Trust and the Shanly Foundation, for helping to fund the initiative.
“We could not do this without the help of our wonderful volunteers, fantastic caterer Chris Burns, and the tremendous support from the Louis Baylis and Shanly trusts,” she said.
The parcels - packed with biscuits, sweets, toiletries and items like hand sanitiser and Christmas cards - will be delivered by the charity’s team of more than 40 volunteers, many of whom come from Maidenhead Rotary Club and Maidenhead Thames Rotary Club.
With Maidenhead and Windsor Vision closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, lockdown has been hard for many of its more vulnerable members who have been forced to isolate.
President Jo Ayre has been phoning every member once a fortnight to check on them and provide essential contact. She said: “It has been a very difficult time for our members and they really appreciated the phone calls and I am sure they will love the gifts and Christmas meal. We really wanted to show them how much we are thinking of them.”
Jo also thanked financial supporters, including the Louis Baylis (Maidenhead Advertiser) Charitable Trust and the Shanly Foundation, for helping to fund the initiative.
“We could not do this without the help of our wonderful volunteers, fantastic caterer Chris Burns, and the tremendous support from the Louis Baylis and Shanly trusts,” she said.