A Rotary theatre project which has wound up after 15 years raised more than £14,000 for the club and good causes during its lifetime. Maidenhead Rotary Theatreways was set up in 2004 by Frankie Holness and Sue Robb-King, with Mike Holness doing the accounts. They organised coach trips to the National Theatre on the South Bank in London, dividing any surplus made between Maidenhead Rotary Club and other charities. The scheme ran very successfully for many years but it gradually became more difficult to organise the trips. A change in the National Theatre’s group bookings policy meant they could no longer ensure an appropriate allocation of seats and the theatre also started to live stream performances to cinemas, including Norden Farm. “Then with Covid-19, the National Theatre had to cancel all performances, and even had they been able to offer socially-distanced performances, it would not have been financially or practically possible to offer transportation to the South Bank,” explained Mike. | “Given that it was also clear that these issues would remain a constraint for the foreseeable future, it was decided to close the project and donate the remaining funds to charities.” At the time of its closure the scheme had benefited Maidenhead Rotary Club by a total £14,111.17. Half of this had been donated to the club’s charity account, with the other half donated in the club’s name to a total of 52 charitable organisations nominated by Frankie and Sue, including six club projects, 12 Rotary project areas, 21 local and 13 national charities. Club President Mary Spinks said: “This was a fantastic scheme that not only brought an immense amount of enjoyment to a lot of people but also raised a very significant amount of money for good causes in the name of Rotary. On behalf of the club I’d like to thank Frankie, Sue and Mike for all of their hard work over many years.” Frankie and Sue would like to thank the many people who regularly travelled with them over the years and made all the good work possible. |