Rotary Club of Letchworth Howard

		Rotary Club of Letchworth Howard
		Our Achievements
			Rotary and Inner Wheel give Hospice and Air Ambulance some Christmas cheer An £800 cheque presentation to Lisa Hunt, chief executive of Garden House Hospice Services, was one of the highlights of this year’s joint Christmas meal enjoyed by Letchworth Howard Rotary Club and sister organisation Letchworth Inner Wheel. The donation to the Hospice came from money raised at the Rotary Club’s annual quiz earlier this year. Lisa Hunt was one of the two guests of honour at the Rotary/Inner Wheel Christmas event at the Broadway Hotel, Letchworth Garden City on Monday 9th December. The clubs also welcomed Mike Simons, a volunteer with Essex and Herts Air Ambulance and a member of Hitchin Tilehouse Rotary Club. A raffle during the evening raised £265 for the Air Ambulance service. As well as a delicious meal, participants at the event, hosted this year by the Rotary Club, also enjoyed – and at times joined in – a wonderful programme of music from the North Herts Ladies Choir, led by Ann-Marie Knight, director of music at St. Christopher School, Letchworth. Accepting the donation to Garden House, Lisa Hunt revealed that the Letchworth-based Hospice had just gained the Hospice UK Innovation award, its fourth prestigious award in recent weeks, and would shortly be hosting a national conference on hospice innovation. Its new frailty service had achieved a 300 per cent increase in numbers using it, she said, with in-patient unit use up 200 per cent. It was thanks to people like Rotary and Inner Wheel fund-raising and donating that these achievements were possible. Mike Simons also talked about the importance of fund-raising efforts. The Air Ambulance, with its two helicopters and rapid response vehicles, needed £1m a month to keep going and received no government help apart from being VAT-exempt on its fuel purchases. He outlined the sorts of incidents the Air Ambulance attended and stressed that new volunteers for its shops and other parts of the organisation were always welcome. The pictures show Arthur Jarman (standing), Letchworth Howard Rotary Club president, introducing Lisa Hunt, chief executive of Garden House Hospice Services; Mike Simons, Air Ambulance volunteer and a member of Hitchin Tilehouse Rotary, talking about the Essex and Herts Air Ambulance Service; and the North Herts Ladies Choir entertaining diners. Charity Quiz raises over £1,100 Letchworth Howard Rotary Club’s annual charity quiz on Saturday evening (13^th Oct) raised over £1,100, with Garden House Hospice Services, based in Letchworth Garden City, the principal beneficiary. Some 80 participants filled St George’s Church Hall to demonstrate their knowledge on topics ranging from history to science to music and literature. The event included a sumptuous cold supper. A raffle alone raised £325 Letchworth Howard helps keep Air Ambulance flying Letchworth Howard treasurer Paul Jeffery and fellow Rotarian (and wife) Dawn Jeffery were among Letchworth Howard Rotarians who spent part of Sunday 8^th September at Letchworth’s Wm Morrison supermarket manning the stall for Essex and Herts Air Ambulance’s annual collection day. Rotary Village Fair stall helps Air Ambulance A morning of heavy rain failed to dampen the spirits of Letchworth Howard Rotary members Angela Silver (standing) and Kim Morrice (seated, but only just visible) when they set up the club’s stall at Willian village fair on the outskirts of Letchworth Garden City on Sunday 7^th July. And their efforts – and those of all the fair organisers – were well rewarded when the sun came out in time for the fair’s opening early on the Sunday afternoon, with the sunshine remaining for the rest of the day. As a result, the Rotary stall, selling second hand CDs and DVDs, did a brisk trade, raising funds for Essex and Herts Air Ambulance. Rotary fund-raising benefits Garden House Hospice Lisa Hunt, chief executive of Garden House Hospice Care in Letchworth Garden City, was guest of honour at Letchworth Howard Rotary Club’s handover evening on Monday (July1). A highlight of the evening came when Paul Jeffery, the club’s outgoing president, presented Lisa with a cheque for £1,000, money raised for the Hospice at the Rotary club’s very successful bridge drive event earlier this year. The evening marked Paul’s handing over of presidential duties to the club’s new president, Arthur Jarman, who will serve until the end of June next year alongside the club’s new vice-president and president-elect Kim Morrice. Pictured are Paul Jeffery with Lisa Hunt, Arthur Jarman being bestowed with his chain of office. Hospice draws the winning hand Garden House Hospice Services in Letchworth Garden City drew the winning hand at Letchworth Howard Rotary Club’s annual bridge drive on Friday March 15. The event raised £1,000 for Rotary charities, with the Hospice the principal beneficiary. The hall at Letchworth Settlement was filled with enthusiastic card players who, as well as enjoying an afternoon of bridge, were also treated to a sumptuous tea with sandwiches and home-baked cakes prepared and served by Rotary volunteers and friends. There was also a raffle, which alone raised £370. Guest of honour Amanda Roberts, Garden House’s Community Engagement Co-ordinator, thanked all the participants for their support of the Hospice’s services. She outlined recent developments, notably the new frailty service in conjunction with the Lister Hospital, Stevenage, which is both easing pressure on the hospital by freeing up beds there and greatly improving the quality of life for those patients brought under its care. The average length of stay for in-patients at Garden House, she revealed, was just two weeks, thanks to so many patients being able to return home after receiving the Hospice’s specialist help, as a result of which their resilience had been built up. This was very much in line with the aims of Cicely Saunders, founder of the hospice movement, who aspired for it not just to provide places of safety for death but to help people to live. Garden House could not operate and develop its services without all the backing it had from the public and from its 800+ volunteers, she said, and fund-raising events like this one were vital. The Hospice was “extraordinarily grateful for your support”. Pictures show: A break for tea and cakes, and Amanda Roberts (right) of Garden House Hospice Services watches as Rotarians Angela Silver and Alan Fraser call out the lucky raffle prize-winning ticket numbers. A brilliant welcome for two new Letchworth Howard members A magnificent Christmas lights display welcomed two new Letchworth Howard Rotary Club members for their induction into Rotary on 11^th December. Marian Cowdrey (left) and Kim Morrice were formally admitted to the club at its December meeting, a social evening at the home of former club president Colin Green and his wife Karen. Their home is renowned for its amazing Christmas lights display, which fills their garden every year. Welcoming Kim and Marian into Rotary was Letchworth Howard president Paul Jeffery, pictured here between his two inductees. Kim is a retired licensee, most recently at the Three Horseshoes at Willian, on the edge of Letchworth, and Marian a secondary school teacher,In addition to the formal induction and the highly enjoyable social evening with seasonal nibbles and drinks, a collection was taken for Garden House Hospice Services, which Colin generously matched to provide a total donation of £340. Ukuleles bring Christmas cheer to Letchworth Howard and Inner Wheel A ukulele orchestra formed the unlikely – and hugely enjoyable – centrepiece of Letchworth Howard Rotary Club’s annual Christmas meal with its sister organisation, Letchworth Inner Wheel, on 5th December. This year’s event, organised and hosted by Inner Wheel, was a grand success. A raffle raised £400 (with a further £50 added by Inner Wheel to bring it up to £450) for Garden House Hospice Care in memory of Mrs Anne Jarman, an Inner Wheel stalwart who was cared for at the hospice before her recent death after a long illness. Her husband, Arthur, is a former president of Letchworth Howard and was accompanied at the dinner by their daughter Cara. The donation is particularly timely as the Hospice launches its new frailty care service. A second raffle raised a further £287 to help Huntington’s Disease sufferers and for other local charity work. The musical entertainment came from the Letchworth Ukulele Group, LALUKE, who delighted the diners as they played and sang a wide range of Christmas music, including carols that everyone joined in with New president for Letchworth Howard Letchworth Howard Rotary Club has inaugurated a new president and vice-president under a previously arranged job change part way through the Rotary year. Angela Silver, who had steered the club from the start of the year, stood down at the club meeting on Monday November 13, relinquishing her chain of office to Paul Jeffery, her successor. Stepping up to the role of senior vice-president, ready in due course to take over from Paul, is Colin Green. Both Paul and Colin have had experience as Letchworth Howard presidents in past years. Pictured at the meeting are Angela and Paul, his neck bowed as he receives the presidential chain of office from Angela. Meanwhile Colin Green tries his new senior vice-presidential chain of office for size. Rotary and Inner Wheel dinner helps some of the world’s poorest children Letchworth Howard Rotary Club and Letchworth Inner Wheel have given some of the world’s most deprived children a £500 Christmas present as a result of their joint annual Christmas dinner on December 5, with another £500 coming from matched funding from generous external donors. The money is going to boost the work of Mary’s Meals, the charity that serves nutritious school meals to children in some of the world’s poorest countries. It was raised through a raffle at the dinner accompanied by the auction of a glorious hand-made quilt created by former Rotarian Mary Rawlins. The raffle and auction produced £480, which one of the clubs’ members rounded up to £500. With the matched funding Mary’s Meals benefits with a total of £1,000. The event, at the Broadway Hotel, Letchworth Garden City, was attended by some 60 people from the two clubs and their guests. They heard a short talk about Mary’s Meals from Keith Mansford, one of the charity’s volunteer helpers, and also watched a very moving film about the charity’s work in Liberia and Haiti. Mary’s Meals provides a nutritious daily meal to 2.3 million children in 20 different countries. By serving the meals in schools using an army of local volunteers it not only ensures the children receive proper daily nourishment but also strongly motivates them to go to school to help secure their futures. Assistance to Essex & Herts Air Ambulance Trust On Wednesday 3rd of August The Essex & Herts Air Ambulance trust opened their new charity shop at 17 Eastcheap in the town centre and the Letchworth Howard Rotary Club was invited to attend on their special day. Rotarians Dawn and Paul Jeffery can be seen 2nd & 3rd from the right. It was a well organised event with several of their staff and other local dignitaries. The shop was well stocked and a credit to them. They did a trial business open day in the previous week and took £1847, the most they have ever taken in one day so they will be likely to keep the lease for a while !