Club News

The Rotary Cinque Ports Group is just what its name suggests! It’s a group of 14 Rotary clubs with links to the Cinque Ports, either one of the five original “head ports”, one of the two “ancient towns” or one of the seven “limbs”.

Group members meet from time to time for lunch or dinner, to enjoy each other’s company and to listen to a guest speaker.

The most recent meeting was held in Dover in January and was attended by two members of Faversham Rotary, Clarissa and Ruth.

Dr Helen Clayton spoke about her work in Sierra Leone with the charity Transform Salone which provides education, medical assistance and food relief.

The event raised £625, which will be directed towards the Salone lighting project which is working to provide solar lighting in villages without electricity. It will contribute to the safety of women and girls, and children will be able to study and complete their homework in the evenings.

Additionally, Helen confirmed that 728 toothbrushes were collected. This will have a positive impact as poor dental hygiene can result in long-term health issues.

For those interested in learning more about the charity Transform Salone, whose work is at the heart of these initiatives, please visit www.Transform-Salone.org       

Jenny McCarthy was the guest speaker at the club’s early January meeting. She spoke about Carers’ Support East Kent, a Kent based charity which offers a range of services for adult carers, including young adult carers aged 16 to 24 years old.

Information, support and signposting are provided by phone, email, text, online and in person.

The teams of paid staff make home visits if possible, meeting up to three or four carers per day.

In some circumstances, they can arrange respite care so that carers can have a break, even if only for a few hours to have “time for me”. The mental health of carers is an area of concern for Carers’ Support.

There are drop-ins and support groups where carers can share their experiences and realise that they are not alone.

In Faversham alone there are over 700 registered carers and probably many more who are unregistered. They may not think of themselves Carers, but if they look after a relative or friend who couldn’t manage without their help, then they are Carers.

Carers’ Support East Kent website www.carersek.org.uk

Thank You from Faversham Rotary Club

Thanks to the generosity of the people of Faversham, this year’s Rotary Club Carol Tour was a record breaker! More than £6780 was donated during the ten evening street collections, together with four days at Tesco and one at Macknade Fine Foods. The people of Faversham have always been generous in their support for Rotary and this year was no different, despite the tough economic times for many people. Thank you so much.

The routes and times had been well publicised on social media so families were waiting for us on every street. Many residents remember the Carol Tour from when they were children. The smiling faces of the children said it all as they spotted the penguins and reindeer and of course Father Christmas. Seeing the float marks the arrival of Christmas for lots of families.

The live tracking of the float via the website was very well used. Father Christmas can be quite elusive, so it was good to know where he was. Lots of families were waiting to see the float and listen to the music.

Rotarians and Friends really enjoy taking the Carol Tour around the town. It gives them the chance to see all the colourful Christmas lights and the creative ways that houses and gardens are decorated. Some must have taken a very long time!

This year we were again joined by the Red Panda Explorers at Tesco and Macknade. Thank you to them for their help, and to all the friends and family members who followed the float this year.

The generous donations will enable Faversham Rotary to continue its support of local groups and charities throughout the coming year.

Happy New Year 🥳