Martello Rotary Seaford
New world, new ways of working
Covid-19, Lockdown and self-isolation have all seemed a bit insurmountable on occasions, but by thinking a little differently you can still make a big difference to the society that you live in and support. One of our biggest challenges is how do we raise enough money to support the many causes, both environmental and personal that need that extra bit of cash or help that can make a fundamental difference to people’s lives. Rotary is all about serving others before self. An old-fashioned phrase, not one you hear much nowadays, but you would be surprised at how many people want to support others. This is especially the case with causes such a Lifeboats, British Heart Foundation and the WOLO Foundation (helping families effected by cancer) to name just a few of the Charities that we support. This was proven when we organised a virtual race ‘Run for Rotary’. Distance to race could be chosen from several options, both running and walking. The idea was that individuals signing up for the race would initially pay a small subscription and then try to encourage contributions from friends and family for completing the race. It was down to the individual when they completed the run/walk, many using smart technology to track the occasion. For us this was a trial run (forgive the pun) as we had no idea how successful it would be. In the past we have organised and marshalled half marathons and 10k races, and they have been successful in both numbers turning out and contributions received for our charities. So, the idea of a virtual run was totally new to us. Luckily, we have Tony Humphreys in our team, who in a past life managed development of large-scale IT platforms and associated tools, and he pulled it all together for us. The result was that 55 people signed up to race, the majority completing their set distance and profits from the event have exceeded previously held ‘live’ races. We will definitely be staying in the ‘virtual’ world for the foreseeable future and will probably combine this with live events as soon as Covid allows.
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Focus on the environment
Martello Rotary will be partnering with the Seaford Community Partnership responsible for the maintaining of green spaces, and overall ‘greening’ of Seaford. We recognise the importance of supporting and contributing to these groups, not just for our own pleasure but to ensure that what we leave behind is a better place for our children and grandchildren to live in. Our objective is to create a system to allow members skilled in Business Management, Creation, Consortium Management, Project and Site Management to engage with local community groups to enable them to develop, grow and become free standing entities with capabilities. In this way the Rotary members can assist where needed on a just-in-time basis, withdrawing when no longer required but maintaining a ‘watching brief ’. Our involvement with multiple groups will allow the individual requirements to be identified and common platforms developed which will assist in the development of composite funding programme. We will update you on specific projects and activities over the next few months, which hopefully will encourage your participation and support.
Looking for a calendar for next year?
Don’t forget Seaford Community Calendars are now on sale, beautiful pictures and all proceeds go to local charities, the RNLI at Newhaven and the Youth Counselling Project in Seaford. Our cover picture was taken by Kevan Wilkx and is an example of the wonderful photographs shown throughout the calendar. There are two sizes to fit most spaces and cost is £8 and £6 respectively. Current outlets are Badgers Inks, Barwell’s the Solicitors and JXP Financial Services.You can also search for ‘Seaford Community Calendar’ on Facebook and join our page. If anyone is willing to sell them for us please contact Nick White on nick88nick@gmail.com. Interested in Martello Rotary? Use our QR code link to find out more.
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