ROTARIAN
A
n Eccleshall Rotarian has been honoured with a prestigious award.
Sylvia Keris has been honoured by Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland with a Champions of Change award. Held annually, Champions of Change are part of Rotary s Champions Awards which recognises unsung heroes whose volunteering efforts have had a huge impact on people s lives both at home and internationally. Sylvia, who is a member of the Rotary Club of Eccleshall Mercia, received her award during a virtual ceremony in June alongside 11 other recipients as well as last year s winners whose ceremony was postponed due to Covid-19. For the past two years Sylvia has become a champion for the Buddy Bag Foundation, which supplies essential items for the immediate wellbeing of children who find themselves in emergency care following a traumatic incident. As an Ambassador for BBF, Sylvia sends out publicity and collects in and labels up the 100 s of comfort knitted teddies, and delivers them to the charity for their weekly mass backpacking sessions, which she has additionally helped at. In 2019 she walked the length of the Grand Union canal from Birmingham to London, and through publicity for the Rotary Clubs she met along the way inspired support for the charity s appeal for knitted teddy bears, toiletry bags and Lego: a message spread nationally via newspapers, posters and social media. So far more than 3,500 knitted teddies have been collected and delivered via Sylvia to BBF, with the figure increasing daily. Her canal walk also raised over £3,100, split between Buddy Bags and Rotary s End Polio campaign, while her 24 hour a day costumed Elf activity throughout December 2020 brought some festive cheer and raised a further £552 in online donations. The search for this year s winners was carried out across Rotary s vibrant network of over 1,700 Rotary clubs, with Rotary members and also members of the public having their extraordinary work recognised. This ranged from feeding disadvantaged people during the Covid19 pandemic to knitting teddies for children in emergency care. Tom Griffin, President of Rotary International in Great Britain & Ireland, said:
Thanks to Sylvia and those who were inspired by her, this very worthwhile charity has received fantastic support in providing comfort for children at a time when they really need it. She is a true champion who selfless actions rightly deserve to be celebrated with this welldeserved award. The Champions Awards is about giving those who pioneer, lead and support some amazing volunteering projects the recognition they deserve. The selfless and truly life-changing impact of our champions really demonstrates how we can make a difference and touch people s lives. Rotary is certainly a place where people can turn their passion and ideas into lasting change. There are so many heroes out there and to them I say thank you and keep doing what you re doing . Sylvia said: It is busy but so rewarding to help such a worthwhile charity as Buddy Bags, but thanks must also go to the people across the country who are kindly knitting and sewing teddies and toiletry bags for vulnerable children, and delivering the items to my door. These include Rotarians, people undertaking the Discovery Award (akin to DOE Award) and many individual knitters. For more information about Rotary s Champions Awards visit: www.rotarygbi.org/events or to get involved in Rotary and make a difference in your community, visit www.rotarygbi.org/join
