WHAT WE DO
WHAT DOES ROTARY DO?
So, what does a Rotary Club do, other than meet on a regular basis?
Broadly speaking a Rotary Club’s activities will cover the following categories. Click on any of them to go to that section of the page.
MEETINGS
Regular meetings are the glue that binds together all our activities.
The Lea Valley Clubs all meet once a week, one for breakfast, three for lunch and one for dinner, and you can find details of Club meeting times and venues HERE on the Lea Valley Clubs Page. There are also satellite groups associated with Ware and with Amwell that meet less formally, usually once or twice a month.
The fellowship we enjoy either over a meal or with a beer and a chat, and the friendships that grow from that, reflect in the many and varied service projects we undertake and the other good causes that we support each year.
We also enjoy various other events and activities that are purely for fellowship and fun.
If our activities inspire you to want to find out more about membership, then do please contact us to arrange to come along to one of our meetings as our guest. There are more details on how to get involved HERE on the Get Involved page.
COMMUNITY SERVICE
Quite possibly the best known face of Rotary. Rotary Clubs provide support for those in need within our communities, sometimes directly but more often through local or national charities.
As well as financial support we do occasionally offer more practical assistance.
INTERNATIONAL SERVICE
Rotary the World Over.
Truly international in scope, Rotary Clubs support many international aid agencies and charities both large and small. We also collaborate directly with other Rotary Clubs around the world to work on specific local projects or initiatives.
YOUTH PROGRAMMES
The Youth of today are the citizens of tomorrow.
The Lea Valley Rotary Clubs offer advice and support to various youth initiatives in the local area., including an annual School’s Technology Tournament and a Junior School Choir Competition.
Some of the individual clubs also provide Youth Bursaries for local young people who show promise in fields such as sport, music or performance arts.
THE ROTARY FOUNDATION & POLIO ERADICATION
The Rotary Foundation is Rotary International's own Charity.
The Foundation's funds are used to promote international goodwill and understanding through a wide range of humanitarian and educational projects.
In 1985, Rotary International launched a public health campaign which led to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative - joining forces with UNICEF, the World Health organisation, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in the US and more recently the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Since then the organisation has raised $1.6 billion with the help of 1.2 million volunteers globally, including around 47,000 in the UK. The campaign is now on the verge of completion with hopes that we will soon see the last ever case of the disease.
Polio is a serious viral infection causing temporary or permanent paralysis, which can be life-threatening. Among those to have suffered are television chef Mary Berry, golfer Jack Nicklaus and singer songwriter Joni Mitchell. But there have been no new cases in the UK since 1984 following a programme of routine vaccination. In 2016 there were 37 cases in just three countries, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria.