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The benefits of rotary membership explored
25/05/2021
Club hope to dispel a few myths and encourage more people to join
The Rotary Club of Banbury Cherwell plan to dispel a few myths about the organisation and encourage new memberships at an “Unplugged” event they are holding tomorrow evening.
“Rotary is not an old man’s dining club for well off elderly gentlemen, probably as portrayed by Cpt Mainwaring in Dad’s Army”, said Howard Winfield from the club. “Over the last 40 to 50 years, the face of Rotary has changed to a younger, more vibrant organisation, filled with people who want to put something back into society and support those who are worse off whether it be international, national or local.”
Banbury has two Rotary Clubs. The original Rotary Club of Banbury was formed in 1935 and has their main meetings at lunchtimes. The Rotary Club of Banbury Cherwell was formed later by a group who hold their main meetings in the evening. Both clubs work closely together on local projects.
Anyone becoming a Rotarian joins a club with a huge networking potential. Howard said: “You go to anywhere in the world where there’s a rotary club, if you’re wearing your badge and its recognised you’re welcomed into that club as if you were a member of that club. It’s a big family network of about 1.2million people, spread across around 140 countries.”
Since the start of the pandemic the club has helped with marshalling duties at COVID vaccination clinics and has volunteered over 4,000 hours so far. Despite being a small club, the Rotary Club of Banbury Cherwell has donated over £70,000 to local organisations.
The club currently has 19 members but is hoping tomorrow’s Rotary Unplugged event will result in a few more people joining.
Howard said: “’Rotary Unplugged’ is a Rotary initiative aimed at explaining what Rotary is about and hopefully attracting new members. Rotary is a diverse and gender-neutral organisation, open to all from the age of 18.
“There is no commitment, but you are welcome to come along and listen to see for yourself.”
The presentation will take place online tomorrow (Wednesday May 26) using Zoom and starts at 7pm. To join the event please follow this link.
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam