Author: Tettenhall Rotary

One of Rotary’s core goals is to strengthen our communities by supporting basic education and literacy.

Reading is a basic requirement of everyday life, and whilst for many of us its a skill we take for granted there are 2.4 million adults in England alone who can barely read or cannot read at all.

This means that they find everyday tasks like filling in forms, helping children with schoolwork and reading letters and bills difficult. Being unable to read also impacts on their employment opportunities, self-confidence and their ability to participate in society.

Learning to read as an adult is life-changing both for the adult and for their families and that’s why we’re supporting Read Easy UK to provide their volunteer-led reading coaching programme for adults in Wolverhampton. Read Easy helps any adult who either can’t read or who lacks confidence with reading. The reading coaching they provide is confidential, one-to-one and absolutely free!

If you or someone that you know could benefit from their help you can find the contact details for the local Read Easy Coordinator here https://readeasy.org.uk/groups/wolverhampton/

There aren’t many people in Wolverhampton who haven’t been touched by the wonderful work of Compton Care.

For over 40 years they have been providing specialist palliative and end of life care to patients, and support for their families, helping them to navigate every aspect of life with a life limiting condition.

Rotary has been involved with the work of Compton Care since its earliest days and helped to fund the initial fit out of the Hall for use as a care facility for patients with terminal illnesses.

Government funding alone won’t cover the ongoing cost of providing its services to patients free of charge and as a result the organisation continues to rely on donations from the community.

Thanks to your support of our Christmas collections we’ve been able to make a donation to help Compton Care with these costs so that it can continue to offer an outstanding level of service to both patients and visitors.

Follow the link to make a donation to support their continuing work – https://www.comptoncare.org.uk/donate/

Each year the Mayor of Wolverhampton selects a number of local charities to support – providing the chosen charities with practical help as well as raising their profile in the City.

Over the past 10 years, Mayors have raised over £300,000 for various local charities.

This year Mayor Councillor Dr Michael Hardacre has chosen to support:

The Haven – a charity providing a range of services and activities including safe accommodation to support women and children in the City.

Give Us A Break – a small, volunteer-run charity dedicated to making a positive impact in the lives of young people with complex disabilities and their families by creating inclusive and memorable experiences for them.

Wings & Paws Animal Rescue – a voluntary animal rescue run by local animal lovers working to ensure any neglected, stray, feral or unloved animal will get the best chance at finding a forever home and a better life.

We’ve made donation to the Mayor’s Charitable Fund to help the work of the volunteers running these local good causes – you can show your own support for the Mayor’s charities by donating to the Fund here

We’re continuing our support for the work of the Friends of Di’s Kitchen a local charity, operating out of the home kitchen of one of its selfless volunteers, that is helping to feed people in need across the city of Wolverhampton.

The charity is named in honour of Di Henry who, before her passing, ran Tab’s Kitchen, a soup kitchen based at The Tabernacle Baptist Church in Whitmore Reans. Di passed away in 2018, but some of the volunteers who worked with her were determined to continue her good work.

The Friends of Di’s Kitchen now serves nutritious three course meals and distributes food bags to families each week as well as providing emotional support to those in need. Since 2020 over 88,000 meals have been prepared and delivered – with 33,470 people helped in 2023 alone.

In the run up to Christmas we made a donation to the charity which helped them distribute over 800 Christmas meals to their guests and following the success of our Christmas collections we have now been able to donate a further pallet of food which has been used to help feed families over the half term period.

The Friends of Di’s Kitchen are a great example of the power of volunteering and the difference it can make to the people of Wolverhampton

Rotary has always recognised the powerful difference which can be made when local people work together -putting service before self – for the benefit of their community.

Over the years members of the City’s Rotary Clubs have translated this into action and have been involved in the foundation and operation of many local charities including the Wolverhampton MS Therapy Centre.

For over 30 years the Centre has been supplying Oxygen Therapy and other Physical and Mindful Therapies for the Wellbeing and Support of those suffering with the physical and psychological effects of both long-term debilitating conditions such as MS and short term traumas. Many of the Centre’s services can only be provided as a result of the assistance of a committed group of trained volunteers.

We greatly appreciate the help which the volunteers from the MS Centre give each year to our Christmas Santa Sleigh and with thanks for their help and in recognition of the Centre’s important work we have, thanks to the generosity of your donations, been able to make a further donation to help its work.