Fighting Poverty Sustainably

With nearly 800 million people living on less than $1.90 day Rotary members are passionate about finding sustainable solutions to poverty.

We recognise that every community has its own unique needs and concerns and that the people in those communities know best how to deal with those. By working with micro finance organisations such as Lend With Care we empower local entrepreneurs to develop their local economies and reduce poverty in a sustainable way.

Along with other members of Rotary District 1210 we’ve loaned £437,271.19 through Lend With Care to help 35,305 entrepreneurs around the world to develop their businesses helping them to create 20,031 jobs in the process.

Our latest loans have been made to Janice, a shopkeeper in Cebu in the Philippines, who is using her to loan to help buy more stock to build her business, and to Hung, a cattle farmer in Vietnam, who’ll use his loan to expand his herd by buying three more breeding cows.

As Janice, Hung and the other entrepreneurs who we have made micro loans to repay their loans we’ll use the money to make further loans to other entrepreneurs helping to create more jobs and to reduce poverty.

Join Rotary now and help us to make a difference in local communities around the world.

Supporting Adult Literacy

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/

Vaisakhi Mela 2024

We had a great day at Wolverhampton’s West Park at the City’s annual celebrations for Vaisakhi marking the 325th Anniversary of the Creation of the Khalsa Order and making of Saint-Solider by Guru Gobind Singh Ji in 1699.

Thank you to everyone who donated to our collection which will help us to continue our support for good causes.

When you donate to Tettenhall Rotary you don’t have to be worried about your donation being wasted on administration expenses – our Club members cover our expenses so that 100% of your donation goes where it’s needed.

Helping Compton Care

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/

Supporting the Mayor of Wolverhampton’s Charitable Fund

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

Help Celebrate Wolverhampton’s Youth

Nominations are now open for the Wolverhampton Young Citizen of the Year awards 2024, which recognise the achievements of young people aged between 13 and 25 who live or go to school or work in Wolverhampton.

Photo of Max Kilman (Wolves captain) Luis Enache (2023 finalist), Imane Sbihi (2023 joint winner) Eva Abley (2023 joint winner) Mel Eves (awards vice Chairman) at the launch of Wolverhampton Young Citizen 2024
Max Kilman, Luis Enache (2023 finalist), Imane Sbihi (2023 joint winner) Eva Abley (2023 joint winner) and Mel Eves

This years awards were launched by Wolverhampton Wanderers captain Max Kilman and Wolves Legend (and Rotary member) Mel Eves. They are encouraging everyone in the City to recognise those young people who have gone the extra mile and whose personal courage, care for others, achievement or contribution to the community should be recognised and celebrated.

Anyone can nominate a young person for the award – just visit www.wolverhamptonyoungcitizen.org.uk and complete the online nomination form.

The awards were devised and are sponsored by the City’s four Rotary Clubs together with main sponsor Collins Aerospace. The awards are supported by the Wolves Foundation, Wolverhampton City Council, the James Beattie Charitable Trust and West Midlands Magazines.

Together We End Polio

As you wander around Wolverhampton keep an eye out for the purple crocuses which have been planted by the Tettenhall and the City’s other Rotary clubs to raise awareness of our vaccination project which is helping to eradicate polio worldwide.

The polio virus is a highly infectious disease most commonly affecting children aged under 5. The virus is spread person to person, attacking the nervous system, and can lead to paralysis. Although there is no cure, there is a safe, inexpensive and effective vaccine – one which Rotary and our partners use to immunize over 2.5 billion children worldwide.

When Rotary started the campaign to eradicate polio, there were cases present in 125 countries worldwide, now cases have been reduced by 99.9% and just two countries remain polio endemic; Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Through the actions of thousands of volunteers working together with Rotary the eradication of polio is tantalisingly close and we want you to get involved and help us finish the job.

Email us at info@tettenhallrotary.org.uk to find out more about joining or volunteering with Rotary to see how you can make a real difference locally, nationally and internationally.

If volunteering isn’t for you then you can still help us to continue to protect children around the world from this horrendous disease with a life-changing vaccine – which costs just 20p – by Donating now. For every pound you donate the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will donate a further two pounds.

Ukraine – two years on

As we saw the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine members of the Club joined with representatives of the local Ukrainian community at a service hosted by the City Mayor in his parlour to remember those who have died and those who continue to bravely defend their nation.

From the first days of the invasion Tettenhall Rotary has been providing practical aid to those impacted by the invasion with donations of essential equipment including large diesel generators, portable power stations, food, medicine and clothing.

Two years on that support continues with our latest donation to help buy replacement supplies for a school in Lviv which was recently hit by Russian missiles.

With no quick end in sight our fundraising to continue our support for those bravely resisting Russian aggression continues with one half of the proceeds of our charity Golf Day on the 7th June this year to be used for Ukrainian relief efforts.

You can help support our work by entering a team in the Golf Day, by donating a complimentary round of golf, by providing items as playing or raffle prizes, by sponsoring a tee, by sponsoring the event or by making a donation now at http://tettenhallrotary.org.uk/donate.

To enter the competition email us golf@tettenhallrotary.org.uk.

Supporting the Friends of Di’s Kitchen

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

Helping the work of the Wolverhampton MS Therapy Centre

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.