October 2019
“A new exciting international project for our Club!” was the reaction of Noel McKenna, President of the Rotary Club of Dunfermline to the news that that the Club had raised the funding for its first ever water harvesting project.
THREE teams of would-be charity champions can now follow in the philanthropic footsteps of Dunfermline's greatest benefactor Andrew Carnegie…thanks to a £900 "bonus" from the Rotary Club of Dunfermline.
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Here’s to GinFest 2020!
DUNFERMLINE’S new charity GinFest has been declared such a success that the organisers - the Rotary Club of Dunfermline - have already booked the venue for a repeat performance next year.
Over 750 festival-goers flocked to the Glen Pavilion for the two party nights on 10th and 11th May…to pour a sum approaching a five-figure sum into the club’s charity coffers.
Event spokesman and club secretary Ralph McCran said, “Such has been the generous response by the public and the supporters who sponsored all of the 41 featured gins that we are already inviting them to reserve the dates of 8th and 9th May for GinFest 2020. We hope to see everyone there again next year!
“We hope the launch event will have raised approaching a five-figure sum for disbursement to local good causes - a result which would not have been possible without the support of the public and sponsors and the commitment of the 50-strong team of Rotarians and volunteer helpers who delivered the event.”
With gin sales rocketing by more than 12 per cent last year and more than 70 per cent of the UK’s gin now produced in Scotland, the new GinFest was conceived as a fun spring complement to Dunfermline Round Table’s already well-established Dunfermline Beer Festival in the autumn and as a potential scene-setter for the Dunfermline club’s own upcoming centennial in 2022.
GinFest mixed a heady cocktail of gins, beer, wine, prosecco and live music by Cut the Cake and The Copycats, and over 750 party-goers responded to the club’s appeals to get into the charity spirit and provide a tonic to their charity trust fund by supporting the club’s principal fund-raiser of the year.
A delighted President Tom Sunter also paid tribute to the public’s support and to the Rotarians and volunteer helpers who delivered the club’s inaugural GinFest.
“By helping to make the event a social and financial success,” he said, “supporters of our first GinFest should have the double satisfaction of knowing they have not only launched a new addition to the city’s fund-raising calendar but also added a substantial sum to the £12,000 the club has already pledged to local and international charitable causes this Rotary year.”
Rudolph’s red-nose days set to benefit local good causes…
RUDOLPH’S red-nose days are set to put an extra jingle in the charity coffers of Dunfermline Rotary Club and Dunfermline Round Table.
For Santa and his little helpers are set to hit the road on Monday, 10 th December, on a six-night sleigh run around local neighbourhoods to collect for local good causes.
After touring Queen Margaret Fauld and the Queensgate estate on the 10 th , Tablers and Rotarians will take their door-to-door canvass to Duloch – to the Barratt estate on Tuesday, 11 th ,and Wednesday, 12 th , and to the Dover Park area on Wednesday, 12 th , and Thursday, 13 th .
Fergusson Road is next on Rudolph’s itinerary on Thursday, 13 th , and, for Tablers, the merry-go-round ends in Pitcorthie Estate on the weekend of 15 th and 16 th December.
However organisers point out, “All routes are subject to change and weather-dependent, so be sure to check Dunfermline Round Table’s Facebook page for updates on each night.”
For Rotarians, the Christmas capers continue when Santa and Rudolph park their sleigh outside the car park entrance to Tesco’s Fire Station superstore, where collectors will be can-rattling from 12 noon to 4.30pm on Saturday and Sunday, 15 th and 16 th December and from 4.30pm to 6.30 on Monday, 17 th , and Tuesday, 18 th December.
Santa’s final pit-stop will be on Saturday, 22 nd December, in Dunfermline High Street where he will be gathering Christmas wishes and cash donations for deserving causes from 1pm to 5pm.
Rotarian Graham Steedman, the club’s community convener, says, “Santa’s sleigh is always a magnet for local youngsters as excitement mounts in the count-down to the Big Day. And Santa never fails to deliver Christmas cheer to deserving causes around the district.”
Tablers David Lawrence and Craig Smith added, “Our donations are channelled each year through Fife Council social work department to families for whom the generosity of the Dunfermline public will provide some extra stocking-fillers this festive season.”
Half a dozen of us with great help from our wives set up a Daffodil Tea in Crossford Village Hall.
The volunteers at Contact the Elderly brought along as many of their guests as were able and we all had a joly good time
The day was organised by John Allan with Graham ("Bingo")Steedman, Bill Spence, John Anderson, Noel McKenna, Ian Morris, Brian Blanchflower all kept in line by Lindsay,Wendy, Isa,Marion, Claire and Jacky.
Alan was on duty at Perth standind in for President Tom who had serious man-flu. Anything to avoid another egg-mayo sandwich!
We receieved the following from Lorna Dunbar, Support Officer for Contact the Elderly:-
Hello
I just wanted to say a last thank you for yesterday. It was so good to see all our guests out on a dreich Sunday having a good chat, a laugh and lots of cake and sandwiches – instead of being stuck inside their four walls. The raffle and bingo were a great success as well. The guest I drove could not get over having won a prize.
You were kind enough to say that you are now expecting this to be an annual event. That is such amazing generosity and we accept gratefully! I’ll be in touch to get 2020 officially in the calendar
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October 2019
“A new exciting international project for our Club!” was the reaction of Noel McKenna, President of the Rotary Club of Dunfermline to the news that that the Club had raised the funding for its first ever water harvesting project.
The funding comprises a grant of £1,600 from Rotary Foundation, the main charity of Rotary, £1,500 raised by the Dunfermline Club and a further donation from the Rotary Club of Langata in Nairobi .
The project aims to harvest rainwater by fitting guttering and downpipes to the roof of the Nduriri Secondary School at Kaimbaa in Kenya and then to provide large tanks to store that water. This will mean that the pupils of that school and the nearby community will have access to a safe and consistent water source during the dry season.
President Noel commented that “Water is so important in this part of Africa and, quite apart from ensuring that the school will be able to stay open all year round, it is estimated that some 500 persons within 40 homesteads will also benefit from this project.” Noel added “The members of the Rotary Club of Langata will be managing this project for us demonstrating the international reach and co-operation within the Rotary movement.”
Update – December 2019
Water Harvesting Project now Launched
The joint water harvesting project of the Rotary Clubs of Dunfermline in Scotland and Langata in Kenya has now been launched.
The photographs show Project team members of the Langata Club and representatives of the Ndruri Secondary School in Kaimbaa, Kenya outside one of the classrooms where gutters and downpipes are to be fitted to the roof to catch rainwater which will then be piped to water storage tanks. This will provide a water supply enabling the School to remain open during the dry season.
In addition, the local community will have access to this water supply. In all approximately 500 persons will benefit from this project.
The other photographs are of Langata’s Project team purchasing the guttering etc.
The project cost of £3,100 is being funded by the Dunfermline and Langata Clubs together with a grant from Rotary Foundation.
Update – March 2020
I am pleased to report that this project has now been completed and that all I need now from our partner club, The Rotary Club of Lang’ata, Nairobi which managed the project on our behalf, are the receipts for the materials purchased and the labour costs so that I can complete the formal Final Report for District and apply to have this Foundation Grant project signed off.
This was a new project for our Club involving the in the of and consisted of fitting of guttering and downpipes to the school roof with piping to “harvest” rainfall into three large storage tanks. The result of having this stored water means that, during the dry season when the nearby stream often dries up, the school will be able to remain open and the local community will also have access to this safe and consistent source of water.
It is estimated that up to 500 persons – the school pupils plus some 40 households – will benefit from this project.
The project was funded by a donation from our Club of £1,500, a Foundation Grant of £1,600 plus a contribution from our partner Club.
We are greatly indebted to our partner club, The Rotary Club of Lang’ata in , for managing this project on our behalf; obtaining estimates, overseeing the work, reporting back and providing the photographs below.
The Lang’ata Club also arranged a hugely impressive formal handover of the project to which around 50 of their members travelled. Also attending the handover were 100 + school pupils with their teachers plus members of the local community. I have attached an e-mail below which includes a link to an excellent article that the Lang’ata Club produced about the project and the formal handover. It will be noted that their Club Members didn’t miss the opportunity to promote the work of the Rotary Movement.
“ Subject: Handover - Water Harvesting
Dear David,
As a follow-up to the last communication from Rtn Jannet, I am delighted to confirm that we officially handed over the Nduriri project on the 8th of February. We are now in the process of finalizing on a final report which we will share with you, please confirm if there is a preferred format for your district reporting.
The event was hugely successful with an attendance of over 60 Rotarians , who also participated in tree planting and mentoring of the students.
We have the story in our online district magazine
Rotary Club of Nairobi- Langata is very grateful to the Rotary club of and their district for partnering with us to make a difference in this community.
Regards
Serah”