Rotary in Carlisle is rolling back the years and changing its middle-aged image.
Formal business suits are out and a fresh perspective on fundraising is in for the members of what will become the Carlisle Castle Rotary Club.
Member Claire Phillips, 33, said: “Our average age is 49 and the other clubs have an average age of more than 60.
“We don’t wear suits to meetings like other clubs, we wear jeans unless we are coming straight from work.
“We have a different view point from the traditional because we are that bit younger– we are more modern in our outlook.”
The first Rotary Clubs were populated entirely by men – another trend the Carlisle Castle group is bucking.
“We have more women than men in our club,” said Claire, a chartered accountant at Dodd Accountants on the city’s Rosehill Estate.
And according to Claire, parent organisation Rotary International have been supportive of their new venture as it is bringing in new members.
The 13-strong group meet one evening a week at their regular “haunt”, The Pine Grove Hotel on London Road, in Carlisle, and is an alternative to the other Carlisle clubs who meet during lunchtimes – a difficult commitment to make for many working people.
Members include two people from the Eden Valley Hospice, an employee of Cue Doc, the owner of a Health and Safety company and Belinda Artingstoll, a presenter with BBC Radio Cumbria.
The fledgling club is calling for more people to join in and help them to achieve full Rotary Club status. “We have to have 20 members, so anything we are doing comes under our mother club, Brampton and Longtown Rotary.”
But despite their fun and friendly ethos, the group is serious about raising funds to support worthy causes. They take on the traditional Rotary agenda of planning fundraising activities and projects to help a host of local and global charities and organisations.
A quiz held last week at The Pine Grove raised £490 – enough to buy a special shelter box to provide shelter and warmth for up to 10 people in the event of an international disaster.
Rotary Clubs used the boxes to help Indonesian people affected by the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004. Claire said: “We were hoping to get some cash to go towards the box, but we got enough to buy it outright. It was great.”
The group is looking at a number of community projects to see where they can best help locally.
Past projects already under their belts have included knitting hats to keep children warm in Africa’s winters.
But sadly, they won’t be reinstating the Rotarian’s Santa’s sleigh this Christmas due to insurance costs and health and safety regulations.
“But we will be looking other things we can do like letters to Santa,” said Claire.
The group also have a meal at The Pine Grove and hear from a range of different speakers from the community about their roles.
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