PRESS RELEASES
PRESS RELEASE 13th October 2011
Motorcycle Ride Out Breaks Record.
At the beginning of October a record breaking number of 111 bikers turned up for a Motorcycle Ride Out from Hedge End to Popham Airfield in North Hampshire. Record breaking temperatures ensured a pleasant and incident free ride. The run was organised by your local Hedge End Breakfast Rotary Club, in association with the Suzuki Owners Club who provided marshals along the route.
The motorcycles started to assemble at Budgens car park in Hedge End from 9am where tea and coffee were kindly donated and served by Budgens. Our young partners from Wildern Interact Club helped members of Hedge End Breakfast Rotary Club with collecting donations from the generous participants. There were motorcycles of every shape and size, including trikes, scooters and learners. One motorcyclist turned up at Budgens car park to do some shopping, completely unaware of the run and asked if he could join. He enjoyed the run.
The motorcyclists set off for Popham Airfield and were helped by the local police who escorted the run to the Botley borders and brilliantly stopped the traffic at two sets of traffic lights so that the 111 motorcycles could leave Hedge End together. The course was a 35 mile ride thought the beautiful country side along the Meon Valley, shown off at its best in the late summer sunshine. Upon arrival at the airfield members of Hedge End breakfast Rotary Club helped the three generations of the Wedge family cook and serve burgers and refreshments.
There were Rotarian motorcyclists from Newbury and from Bishop Waltham. One came from Saffron Walden, another from Colchester, and two from London to be on the ride.
There was no fee to take part in the ride, just donations. The total raised was a record £1104.50 for this event which will be donated to Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance. Over the past 6 years this event has raised over £5000 in support of the Air Ambulance.
All in all a very good day for a good cause, with temperatures hitting a near record breaking 27oC!
TWO CHARITIES PROFIT FROM EXBURY JAZZ EVENING
Nearly 150 people spent a pleasant Saturday evening in May strolling through the garden at Exbury Gardens in the New Forest admiring the glorious azaleas and other plants before enjoying their picnics and listening to a Ron Agar's Jazz Band in a beautiful specially erected marquee. The event raised over £1500 which will be donated to the two nominated charities Tools for Self Reliance and The Smile Train.
Tools for Self Reliance is a local based charity which refurbishes old tools and sewing machines and send them to Africa where local organisations distribute the equipment and train people to use and maintain them.
The Smile Train is an international charity which trains doctors and provides life changing clef lip and palette surgery to children in need in some of the poorest countries throughout the world.
ShelterBox responding to Japanese earthquake and tsunami.
A ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) is mobilising after a massive earthquake struck Japan earlier today. The earthquake, measuring 8.9 in magnitude, triggered a tsunami that's caused extensive damage.
The latest reports coming out of Japan have shown cars, ships and buildings being swept away with waves of up to 10 meters high slamming into the coast. Areas across the Pacific Basin have been put on tsunami alert including Russia, Guam, the Philippines, Taiwan and Hawaii.
SRT members Lasse Petersen (AU), Mark Pearson (UK) and John Diksa (FR) are ready to head to Japan and begin ShelterBox's international response.
‘The scenes we're seeing are catastrophic,' said Lasse. ‘Whole homes are being washed away and our thoughts go out to all the families who are facing this disaster. The epicentre was in Japan so our first team are mobilising to head there but we continue to watch very closely the path of the tsunami. We're very aware the worst may not be over.'
According to U.S. Geological Survey the earthquake was magnitude 8.9 at a depth of 20 miles with the epicentre 250 miles away from Japan's capital Tokyo.
The tsunami warning was issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre and they say the wave could even reach as far as Chile.
Tom Henderson, ShelterBox Founder and CEO, added: ‘At present the scale of the disaster is difficult to measure. What we do know is that the combination of such a large earthquake followed by the tsunami has the potential to cause significant damage across the Pacific Rim.
‘We have aid pre-positioned locally and a member of the ShelterBox Response Team stationed in the Philippines enabling an immediate response.'
For further information please contact
Liz Jarvis Tel: 023 8045 2726 email: liz.jarvis@hebrc.co.uk
For more information about the ShelterBox operations go to:
THANKS FOR LIFE
CROCUSES AND THANKS FOR LIFE
In September last year, Hedge End Breakfast Rotary Club distributed 5000 crocus bulbs to several organisations in the area. The intention is that these will flower on Thanks For Life Day later this month creating a carpet of purple flowers.
1. Hedge End Town Council planted over 1000 of these on the bank close to Welstead School as well as in other locations in the area.
2. Members of the Interact Club at Wildern School planted another 1000 in the grounds of their school.
3. Rotary members planted bulbs in Royal Victoria Country Park, Netley Abbey.
23rd February has been designated by Rotary International as the Thanks For Life Day. Rotary's aim is to eradicate polio in the world. Rotary has been successful over the past 30 years in reducing the incidents of polio to less than 1000, and limiting it to 4 countries in the world. Purple flowers were chosen because the children who have been inoculated have a purple ink mark on their little finger to identify them.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will donated $355 million to the campaign and challenged all Rotary Clubs to match this. They have already been successfully in raising $150 million and are well on the way to raise the remaining $200 by June next year.
Humanity
in motion
