- Mar 9, 2023

Magnificent effort by Rotarians as £11,120 raised at Christmas presented to charities!

The Rotary Club of Banstead has raised a magnificent £11,120 for local charities over the Christmas period thanks to the generosity of Banstead!

The club held a very enjoyable Cheque Presentation Dinner at the Cuddington Golf Club on Tuesday 7th March. This was the largest Supper of Jane’s Deputy Presidency. A great evening was enjoyed by all. Friends and charity partners also joined us as our special guests. The Club took the opportunity to present cheques to our charities to ensure that the money raised is put to good use as soon as possible. The evening is also a major networking event. Banstead Rotary’s main Christmas activity is the Santa Sleigh which tours around the streets of Banstead Village, Nork, Tattenhams and Preston Hall from the beginning of December for three weks up until Christmas.

The Santa Sleigh has been running for a great number of years since the 1950s and is a popular festive feature in the community.

Returning for the Christmas period, Santa and his charity partner elves raised £11,120. This was in spite of bad weather which forced the cancellation of some tours. Other Christmas activities this year included participation in the Banstead Village Christmas Shopping Evening with the Club’s Santa magically switching on the lights.

The Club also organises supermarket collections and this season they were at Waitrose Banstead and at ASDA in Burgh Heath.

These activities plus Gift Aid resulted in bringing the total of the raised funds to over £11,120.

Some of the charities to benefit include: Home Start , Dyscover, Age Concern, Banstead,Macular Society, National Autistic Society Surrey, Epsom and Ewell Foodbank, Epsom and Ewell Talking Newspaper, Diamond Riding School, Maggies at the Marsden, Q.E.F., Princess Alice Hospice, Crossroads Care Surrey and Transform Housing & Support.

Other special attendees were the recipients of The Charity Walk 2022 Awards: Liz Swinton Carshalton Inner Wheel Best Individual Fundraiser and Maura Barber and her parents 7th Banstead Scouts Best Team Walk.

Jane Illingworth the Deputy President of the Club, welcomed everyone to the evening, as well as giving a talk about the history of Rotary. After a delicious meal of chicken in sauce with puff pastry followed by a chocolate dessert the awards were presented by Jane. The distribution of the funds to charities attending took place at Cuddington Golf Club after the celebration dinner. Other donations made immediately after Christmas were to the Scouts. Suzanne Rouse spoke about the Charity Walk and our next event due on 21 May 2023.

Roger De La Perrelle updated everyone: “We have just completed another successful year in fundraising."

"For us Rotarians it is very important to support local charities with our fundraising and projects. In addition to the Christmas Collection and Charity Walk we also organise the Banstead Village Fair which will take place on 1 July 2023 and which is an opportunity for local organisations and charities to promote their activities. We also hold Youth Competitions such as Young Chef and Youth Speaks.”

We would love to see more people joining Rotary. We have a friendly and welcoming Club and want to extend an invitation to everyone who is interested in learning about how Rotary makes a difference in our community. All are welcome and just contact us via www.bansteadrotary.com.

The gathering of Rotarians and their guests