New Plymouth Rotary - helping the young and old and looking to the future

A couple of weeks before I visited New Plymouth Rotary they had held their fourth Annual Golf Tournament. They achieved great publicity in advance of the tournament where the local Midweek News and Stuff reported they were aiming to raise $10,000 for a hoist for the local hospice.  Strangely enough the hospice is built on the site of my grandparents' house.  New Plymouth Rotary exceeded expectations and raised more than $15,000.

As well as the hoist, New Plymouth Rotary has also donated $5,000 to the local hospital to assist in purchasing diagnostic equipment.

Among the many people they have supported this year are high school students to allow them to participate in the Get2Go competition in Auckland, RYLA and the National Science & Technology Forum, to name a few.

DG Martin, President Des, AG Colin Jackson 

I was impressed with the two-way relationship they have with New Plymouth Boys High School.  Not only do they support the school's students but they also involve students and the headmaster.  The headmaster spoke recently to all New Plymouth Rotary Clubs about what Rotary will look like in 10 years.  The students are helping the Club develop their new website on the Clubrunner platform.  

Another partnership they are working towards is with Habitat for Humanity where they hope to build a house to meet the needs of a local family.  I was taken through one of the houses Habitat for Humanity have built to the highest standards of insulation, double glazing and heating. New Plymouth Rotarians already have experience with housing as one of their Trusts owns apartments which they are currently renovating.

New Plymouth Rotary is adapting its structure and meetings to meet the needs of the future.  They only have two Committees - one focusing on the internal (Club administration and fellowship) and one on the external (projects etc). Every third week is set aside for Committee meetings and if there are 5 Mondays in a month, a Club Forum is held on that Monday.