Past News Items
Gardening at Abingdon Community Hospital
10th March 2009
Following on from the work in November, we have started the development of a number of wildflower patches. The first of these is in full view of Ward 2 where we planted some 300 snowdrops, 150 wild daffodils and 50 Summer Snowflake bulbs. Patients and hospital staff should get some pleasure out of this little development this year, but it will grow better and better with passing time.
Meanwhile, we are raising plants (cowslips in particular, but others as well) from seed to provide something colourful for people in Ward 1 to see out of their dayroom windows, and another phase of the wildflower project will aim to provide plenty of colour close to the sitting out area at the end of Ward 2.
End Polio Now
21st January 2009
Bill Gates increases his challenge grant to Rotary by $255 million - a total of $355 million - for the eradication of Polio. See Rotary International web site for more information.
Christmas charity collections
20th, 21st, 23rd December 2008
Father Christmas, assisted by members of the Rotary Club of Abingdon Vesper, appeared outside Sainsbury's in Didcot and Tesco in Abingdon to collect money for Rotary Charities. A magnificient total of £1546.50 was raised - thank you to everyone who contributed.
Proceeds from these collections will be used to enable us to continue our work with the disadvantaged in our local community and abroad that is illustrated by other pages on this website.
Gardening at Abingdon Community Hospital
22nd November 2008
Braving the cold weather, nine volunteers from the Rotary Club of Abingdon Vesper descended on the grounds of Abingdon Community Hospital armed with forks, spades and much enthusiasm. Their aim was to carry out some basic garden maintenance - clearing weeds and fallen leaves, some digging of beds and the planting of Spring bulbs in tubs and beds.
President-Elect Sulwen Vaughan, one of the volunteers, stressed that this will be an on-going commitment as part of the Community Service obligations of the Club.
Teresa Revell, Support Services Manager for the site, was enthusiastic - "What a fabulous job the Rotarian gardeners have done! Thank you very much - the tubs look great."
We look forward to a colourful display of bulbs in the Spring which will cheer patients, staff and visitors alike.
Local Family Charity Benefits from Dragon Boat Event
8th July 2008
The Rotary Club of Abingdon Vesper recently held a presentation evening at the Four Pillars Hotel following the annual Dragon Boat Race Event, which was held on the River Thames in May. Representatives of the teams who participated were presented with shields and certificates. Many thousands of pounds will be raised in sponsorship by the participants and this will benefit a wide variety of charities both local, national and international.
A raffle was held alongside the Dragon Boat Event and this alone raised £2000 for the local charity Oxford Parent Infant Project, OXPIP. The cheque was presented by Rotary President Richard Benton to the OXPIP Fundraising and PR Manager, Sharon Hylton.
OXPIP (the Oxford Parent Infant Project), a registered charity since 1998, works within Oxfordshire to help parents and babies develop more loving and secure relationships.
OXPIP has now been able to extend its services into South Oxfordshire (based from Didcot). With the generous donation received from The Rotary Club of Abingdon, OXPIP will be able to continue to support the families based in Didcot and work to reduce the waiting list.
- For more information about OXPIP and the work they do, see the OXPIP web site.
Presentation to Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance Trust
24th June 2008
On Tuesday 24th June 2008, Rotarian Diane Clarke of the Rotary Club of Abingdon Vesper presented a cheque for £2000 to Carl Undery, Income Development Manager of Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance Trust (TVAC) at the Four Pillars Hotel, Abingdon. This money was raised by the Club selling raffle tickets for the Dragon Boat Event in 2007.
The Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance Trust was launched in June 1999 and flies, on average, four times a day to provide a vital service aimed at getting people treatment within the 'golden hour' - the period of time when people have the best chance of surviving a serious incident. TVAC recently reached a remarkable landmark having flown its 10,000th mission, representing a huge number of lives saved and this is a very humbling thought. But TVAC's service comes at a cost - approximately £1.7m a year. With no funding from the Government, NHS or National Lottery, it depends on fund raising like Vesper's Dragon Boat Event to keep running.
- For more information about TVAC and its excellent work see the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance Trust web site.
Dragon Boat 2008
11th May 2008
Congratulations to the Feelgood Fitness team, winners of Dragon Boat Day 2008.
Burma cyclone
May 2008
ShelterBox has responded rapidly to the need for shelter and water purification for the Burma disaster victims.
Below is the ShelterBox press release - shelter for 6640 people has been sent.
"May 6th - Myanmar (Burma): ShelterBox responds immediately to the devastating cyclone to hit Myanmar. 22,000 lives are reported to have been lost and 95% of houses are destroyed as the cyclone swept in-land after several days at sea. 224 boxes left from the pre-positioned site in Dubai over the weekend, 220 boxes have left from Melbourne, Australia and a further 200 boxes with two tents each were packed this morning at the ShelterBox HQ in Helston, Cornwall. A team of four SRT members are making arrangements to assist with the difficult distribution of vital aid."
Shelterbox Challenge 2008 - Update
26th/27th April 2008
- Click here to see how the Abingdon Vesper team survived the ShelterBox Challenge
Shelterbox Challenge 2008 - Dartmoor
26th/27th April 2008
Four intrepid members of the Rotary Club of Abingdon Vesper will undertake the 2008 ShelterBox Challenge on Dartmoor on April 26 and 27. They will walk across Dartmoor for two days carrying a 25 Kilo shelterbox which will carry all they will need to survive the Challenge.
The Shelterbox Challenge is in support of a key Rotary charity, the Shelterbox Trust. Shelterbox Trust provides IMMEDIATE relief for disaster victims all over the world and can get aid to victims within 48 hours.
A Shelterbox is a rugged container that holds a tent and other emergency aid for an extended family of up to 10 people. Shelterbox has so far since 2000 sent boxes to almost 40 countries and provided emergency accommodation for around 500,000 people.
The Rotary Club of Abingdon Vesper Shelterbox team have undertaken to raise at least £1,000 in sponsorship money for the event.
Pants for Christmas
22nd December 2007
Oxford has the worst record for homelessness in the UK outside London. Homelessness can arise for many different reasons and can happen to almost anyone. For homeless people Christmas can be pants. Or not as the case may be....
This Christmas the Club supported Oxford Night Shelter - with pants (and socks). In the weeks up to Christmas we ran a pants appeal, as the clothing items that homeless people often need most are fresh underwear and socks and people rarely donate these items. Several dozens of pairs were delivered by Lucy and Steve to the Night Shelter on Saturday, 22 December. See the Oxford Night Shelter web site if you'd like to help the Night Shelter too.
You may think we've finally flipped over the edge this year but at least you now know what to do with those presents from Aunt Mildred that don't fit!
Hope you had a cracker this Festive.
Santa's Sleigh
December 2007
Just before Christmas Abingdon Vesper was joined by Father Christmas and his sleigh outside Tesco in Abingdon. Shoppers were entertained by Father Christmas and Carol Singing. Over £300 was collected in aid of Rotary charities.
Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar in Abingdon
December 2007
Liana Del Papa from Ramsey, NJ USA was sponsored by her local Rotary Club to serve as a cultural ambassador to the Abingdon Vesper Rotary Club while pursuing a Masters degree in Forced Migration at the University of Oxford.
Trip to Uganda
October 2007
Five members of Abingdon Vesper travelled to Kampala and Mubende in Uganda, visiting projects and renewing friendships with Elijah Kyamuwendo from the Kulika charity and his colleagues. The greater part of our trip was spent at Mubende, a town some 100 miles west of Kampala which has been the centre of our past work in Uganda.