Grants are available for 6 Rotary “areas of focus” Over the past 8 years my projects have benefitted from several grants within the Education & Literacy and Water & Sanitation categories.
Grants are given on a “matched funding” basis currently up to a maximum of £1,500. Grants are not available for any construction projects but are given for refurbishment projects & provision of equipment. I have received grants for classroom furniture, water harvesting, refurbishment and provision of equipment for toilet blocks and this has enabled me to “Make A Real Difference” at four schools I support. I would like to thank the District 1090 Grants Committee and the Rotary Clubs of Banbury, Woodstock & Kidlington and Reading Matins who have match funded grants.
Donation in lieu of Xmas A couple of weeks ago a friend I have known for a number of years e-mailed to say that she and her husband would like to make a donation to go towards either paying children’s school fees or to support the provision of sanitary towels to enable girls to attend school during their menstrual cycle.
Imagine my surprise when she told me that it was NOT a donation in lieu of Xmas cards (a scheme that a lot of organisations adopt) but it was in lieu of buying her 2 grown up daughters Xmas presents ! She explained that she had told the girls that they don’t really want for anything and she planned to donate it to me instead. I have just received a cheque for £400 (which is also subject to Gift Aid) making the donation worth £500. SINCERE thanks to the family for this fantastic support which will certainly have an impact on some children/teenagers in Freetown and I hope to be able to report exactly how the money has been allocated in a forthcoming Newsletter.
EVERY £ donated is spent on the projects, as I do not incur any expenses from my fundraising, and I am always willing to allocate donations to specific areas of support as requested by individual donors.
Woodstock & Kidlington Rotary 100 Club On Friday 3rd November Bob Taylor & Bill Carrs presented me with a cheque which will fund the installation of a water harvesting system on the original four classroom block at the Liverpool Community School. This is as a result of funds raised from Woodstock & Kidlington Rotary Clubs 100 Club and included a District Grant of £1,488. In total they presented me with £3,501.75.
Any surplus funds will be put towards the next water harvesting system at one of the schools in Freetown. This is the third year that the 100 Club has supported my projects in Freetown
Some years ago we ran a Children Singing for Children concert in Woodstock and one of the chosen charities was GAGA for Ithembalihle, a school, in Kwa Zulu Natal, South Africa We began our 100 Club as a Foundation Project wishing to support a 3rd World school believing that any country’s future lies with educating its children. Knowing that fellow Rotarian Alan Wolstencroft is heavily involved in this field, and ensures every penny is well spent, we chose to support his work with Sierra Leone’ schools. In the last three years our 100 Club has raised £8,740, with the help of Rotary District 1090 Foundation Grants, to aid the cause.
Bob Taylor,Woodstock & Kidlington Rotary Club
