Last Friday, the Kingston Rotary Club held its annual community fireworks display at Kingsmeadow Stadium, alongside the Kingston Round Table. Renowned for its beautiful fireworks and various exciting rides and activities, the event attracts over 5000 people every year from the area of Kingston! It is a very popular event, amongst the public, to entertain, but also to raise money for a variety of charities. Proceeds from the event are donated to various charities and causes, including Kingston Samaritans and equipment for departments in Kingston Hospital. Last year, donations were provided towards a minibus to supply accessibility to those in need; this year it was showcased at the event.

Additionally, through the support of various organisations, this occasion is made possible. Some of them include People for Places Leisure, the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, the Local Police, the St. John Ambulance Service and Radio Jackie. In particular, children are able to meet presenters from Radio Jackie and they entertain before the display of fireworks. Also, the event is broadcasted across their radio station! Altogether, the event is a major success and is able to support good causes in our local area.

However, the Kingston Rotary Club is not only repute for this cause; they provide for a plethora of activities and events, enabling improvement in our community – and worldwide! As a movement, they have over 1.2 million members, who believe in helping out in their area! The service club allows individuals to join and work together with the local society and worldwide rotary clubs to engage in service projects. In order to get more of an insight into their agenda as an organisation, I had the fortunate opportunity to interview Jeremy Webb, a member of the Kingston Rotary Club. He was able to inform me on various events and activities put in place, particularly, for the youth. They work with children from primary school all the way up to university level, allowing us to improve our minds and prepare for future life. This is an extremely valuable source, that the youth should definitely take part in! From an early age, clubs are held for students in primary school called ‘Rotary Kids’, who set up activities for young children to take part in. Moreover, they hold entertaining competitions like national public speaking and cookery competitions. For older students, around the ages of 15-18, the Kingston Rotary Club, provides aid in preparing for further education. Through services such as CV workshops, running mock interviews and preparing students for university, it enables students to reach their potential capabilities. Their work for the youth is extremely valuable and helps shape a child’s life for the future.

Upon further discussing the role the Kingston Rotary Club as a service club, Mr. Webb went on to say that they hold more events across the year, alongside the Fireworks Display in November. One of their most popular events is the Dragon Boat Racing Challenge, which takes place on the River Thames at Canbury Gardens in July. People are able to compete with other teams to make it into the Challenge Cup, alongside eight other teams. Additionally, they hold market stalls, rides, and shows. Last year, they raised over £60,000 to donate to various charities! On a wider scale, they run international projects to help solve current issues. At the moment, they are running a charity to help end poliomyelitis, which has been running since 1955. They try to raise money to pay for vaccinations against the disease for those in need. By 2009, they had generated over £650 million to help the cause! It is clearly evident that their work is able to make change across the world and help solve major issues.

Overall, the Kingston Rotary Club is an exceptionally successful organisation, who intend to help those in need. Mr. Webb says that he thinks the group is an amazing way of giving back to his community and, also, help people across the world. By bringing our community together, it has the ability to connect and join together as one, in order to support an important cause.

This Christmas, they are holding an assortment of events, which they hold annually, including the Christmas Collection and Santa Sleigh in Cobham. These events are always a huge success and get everyone in the spirit for Christmas!

To find out more about future events or information on the Kingston Rotary Club, check out their website at http://kingstonrotaryclub.org.uk/ 

 

Sincere thank you to Jeremy Webb, a member of the Kingston Rotary Club, for his help.

 

By Ananya Sinha