It must be very difficult for you all, despite what you see & read, to appreciate what a year this has been for us in the UK and we are the lucky ones as we are still here, living
in houses with gardens in a lovely area with comparative financial security.
in houses with gardens in a lovely area with comparative financial security.I still find it difficult to believe that for 66 weeks our lives have revolved around COVID & that its effects are still far from over. I, for one, despite my love of travel, have not spent a day away during that time nor travelled more than 70 miles, something I would never have believed possible whilst being healthy but there again, I have had my healthiest year ever - not even a cold!
Read more about Christine's hopes and aspirations for the upcoming Rotary year at "Read More" below.
Contd:
This time has changed all of us but we need to concentrate on the positives of what has happened & keep them with us, whilst working hard to target support where it is most needed, which is what we have tried to do as a Youth team.
So this article is not about doom & gloom, the events that couldn’t take place & all the uncertainties of what would/would not be possible; it is written as we approach our AGM, it is about what MMRC has achieved via their Youth Team & members in 2020/21.
Yes, there were many of our regular & favourite events that could not take place, both those we organised & supported, both financially & practically. On a personal level, I have particularly missed helping at the Arctic One Junior Para-Tri & working with special schools on the River Thames at Bisham Abbey Sailing & Navigation School – we all have our own fortes & favourites.
When I volunteered to lead this team, it was from a very different perspective but we have adapted & as with breakfast meetings we have better attendance at Zoom meetings – we have yet to meet in person & that has recently been further delayed.
We have worked together as a team to support local schools, youth organisations & charities WHILST looking for new ideas & ways…. and as I said all via Zoom!
As we were only going to be able to fundraise in much smaller & more original ways, we knew we would have to target our monies much more carefully. This in itself is something we should all regularly review. In fact, members have continued to be very generous with personal donations, in lieu of breakfast monies which have enabled MMRC to increase financial support to our chosen charities.
With schools, we used Government Statistics on the percentage of Pupil Premium students; (this basically means the categories where it is deemed that additional resources are needed), to target our financial support. During all of this time, it has been a very delicate balance of trying to offer support whilst not making demands on school staff. All of whom have had to adapt in so many ways whilst the actual schools have been closed, partially reopened & then operating with the range of latest new ‘normal’ arrangements. As there were major shortages of IT resources this was our priority until government & businesses eventually stepped in. We then looked to schools for suggestions & the most innovative was to support an environmental project to allow classes to have their own raised bed allotments.
Sadly, it was all change, as no Pudsey Bear visits were possible this year for Children in Need , a highlight of school calendars particularly for one special school we visit, but six schools still felt able to sell merchandise which, in total, raised an amazing £6000 for Children in Need, just fantastic! We also delivered items for children & older people to be distributed with food parcels. Supporting Foodbanks was MMRC’s main charity this year.
In addition to schools, we also kept in touch with our local youth groups who have also had to close & gave assistance to help towards the reopening costs where needed.
Thames Valley Adventure Playground is an amazing centre for both children & adults with disabilities to enjoy a full range of activities including a wheelchair zip wire! It was very much missed during Lockdown. It has benefited from generous individual MMRC donations taken from their wish list & a donation from the Club.
Then we looked for new projects, which is always a worthwhile exercise, & found several which targeted greatest need.
We supported Kids Out, Toy Box Project with a club donation of £1000 & a £500 District Peace Grant enabling 60 youngsters living in refuges locally to receive an £80 age-appropriate gift box at Christmas. In addition, we responded to a late appeal for gifts for the 56 women & 70 children in local safe houses. We also collected pre-loved toys & books to be distributed to a local Toy Bank Scheme to ensure youngsters receive gifts at Christmas.
We would love to hear from you about your year as a Youth Team before we tell the club of our plans for 2021/2 as we are always looking to crib good ideas!
Christine