Rotary Club of Billericay

Buttsbury RotaKids’ officers (President Sam McFeely, Vice President - Sophia Anderson, Secretary - Isabel Bailey, Treasurer - Arnav Gupta; and PR - Izzy Hadassi) joined us on July 8 for their annual presentation of accomplishments that year.
They all spoke from memory without notes, and the whole presentation went off without a misstep. We were all most impressed by their completely professional performance belied by their young age! Awesome!
Raised So Much Money!
Their main charity was Cancer Research UK (CRUK) for which they held a number of events raising a total of over £6,000., and they also raised nearly £2,000 for other charities such as Comic Relief and Children in Need, and for Ciamanda Primary School in Kenya
Service Above Self may be the Rotary Motto, but it exemplifies the other achievements of the children. Not only did they raise money by the above activities, but also undertook other service projects to help those in the community.
Finally, they are extremely proud of winning their third Rotary Presidential Citation in a row!
A last word from Buttsbury Junior School Headteacher Ann Robinson, who told us she was very proud of the children, who had clearly prepared well, achieved so much over the year, and had coped well with the occasion!
She added “It was lovely to join the Rotarians for their Monday meeting and the Rotakids were looking forward to sharing their successes with everyone. The children spoke confidently and the amount of money raised, over the year, was very impressive, totalling £8,000 for a variety of charities - with over £6000 for Cancer Research UK.”
“The Rotakids have enjoyed their role and are looking forward to future charitable endeavours in their secondary schools.”
“We would like to thank the Rotary Club for the lovely lunch and their company.”
For more details see our website at:
https://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/page.php?PgID=950719&ClubID=1390

We reported last month on how we (the Rotary Club of Billericay) took 42 children plus 25 staff from Thriftwood School on a day out at Old MacDonald’s Farm as part of National Rotary KidsOut Day.
We thought everybody had a good day - we certainly did!
Why did we think that? Because to round off the day, one of the children had asked the teachers if they could have ‘Golden Time’ when they got back to school, to which another of the children called out “The whole of today is Golden Time!”.
All in all, a very successful KidsOut day.
So imagine our delight when on July 1 we received special thank you cards from the four classes involved - one from each class.
These are attached.
Thank you so much, Thriftwood!
For more detals see our website at:
https://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/page.php?PgID=950687&ClubID=1390

Rotary Club of Billericay took 42 children plus 25 staff from Thriftwood School on a day out at Old MacDonald’s Farm as part of National Rotary KidsOut Day on June 18, 2024. (The first National Rotary KidsOut Day took place in 1990, since when it has grown into the biggest single outing for disadvantaged children in the UK, with over 20,100 children taken out by over 2,300 Rotary volunteers in 2023.)
Come the day, Peter Greene and Les Sheppard were in Old MacDonald’s car park to greet Mrs Rayner and the advance party who arrived in the school minibus, followed a few minutes later by the coach. Bright yellow KidsOut T-shirts were distributed and the children (split into groups of 4-6) were then free to explore the site.
Our guides for the tours were Amber and Tom. After the obligatory health and safety rules (keep washing your hands) they led us to the Farmyard Friends barn to see some sheep and goats and a chance to stroke the Shetland pony, then to the Little Creatures barn to see the chipmunks, gecko and tiny tortoise while Amber held one of the pygmy hedgehogs for the children to stroke (carefully!) and on to the goat enclosure, the owls, otters, meerkats and donkeys to the Rabbitry to meet the guinea pigs and rabbits.
The groups were then free to carry on around the site to see the wide variety of other animals, and, of course, enjoy the rides and play areas.
After lunch, more opportunities to have another go on the various rides and play areas, including the Carousel, the JCB Construction Zone, the Tractors, the Crazy Barn Ride, the Train Ride and the Giant Snake Slide, which seemed to be especially popular.
All too soon the fun had to end and the groups gradually reassembled back in the classroom or the soft play area just beside the exit. At 2pm we all made our way outside and our guests boarded the coach and minibus for the journey back to school.
For more detals see our website at:
https://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/page.php?PgID=950687&ClubID=1390

Sponsored Global Scholars
Rotary International has a Programme to sponsor students from across the world to study in other countries in one of its seven Areas of Focus. This year our District hosted two students (from Japan, the USA) who visited us to talk about their experience on June 24. Both are completing their studies at the University of Essex.
Emma Appleby is from North Carolina in the USA and is studying for an MA in Human Rights, and Misato Kobayashi, from Japan who is studying for an MSc in Conflict Resolution. Both described how they became Global scholars and how they enjoyed their time here.
Emma, who is from Asheville, North Carolina, spoke first. She took a BA in Political Science and Government at the University of North Carolina in Asheville and while there she did human rights research and was “Head of Production” on an undergraduate Human Rights Journal.
She joined the University of Essex in 2023 at the same time as Misato Kobayashi to do an MA in the Theory and Practice of Human Rights. She has accompanied this with a part-time research assistant’s job at the University of Essex’s Human Rights Centre Clinic, working on a paper on “Criminalization of Asylum Seekers in the UK”. Her Dissertation is on “The politicisation of immigration policy in the USA vs, UK.”
For more details, see website at:
https://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/page.php?PgID=948671&ClubID=1390
Emma ended “I am so grateful for Rotary and to Essex University for allowing me to come here and explore my passion”.
Misato Kobayashi
Misato followed with a slide presentation - she was born in Ichinomiya, Nagoya in Japan in 2000, and in 2022 she entered Kobe University to do an MSc in Political Science. She followed this with an internship at an NGO for Syrian refugees in Japan, and then volunteered working with Ukrainian refugees in Austria and Poland.
She joined the University of Essex in 2023 from where she will return to Japan and continue to study at Kobe University in 2025.
Both Emma and Misato did themselves proud and presented a most interesting insight into aspects of Rotary’s Global Scholar Programme.

Quintessential Quilters
On Tuesday June 25 strict Governor David Willis attended afternoon assembly at Quilters Junior School accompanied by members of the Rotary Club of Billericay (sponsors of the Quilters RotaKids) to celebrate their achievement of being awarded a Presidential Citation from Rotary in Great Britain and Ireland, for the second year in a row. Quilters is one of only four schools in the District and only 40 schools in the whole of Great Britain and Ireland to achieve this award.
In front of a whole school assembly, Head Teacher Michael Wade opened the proceeding with words of encouragement, resilience and kindness to others. He stressed how much the children had been doing with their Pen pals project, litter picking, seniors’ teas and dementia friendly activities. And then there was the water quiz that they had recently undertaken with Rotary to raise money for borewells in Kenya to give pure fresh water to children of primary schools there. They all know that they do it, not for reward, but because it is the right thing to do.
DG David Willis then stepped forward to address the Assembly, thanking them for all their good efforts and for winning the Rotary Presidential Citation award with such a high achievement level. David handed over the Citation Certificate and the letter of congratulations and thanks from Rotary GB & Ireland to Mr Wade and with it, a Rotary Banner with the Rotary International theme of the year. Well Done!
For more details see website at:
https://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/page.php?PgID=948574&ClubID=1390

Buttsbury Makes its Mark
Early on June 19, District Governor David Willis attended the morning assembly at Buttsbury Junior School to present the school RotaKids with the "Rotary in Great Britain and Ireland" Presidential Citation. David was accompanied by members of the Rotary Club of Billericay (sponsors of the Buttsbury RotaKids).
To qualify, they needed to carry out at least three of eight specified community activities, all of which had to be started and finished between July 1, 2023 and May 1, 2024.
We are delighted to report that they completed not just the required three challenges, but seven of the eight.
As always, we were very impressed by the behaviour of the school children as approximately 400 young school children filed into the hall for their weekly assembly, and in honour of the RotaKids’ achievement, and sat down in neat rows.
DG David congratulated the RotaKids for their very special achievement winning the Presidential Citation for the third year in a row. Wow!! They are one of only four RotaKids’ clubs in the whole District, and one of only forty clubs in the whole of Great Britain and Ireland, to be awarded the Presidential Citation, a recognition of their achievements over the year. David remarked that it was a pleasure to honour the RotaKids in front of so many smiling faces, and presented the President of the RotaKids with the Rotary Great Britain and Ireland Presidential Citation, letter of appreciation and a banner showing the Rotary Theme of this current year.
We congratulate them all for their achievement:
For more details see website at:
https://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/page.php?PgID=948573&ClubID=1390

What Did Your Dad Do In The War?
Sixty years after his father landed on Love Beach in Normandy, club member Stephen King and wife Mary joined a convoy of eighteen coaches travelling to Normandy, a mini-invasion in itself.
They visited the Canadian war cemetery where Prince William was to go on the following day. Then on to Juno Beach, (Love Beach was a part of Juno), Stephen had found the beach his father had stepped upon almost eighty years before. It was a very moving moment.
On D-Day June 6 they went to Bayeux for a ceremony at the British War Cemetery. This involved a long detour around Caen, which had been completely closed off with roadblocks on apparently every access road to the city. There was to be a “Heads of State” meeting there in the afternoon.
Stephen felt very proud to be wearing his father’s war medals at the commemoration service. It was very emotional as a 103-year-old veteran stood up to take the salute during the two minutes silence.
There was a military band, a Welsh Male Voice Choir, a squad of Gurkhas and a wonderful opera singer singing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’. And then the Red Arrows flew overhead.
It was a wonderful, very moving event. On their return the coach was held up to allow President Biden’s fourteen car motorcade (including an ambulance) to pass.
On the last day they visited the recently opened British Normandy Memorial overlooking Gold Beach. On the pillars of the memorial are inscribed the names of every one of the 22,000 British Soldiers killed during the three months of the Normandy Campaign. In a flower meadow in front of the memorial is an art installation of 1475 silhouettes each one representing a serviceman under British command killed on D-Day June 6 1944.
The whole area of the invasion beaches was thronged with people.
Stephen says "There was so much enthusiasm for this commemoration that I am sure the sacrifice of so many will be long remembered".
For more details see website at:
https://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/page.php?PgID=948572&ClubID=1390

A Living Memorial
Ann Robinson, Head Teacher at Buttsbury Junior School, the Buttsbury RotaKids officers (the Core 5), and Deputy Head Adam Graves, had the privilege and honour of attending a special service to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the D Day landing in Normandy at the Living Memorial site at White House Farm in Rettendon.
104-year-old Sapper Donald Sheppard (father of Mrs. O’Brien - School Mentor at Buttsbury Junior School) is Essex’s oldest Normandy veteran, having been a Royal Engineer in the Highland Division and a dispatch rider during the D-Day landings. Don had worked tirelessly to have the memorial built as it provides an opportunity for him to remember the landings and pay tribute to his comrades who never returned from the beaches of Normandy.
Mr Sheppard has been visiting Buttsbury Junior School for many years and has a special place in the children’s hearts. The Core 5 members laid a wreath, made by the children, on behalf of Buttsbury Junior School.
The ceremony was attended by hundreds of people, and two of the Buttsbury RotaKids were interviewed by ITV. One Buttsury pupil said:
“Donald is amazing because he lived in the war and he goes to our school every Remembrance Day and he tells us his stories and it’s just really cool to hear about all of that.”
Another said: “It’s great to listen to all of his stories and he tells us about D-Day and how he suffered during the war. It’s just an honour to be here tonight with all the veterans and the people that have come here to pay their respects.”
For more details see website at:
https://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/page.php?PgID=948569&ClubID=1390

Lighting the Beacon
As in previous years our club was invited to the lighting of the Beacon on Sun Corner in commemoration of D-Day. This year was even more poignant than usual as it commemorated the 80th. Anniversary of that event.
President-Elect Patrick and Club Secretary Brian represented us there, which began with a parade by RAFAC 2393 (Billericay) Squadron, the Billericay Detachment ACF and local scouts and guide groups.
After welcomes and speeches, both the Citizen of the Year, Dave Sweet, and the young Citizen of the Year, Sophie Vaidya, lit the beacon together in honour of those whose bravery and sacrifice on D-Day 80 years ago gave us our freedom today. A bugler played the last post, followed by a 2-minute silence and then reveille.
Unlike previous years, the weather was clement, and Secretary Brian commented “It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening which reflected well the solemnity of the occasion and in which we were privileged to participate.”
See our website for more details:
https://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/page.php?PgID=948566&ClubID=1390

May Newsletter Published with all the news of what we have been doing this month.
Flipbook version available at:
https://www.flipgorilla.com/p/28478664580536224/show
and the PDF at:
https://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/page.php?PgID=443528&ClubID=1390

Most enjoyable Antiques Night Success.
88 attendees enjoyed an fantastic night out with excellent singing from the “Ladybirds”, especially their “Singing in the Rain” where they unfurled and twirled red umbrellas (with black polka dots) along with their singing.
Excellent service and delicious food from the Beauvoir Arms followed.
The main event started with the auctioning of some fine wines, followed by some high quality limited edition prints and the star item - the “Chummy Book”, a new print of this first children’s Annual. Two copies of this went for over £100 each.
Mark picked items of interest from those brought along by the audience and explored their age and provenance, and valuing them conservatively based on his experience. Nothing of great value, but interesting stories and backgrounds which kept us all entertained. He ended with interesting anecdotes from his life as an auctioneer, followed by questions.
A great evening, raising over £1600 for Little Havens and St. Luke’s Hospices from the ticket profits, auction and raffle. Not bad for an evening which was so entertaining.
See website for more details:
https://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/page.php?PgID=939942&ClubID=1390

ORBIS Eyewitness (May 2024) - Our annual walk to raise funds for ORBIS, the “Seeing” charity was completed in November 2023, raising £522.50.
We have received a gracious thank you letter together with a copy of their latest Newsletter, the ORBIS EYEWITNESS.
Among its many stories of the sight-saving actions by Orbis, here are two:
o Sajiya is a little girl from Bihar, India who had been born with congenital cataracts. Her grandfather took her to an Orbis supported Hospital where she had surgery on both eyes - a life-changing procedure. “The happiest moment for me was to be able to see my family – my mother, brothers, sisters, grandparents – whose faces I had never seen before!”
o Rhoda is a single mother with three children with cataracts blinding her left eye. When the Flying Eye Hospital visited Zambia in October, Rhoda had the cataracts removed and now has clear sight.
Rhoda wasn’t the only person to receive life changing surgery during the Flying Eye Hospital’s three week visit to Zambia. Orbis teams examined 115 patients, performed more than 50 sight saving surgeries and trained more than 80 eye care professionals.
Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh, recently visited a rural health clinic and hospital in Ethiopia with Orbis. She met patients whose sight had been restored with support from Orbis, and visited a school where children are learning how to protect themselves from blinding trachoma through face washing and good hygiene practices.
Her Royal Highness spoke at a trachoma elimination conference organised by Orbis, in collaboration with Ethiopia’s Ministry for Health. Alongside patients who have experienced trachoma, the Duchess celebrated progress towards elimination and renewed the call to make trachoma history by 2030.
See website for more setails:
https://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/page.php?PgID=944865&ClubID=1390

Pen Pals for the Elderly - President Roger Kettle, President-Elect Patrick Rothon, Peter Greene and Stephen King were welcomed at Quilters Junior School to join its Pen Pals Party. Pupils write regularly to elderly citizens in Billericay to help stave off loneliness, and invite them to events at the school -there was tea or coffee, sausage rolls, sandwiches and jam biscuits.
The school hall was thronged with children eagerly chatting with their pen pals, or playing board games with them. Headteacher Mike Wade reminded them about the importance of being KIND in everyday life, before introducing the choir which includes some of the pen pals, and some people with dementia. What a success it was. The mixture of voices produced an extra loud, clear and beautiful sound. As the choir approached the chorus of ‘Walk 500 Miles’ the noise and excitement increased until they were all stamping their feet and singing their hearts out. With just the same enthusiasm we heard ‘Sweet Caroline’, ‘Eye of the Tiger’ and ‘I’m a believer’.
Headteacher Mike Wade summed up everyone’s feelings by saying the choir could be good enough to enter the Britain’s Got Talent competition.
An inspiring afternoon at a great school.
See website for more details:
https://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/page.php?PgID=944864&ClubID=1390

Lift Up The Litter - Thursday May 23 saw five members of our club assemble at Buttsbury Junior School for a joint Litter Pick with 15 young pupils from Buttsbury Junior and Infant schools - years 2 and 5. Split into five teams, each with a Rotarian, they dispersed around the grounds to find and pick up rubbish, litter and detritus. Eager is an understatement, all the children were totally enthusiastic in their zeal.
All too soon, five bags were full of litter, were disposed of, and the litter pickers and tabards were collected in.
Event over? No! We all repaired to the staff room where the children served us tea, coffee, and cake.
Their discipline, their behaviour, and the way they helped each other was most inspiring.
Well done Buttsbury! Thank you for letting us help you on this Rotary Day of Service.
See website for more details:
https://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/page.php?PgID=944863&ClubID=1390

Time for the annual Billericay on Queen Elizabeth II field at Sun Corner, organised and run by the Rotary Club of Billericay Mayflower. Free Community and Charity Event. Collection for Charity. Music! Classic Cars! Punch N Judy! Craft Stalls! Fun Fair! Food and Drink Stalls!
Come and enjoy the fun.
ENTRANCE IS FREE. There are NO TICKETS needed to the Billericay Summerfest

We all had a great time. The community needs to support this great iniative.

Rotary Club of Billericay April Newsletter Final Edition Rotary Club of Billericay April Newsletter Final Edition

Only two weeks to go for our Antiques event - Want to know the value of an item? Want to know more about Antiques?
Buy a ticket to our Rotary Club of Billericay initiative to raise money for two local Hospices – Little Havens Children’s Hospice and St. Luke’s Hospice.
What is it? An Antiques presentation by the well-known Mark Stacey of Stacey’s Auctioneers and Valuers, followed by the opportunity for guests to show their own antiques, and to receive a professional evaluation and price valuation from Mark.
Admission includes a three-course dinner (with the added bonus that you can bring your own drinks) and live music and singing by the “Ladybirds”
All this for the cost of only £35 per ticket. All tickets must be bought in advance!
Timing: Saturday March 16 starting at 7.00 p.m. and ending at 10.45 p.m.
Location: Christ Church, Perry Street, Billericay, CM 12 0NX.
Car park at the rear of the church.
Put it on your diaries! Buy your tickets now through the link below
https://bit.ly/RCAntiques2024
Numbers are limited, so first come, first served.
Don’t
Miss
Out!

Do you have an Antique and always wanted to know if it was valuable? Want to know more about Antiques?
Buy a ticket to our Antiques Road Show–themed Event, a Rotary Club of Billericay initiative to raise money for two local Hospices – Little Havens Children’s Hospice and St. Luke’s Hospice.
What is it? An Antiques presentation by the well-known Mark Stacey of Stacey’s Auctioneers and Valuers, followed by the opportunity for guests to show their own antiques, and to receive a professional evaluation and price valuation from Mark.
Admission includes a three-course dinner (with the added bonus that you can bring your own drinks) and live music and singing by the “Ladybirds”
All this for the cost of only £35 per ticket.
Timing: Saturday March 16 starting at 7.30 p.m. and ending at 10.30 p.m.
Location: Christ Church, Perry Street, Billericay, CM 12 0NX.
Car park at the rear of the church.
Put it on your diaries! Buy your tickets now through the link below
https://bit.ly/RCAntiques2024
Numbers are limited, so first come, first served.
Don’t
Miss
Out!