About

Abergele Rotary Club was chartered in 1972 and is identified within Rotary International as being Abergele, Conwy, Wales. District 1180 with Club ID 19818. This first line and adhering to standard committee meeting formalities is about as formal as we get.

My name is Steve Richards and I would like to tell you about Abergele Rotary Club from the perspective of a new member. I joined because I wanted to give back to the local community, I spent the first 16 years of my life in this area and have travelled in the UK and abroad with my work and finally settled down in my home area where I have spent the last 17 years.

My first enquiry was by telephone, speaking to an Abergele Rotary Club Mentor who explained what the club does, how often they meet (currently every other Tuesday), the format of the meetings etc.

I was amazed to learn that the eradication of Polio in so many countries around the world is largely due to the funding and direct action of Rotary International. Most of us will remember the Polio drops on the tongue that vaccinates us from this debilitating disease, it is easy to forget that many countries still have Polio health problems.

But Rotary work internationally helps in many ways, such as:

• Peacebuilding and conflict prevention

• Disease prevention and treatment

• Water, sanitation, and hygiene

• Maternal and child health

• Basic education and literacy

• Community economic development

• Environment

This sounded amazing but rather overwhelming, I’m nearing retirement, running my own business, and the dog needs walking, you know what I mean, I have a life but really really want to help. So, what can I do locally?

True, there are things that can be done internationally, but locally is where many people may want to start, I am no different.

First I was able to attend a meeting, which allowed me to meet the majority of the members and listen to what was being done locally. There was a Coffee Morning being organised and I said I would attend and help where I could. The Coffee Morning turned out to be a great introduction to ways that funds could be raised for Rotary and also how Rotary welcomed and supported work with other charities.

My wife attended that event with me, we helped lay out tables, the boss helped in the kitchen and we took orders for drinks from the table hosts and delivered the beverages to help support the collectors and supporters in their fundraising.

For me, that was a decision made. I really could see how a few hours a month could help.

Isn’t Rotary an old peoples club?

Not at all, it may be true that there are members who are retired/semi-retired and they may be older, but there we have people in their 20s and upwards. In fact, Rotary encourages younger people to become members because they are the future in every aspect of Rotary and our communities. Having a realistic mix of the community is a healthy image for any group and Abergele Rotary is no exception, we strive to represent the local area and encourage not just our membership, but the projects we undertake should represent our community as well.

Rotary has a youth section and in Abergele, we would love to get that up and running to encourage, educate, inform and motivate the youth in the area to become even better members of society.

Do you want to know more about Rotary?

If you are interested in learning more, having a conversation with us or maybe you know a cause worthy of our support, then please get in touch.