Renewing Rotary

The Club had a feature article in the Belfast Telegraph of an interview with PP Courtenay Thompson discussing the Club, its work and the drive for new younger members as the Club reaches its Centenary.

RENEWING ROTARY

As the Rotary Club of Belfast prepares to celebrate its centenary Audrey Watson, talks to former President, Courtenay Thompson, about the drive for new younger recruits.

Belfast is changing and so too is one of the oldest organisations in the city. As it prepares to celebrate its centenary in 2011 Belfast Rotary Club has embarked on a recruitment drive to increase membership and attract younger people to join its ranks.

Along with Dublin, London and Manchester, the Belfast Club was one of the first formed outside North America and as former President Courtenay Thompson explains, the organisation is determined to shake off its old-fashioned image and attract new and younger members who want to contribute their skills and time to helping those less fortunate in the local community and across the world.

"In the past Rotarians have been perceived as rather staid and stuffy," admits Courtenay. "But this is slowly changing. Membership is open to anyone, male or female, from any walk of life who believes in our motto of Service above Self. We are keen for new people to join and breathe new life and ideas into the club. When the first Rotary Club was started in Chicago 114 years ago it consisted mostly of businessmen but modern clubs have members from all walks of life - civil servants, dentists, opticians and community leaders are just some of the diverse range of people involved. Service above Self is more than just words. Rotarians are expected to help the community that they live in and also people in other parts of the world that are in need".

"Sometimes this help can be charitable giving and sometimes it can be more hands-on." The list of charitable work carried out by the Belfast club and Rotary Clubs across the world is impressive and retired businessman Courtenay, who handed over his chain of office in July to current President Arthur Boyd, is passionate about and proud of what his club has achieved in recent years.

"One of our biggest successes has been raising funds for the Bill Gates-backed End Polio Now project. Over the past two years we have raised the equivalent of $60,000 dollars. We are also well on the way to achieving our centenary goal of collecting 100,000 pairs of used spectacles for Vision Aid Overseas who will refurbish the spectacles for use in Third World countries. Another thing that has been very important to us is the Aquabox project. Aquaboxes are robust plastic tanks that contain water purification tablets and essential welfare items to assist survival in disaster-hit areas such as last year's earthquake in China and the devastating cyclone in Burma. I remember the Burmese generals said that they wouldn't accept aid from any country at all and then two days later there was a TV programme that showed the loading of Rotary Club aqua boxes," he says proudly. "This year, Rotary Belfast will help the Leonard Cheshire Foundation with its School 4, All in Africa project. In Africa, 90% of Disabled children are unable to attend school and the funds raised will help convert schools so that children with disabilities can attend.
"Rotary Club members are also required to be active in the local community," adds Courtenay. We've set up a task force to identify deprived areas in the city where we can make a physical difference-that means physically do something to help, not just donate money."

One such hands-on project is Kids Day Out. This is an event carried out by a large number of Rotary Clubs throughout the UK and Ireland on the same day and involves members taking children with learning or physical difficulties out for a day of fun.

"In June we had a wonderful time with children from Mitchell House Special School when we took them on an excursion to Castle Espie," recalls Courtenay. We will also be organising Christmas parties for disadvantaged children in the Belfast area. Then there is also the TABU project, where six young people from schools all over Belfast travel to Chicago to study conflict resolution. You may wonder why Chicago? But the projects and new ideas set up to resolve gang warfare problems in the city are very relevant to young people in Northern Ire-land."

These are just a few examples of the work done by Belfast Rotary Club and, of course there is also a social aspect to the Club. Members meet weekly and enjoy musical evenings, fund-raising concerts and special events.

The Club also welcomes young people from other countries as part of the Rotary club Ambassadorial Scholarship scheme where foreign students come to Northern Ireland for a period of time. Says Courtenay: "This year five scholars from different parts of the world came over to the University of Ulster to study conflict resolution. We took them to the House of Lords and to Stormont and full marks to our MLAs - each of the parties put up a candidate and the students had 20 minutes to question them. They didn't have an easy time!" laughs Courtenay.

"I have been a Rotarian for more years than I can remember and have found it to be an incredibly rewarding and enjoyable experience. The Belfast Club is looking forward to welcoming many more new members with new energy and new ideas and a dedication to help those less fortunate in our community and beyond."

A HISTORY OF HELPING

• The first Rotary Club was formed in Chicago in 1905 by lawyer Paul P Harris. There are more than 32,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200 countries with more than 1.2m members.
• The Clubs are non-political, non-religious and open to all cultures, races and creeds.
• Within each Rotary Club, there are two associated organisations specifically for young people: Rotaract which is made up of men and women aged 19 to 30w ho participate in a programme of social, charitable and fundraising events. And Interact, a similar organisation for young people aged 14 to 19.
• Inner Wheel is the sister organisation formed in 1924 for partners of Rotarians.
• Currently there are more than 100,000 members all over the world who work together to help the vulnerable young people and the elderly.