Raising awareness of Rotary Club activities

February 21, 2015 at 8:00 am

The competitors at the Orkney Rotary Club's 'Young Musician of the Year' event in Stromness last month. (www.theorcadianphotos.co.uk) — The competitors at the Orkney Rotary Club’s ‘Young Musician of the Year’ event in Stromness last month. (www.theorcadianphotos.co.uk)

This weekend, Orkney Rotary Club will be holding an event at the Pickaquoy Centre, Kirkwall, to celebrate Rotary Day and raise awareness of the organisation’s activities here, and outwith the county.

Rotary Day marks the founding of the organisation on February 23, 1905.

Weather-dependent, it is hoped to set up a ShelterBox tent, with a few hardy members volunteering to stay overnight on Saturday into Sunday. There will also be events in the Pickaquoy Centre over the course of the weekend.

ShelterBox is an international charity supported by Rotary, and provides emergency shelter and vital supplies to support communities around the world overwhelmed by disaster and humanitarian crises.

Rotary Club member Marie Noble said: “We would like to invite members of the public to pop past to meet local Rotarians over the course of the weekend, chat and find out more about our activities.

“The purpose of the event is to raise awareness of what we do, and also to thank the Orkney public for their support over the years.”

Recently, the club — which consists entirely of volunteers — has supported the local Young Musician of the Year competition, the annual Kirkwall bonfire and fireworks display, raised funds for the Orkney Young Carers’ Hoy venture, carried out tree planting at the Kirkwall skatepark, and planted flowers at the Pickaquoy Centre.