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A thank you from President of Aylesbury Hundreds Rotary Club
Christmas 24 , the 2 Rotary Clubs in Aylesbury (Aylesbury Hundreds and Aylesbury) decided to work together to bring festive cheer, joy and laughter to the children and adults of Aylesbury. At the same time hoping to raise money for the local charities we both support.

We are pleased to report that the 2 clubs raised more than £10,800 and that will be shared equally between the clubs for distribution to their chosen charities, 14 in all.

We asked each charity to help with volunteers to collect around the various areas and the response was fantastic. Helpers from each charity turned out to support the Rotarians in all
weathers, even during Storm Darragh! So, a big thank you to them.

Aylesbury Hundreds chosen charities were:

• Chiltern Neurological Centre
• Emmett’s Genies
• Aylesbury Society
• Florence Nightingale Hospice (Hospice at Home)
• St Mary’s Christmas Lunch
• Stoke Mandeville Spinal Research
• PACE

As President, I am very proud of our club members for their commitment and hard work during December, despite the dreadful weather we encountered on many evenings and
days.

I must say a big thank you to Aylesbury NISSAN, who supplied a 4×4 X Trail car to tow Santa around Aylesbury. Also, for their assistance in providing drivers on some evenings.

Without the generosity of NISSAN, we would not have been able to tow Santa around during those 3 weeks in December. So, we and the local chari?es that have gained from the collections are truly thankful to them for their generosity and support for the 2nd year running.

Our other volunteer drivers, David Has?ngs and Julian Smith must be thanked for their time, given freely. We are in awe of their towing skills!

We store our float/sleigh at a farm in Aylesbury and a big thank you to him for allowing us to use his facilities. Motts of Aylesbury must also be thanked for storage during December.

THANK YOU to the people of Aylesbury for continuing to support our Santa collections during December, around Aylesbury, town centre, Tescos and Chiltern View Garden Centre. We know that years of providing this service has resulted in trust from residents in the knowledge that all the money raised in the collections goes to worthy local causes.

We look forward to joining with Santa again next December. If you are interested in helping us as a Friend of Rotary, or as a Member, please contact us via the CONTACT link.

At the beginning of December the Mayor of Aylesbury held his Carol Service at St Mary’s Church, and volunteers from Aylesbury Hundreds Rotary Club supported the evening with the preparation and serving of Mulled Wine and Mince Pies.

The service gave an opportunity for the community to come together to celebrate the Christmas festivities.  An evening enjoyed by all, and a privilege for our Club to help with the success

Our President Ann, and the Club, has welcomed a new member.

Interested in also joining us, or coming to a meeting to learn more about us, then please use the Contact link and leave us a message.

The tool collection in September was very successful with generous donations from residents in Aylesbury, The Vale, High Wycombe and Waddesdon.

We have delivered the donated tools to Workaid.  Workaid is a charity based in Chesham, Buckinghamshire empowering young people in Africa and the UK

to help themselves by developing the skills and knowledge needed to find gainful employment or start their own business. They do this by refurbishing donated tools

to a high standard and shipping them to training centres and self-help organisations.

The Club and Workaid thank you for your support.

In October the Club hosted a very interesting, guest evening, presentation fromm Dorothy Howlett, a Hospice Advocate for the Florence Nightingale Hospice.

She highlighted the work carried out by the nurses providing the “Hospice in the Home” service.

Florence Nightingale Hospice is one of the main charities being supported by the Club in its fund-raising this Rotary year.

December 2024 – Santa flew into Aylesbury and with the help of the two local Rotary Clubs (Aylesbury and Aylesbury Hundreds), and local charities/good causes, he visited as many locations as possible in the Aylesbury area.

Santa’s Carol Float travelled around many of the Aylesbury estates, and a number of pre-publicised static locations around the town.

The aim as always was to bring Yuletide cheer to Aylesbury residents and visitors, while raising as much money as possible for our local charities, good causes, and foodbanks.

Here are some memories from the visits, which we hope you will enjoy:

A HUGE thanks from us all at Aylesbury Hundreds and Aylesbury Rotary Clubs to the people of Aylesbury for your welcome and generosity as we visited areas around the town with our Santa Floats before Christmas. This event is always a joy and this year was no different. To see all those happy faces greeting Santa warms hearts even on the coldest of nights.

Our thanks also go to Nissan Aylesbury, who provided a vehicle to tow Santa about; to Motts, and to Friars Square, who allowed Santa to rest in their yards during the day; to our volunteer drivers, who made sure Santa could be seen around the town; and to Trackit24/7 for their support with the tracking system. Thanks also to Chiltern View Nursery and Tesco Tring Road for hosting us.

We were joined on a number of rounds by local charities and good causes. Thank you everyone for volunteering and joining us.

We look forward to seeing you all again next December
2025.

If you would like to help us as a Friend of Rotary on our Santa
Sleigh rounds next December, or would like to learn more about us and Rotary, then please CONTACT us.

The Club has welcomed a new member Alan Routledge. He was inducted into the Club on 15th July by our 2024/25 President.

Open to Businesses, Professional Practices, Government Entities,
Educational Institutions, and Not-For-Profit Organisations

Benefits

• Attracts positive PR being involved in Community service
• Elevates image as a supporter of charitable causes
• Opens networking opportunities combined with community
  service
• Strengthens commitment to CSR and STEM opportunities
• Creates avenues for employees to develop leadership and
  professional skills
• Provides opportunities to participate in Community Projects via the Rotary Club and Wider Projects via the Rotary Global Network

Watch for More Details to Follow

Contact us

In support of the revitalisation of a patio area at Stoke Mandeville Stadium, the Club donated a new round table, made from recycled plastic for long life and limited maintenance requirement.  It is large enough for 4 wheelchairs.

The Club has had a long standing support programme with Wheelpower  and was there on a visit with District 1260 representatives end June.

Students from St Michael’s Roman Catholic School, Aylesbury, entered the Rotary Young Artist competition 2024, supported by the Headteacher, Mr Adam Palmer, the Art Teacher, Mrs Josie Whitfield, and Club President Peter Linford.

The theme for the artwork was Rebuilding, and each student was asked to provide a short talk about their artwork. The judging, on behalf of our Rotary Club, was undertaken by Prof. Ian Brooks, https://www.inkwyrm.com/.  The winning entry is entitled “Under Construction”, the judge said: A really thoughtful piece with a strong idea behind it. Love the bits of brain all doing different things.

The artist used pencil to create texture of the head and pen to exaggerate the meaning of building good mental health.  The entry went into the District 1260 final where it won the Young Artist award.