IT'S THE WEEKEND: The Rotary Club of Pontypool celebrates 90 years

IN 1924 a group of 15 men led by N.C. Richards held a meeting in the newly opened Cafe Royal Restaurant and subsequently they formed The Rotary Club of Pontypool.

It was the fifth Rotary Club to be formed in Wales and 90 years later it is still providing help and support to various local organisations including St David's Hospice, Trussell Trust Foodbank, Air Ambulance Service and St Anne's Hospice.

In addition an annual award termed the Service Above Self Award is presented to a pupil in each of the local comprehensive schools who has gone out of their way to help others. Coupled with this school involvement, other events are also organised including a junior school quiz, a young musician and a young singer competition, a Youth Speaks debating competition and, along with other Rotary Clubs in the area, an annual day out for special needs children is organised.

This Kids Out Day started about 25 years ago and involves Rotary throughout the district and on a national basis.

In this area about 600 children and their carers are treated to a day out in Barry Island.

Pontypool club’s committee member, David Troath, 72, said that he has attended the day for the past 20 years and it is still as popular as ever.

He said: “It is wonderful to be able to put a smile on the children’s faces and we go on the second Wednesday in June annually and it never rains.”

As the club now reaches its 90th anniversary, various events have been ongoing and are being planned to celebrate the milestone.

On October 4 and 5, in conjunction with the Friends of Pontypool Park, the group took part in a planting of bulbs and shrubs in Pontypool Park to commemorate the service that Rotarians have given in living up to their motto of Service Above Self.

In addition a dinner is being held in the Greenmeadow Golf Club on November 7, when Rotarians from throughout South Wales, past members, widows of past members and friends of Rotary will be joining in the celebration with the Pontypool members.

To help the group with supporting worthy causes it is necessary to hold fund raising events from time to time. Such an event was a concert held in St Cadoc's Church earlier in the year and another concert by Blaenavon Male Voice Choir together with soloist Laura Sidney has been arranged for May 16 next year.

To enable continued support in the area, it is necessary to encourage new members and to this end, the group hope that by letting people know what they do, it might encourage others to join.

Mr Troath explained that he became a Rotarian about 22 years ago after deciding that he wanted a way to help the community.

But as members of the Pontypool group grew older and eventually couldn’t attend the meetings, this has meant that numbers have dwindled to 12 members.

Mr Troath said that lack of members has not deterred the group from raising funds for both the local community and internationally.

Rotary clubs, which are open to both men and woman and are non-political and non-religious, focus their efforts in six areas: promoting peace, preventing diseases, providing access to clean water and sanitation, enhancing maternal and child health, improving basic education and literacy, and helping communities develop.

In the UK, members experience and skills in community work and volunteering place them in an ideal position to work with organisations such as local businesses, charities, schools, and environmental groups to support a large variety of good causes. These range from helping at food banks and assisting those affected by flooding to fundraising for local hospices or organising activities for disabled youngsters.

When members are not putting youngsters on programmes or forward for competitions, many clubs are busy organising annual events, organising concerts, and helping out at community events.

A great many also take part in national partnerships such as Children in Need, blood pressure testing days and providing days out for disadvantaged young people.

Members raise funds to offer aid in disaster hit areas across the world. Projects range from providing water and sanitation, disease prevention, literacy projects, education, building schools, hospitals, water wells and growing local economies through sustainable development.

When disasters such as earthquakes, typhoons or floods occur around the world, The Rotary Club are quick to respond with support including survival kits such as ShelterBox and AquaBox, which provide the basic essentials required in an emergency situation.

Another project that the club are involved in is Polio eradication. Although polio has not been seen in Great Britain and Ireland for many years, the club work to try to eliminate the disease worldwide. Rotary clubs in Great Britain and Ireland have so far donated over £20 million to End Polio Now.

Mr Troath explained that the group meets weekly which includes a monthly business meeting on the first Tuesday of the month and a social evening on the third Tuesday of the month, when a guest speaker is invited along to cover a range of topics from local history and heath care to local charity business.

Early this year The Rotary Club of Pontypool gave its support to Pontypool Museum that continues to appeal for new members to plug a funding shortfall of around £19,000 following a cut in its core budget.

The club said that it believes in the importance the institution holds for the local valley, so provided a donation for a video competition that the museum held, designed to draw in young people, families and schools.

The event was said to be a great success, targeting a demographic that the museum is really trying to engage with.

Rotary club secretary Terry Jones said it was a great opportunity to highlight the heritage of the Eastern Valley to the local youth.

“We feel it is important for the people of tomorrow to remember the stories and incidents of yesterday,” he said.

Also this year, a donation from the Rotary club helped to finance a project at Crownbridge Special School in Cwmbran to open a new cafe, called Caffi Goron (Crown Cafe in Welsh).

The cafe is based at the school on Turnpike Road and is run by the pupils for pupils, staff and visitors.

The group of 39 pupils, aged between 14 and 19 years old, will run the cafe as a business and each take a job role.

Jobs range from planning the cafe’s menu, designing posters to advertise what will be for sale, choosing the background music, serving the customers and preparing the food.

The pupils were all interviewed for their roles and were excited to welcome Stephen Terry, who runs the Hardwick in Abergavenny, to cut the ribbon at the opening in June.

Leading the project at Crownbridge School was assistant head teacher, Sally Webster, who, after speaking to pupils, realised that spending time in coffee shops was a favourite pass time of theirs.

She said: “The cafe means that pupil’s can gain experience of operating a business and working in a cafe environment, with pupils taking up a variety of roles from front of house to in the kitchen.

“The launch event was a success and the pupils are excited to be a part of the project and although some tasks, such as picking the music, may seem small, every role is important to the cafe’s operation.”

The cafe will sell bacon rolls, salads, paninis, wraps, cakes and refreshments with pupils conducting research to find out what is wanted by customers.

The Rotary Club of Pontypool meet every Tuesday at 7pm at Greenmeadow Golf Club, where members enjoy a meal prior to the start of the meeting.

Any person wishing to discuss membership should contact either David Troath, on 01633 378627 or Terry Jones, secretary, on 01495 756766.