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James Finn explained the work of the Marie Curie organisation, it's history and about their fundraising activities.
Jess Bradford from the North Care Charity updated members on the work of the organisation through the Northern Care Alliance Trust. She included details of the Sunshine Appeal which IPP Irene supported last year.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
Rotary Rochdale hosted the North final of Youth Speaks in the Bright Room at Rochdale Town Hall. Paul Waugh MP opened the event, whilst District Governor Elect, Ian Cochrane, and Rotary Rochdale President, Neil Helliwell presented the certificates and prizes.
Pupils of Bridgewater School, Hazel Wood High School, Kingsway Park High School, Hulme Grammar School and Sharples School took part in a the competition,
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Bridgewater School took the first prize in the Intermediate category, whilst Hazel Wood High won the Senior competition. ​Good luck to them both in the Grand Final.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
Bloom Community Music A Band entertained over 80 guests at our Bamford Chapel concert on 7th February. It was a varied programme with brass band classics, hymns and a bit of pop music too.​
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The proceeds are to be split between the chapels' Dementia Friendly Cafe and our own President's charities.
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The band will be entertaining the crowds at our car show on 19th July too,​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
The Club hosted their heat of Youth Speaks at Falinge Park High School on 2nd February, where teams from Hulme Grammar, Falinge Park, and Kingsway Park High School showed their prowess in front of the judges.
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The Mayor Councillor Janet Emsley presented the winning teams from Kingsway Park and Hulme Grammar B with their trophies. They now move on to the Area Final at the weekend.
Rotarian Dr Vinod Gadiyar entertained members with his 'Job Talk', telling us how first came to the UK landing in -4C temperatures after leaving Mumbai at 32C. He has worked in all four countries of the UK and has finally got used to the colder weather.​​​​​​​
Irene Wilcox and her husband Dec informed members and friends about the work of Rochdale Foodbank and how much food is donated and distributed weekly.
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They spoke highly of all the volunteers, including some of our own Rotarians.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
Our Christmas meal was held at the Masonic Hall and consisted of a tasty 3-course dinner followed by warm mince pies. Reverend John Malnutt, Minister of Thrum Hall Methodist Church gave a message of thanks for all that the club does to help people throughout the world.
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Members and Friends then sang various carols accompanied by a sextet from Bloom Music Community.​​​​​​​​​
Marilyn and Vida the founders and organisers of the Rochdale Soup Kitchen gave members and friends potted history of the organisation. How it has grown from giving out cups of soup outside the Town Hall, to regularly catering for over 130 people a day.
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A team of over 50 volunteers collect food from supermarkets, shops and prepare the meals. However, more people are needed and their current premises at the rear of Champness Hall is getting to be unsuitable and a larger, more modern building is desperately needed.
Teen Lives Matter became the club's first Corporate Members when Secretary Bob Chadwick presented Mell and Lynze with their plaque and badges at their offices.​​​​​​​​
Steve Gough from the Lighthouse Foodshare in Whitworth gave members and friends are really interesting insight into the organisation.
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Serving people within a four mile radius of their building, many on a weekly basis, the Lighthouse is a real credit to its volunteers, and a lifeline to its service users.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
The 99th anniversary of the Club's Charter was held at Rochdale Golf Club where members and guests were served a delicious 3-course meal. The main speaker was Cllr Janet Emsley who entertained everyone with the story of how she ended up as the current Mayor of Rochdale.
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President Neil Helliwell spoke fondly of our long-serving member Clive Reid who had passed to higher service that morning. The evening thus became a celebration of his life and of his 44 year of service as a Rotarian.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
Several members attended the District 1285 conference at Llandudno, staying as ever in the Empire Hotel.
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As well as a weekend of fellowship, we were informed and entertained by a host of speakers.​​​​​​
President Neil Helliwell set a fun general knowledge quiz for members and friends on the eve of the District Conference. It was also a precursor to the Inner Wheel and Inter Rotary Quiz night being held on 21st November in aid of Myeloma UK.
Tracie and Sam Powers from Vintage Worx told members about the history of Falinge Park and their plans to revitalise the park for the local community.
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Since forming in 2006, they have held over 300 community events, supported 30 groups to start up, provided over 100 training courses, supported over 2,000 people into employment and training and over 1,000 people with mental wellbeing and support opportunities.​
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And of course they are the host for our annual Classic Car Show.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
The Club's newest member, Rob Chilton, who recently transferred his membership from the Rotary Club of Sale, gave an interesting talk about his work. This involves finding funding for and arranging the maintenance of church buildings within the Diocese of Manchester.
IPP Irene presented her five charities with a share of over £6,000 raised during her year of office. They were Teen Lives Matter, Rochdale Children's Moorland Home, Greater Manchester Blood Bikes, Kidscan and North Care Charity's Sunshine Appeal.
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More details about these organisations can be found on the Projects page.​​​​​​​​​​​​​
Jordan Perris gave members and friends an interesting insight to the history of the ground upon which Rochdale Town Hall is built.
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During the last few years, the area has been redeveloped and has given the opportunity for several archaeological digs to take place, revealing the past usage of the area.​​​​​​​
The 2025 Bowls Evening took place once again at Castleton Bowling Club, organised as always by Rtn Elvet Smith
Members, Friends and family enjoy a few ends of bowling followed by a pie and peas supper with a cake and cream to follow.
The 2025 Classic Car and Bike Show took place in Falinge Park on Sunday 20th July. Around 200 vehicles were on display, along with 40 stalls. However, the rain kept a lot of visitors away.
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The proceeds from the show will be distributed to IPP Irene's charities at the September Friend's meeting.
The new Rotary year, our 99th, began on 3rd July when outgoing President Irene, handed over the regalia to Neil Helliwell.
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Neil was joined by his wife Nichola, who is this year's President for Inner Wheel.
Before handing over the baton, President Irene presenter John Cannell with a Paul Harris Fellowship for his outstanding work for the Club. Ian Madeley also received a certificate for 25 years of service to Rotary.
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