Ludlow Rotary Cares supports the young, the elderly, the environment and the vulnerable
Over the last 5 years the Rotary Club of Ludlow has invested nearly £30,000 in a range of local community projects through the initiative ‘Ludlow Rotary Cares’. Following another very successful Ludlow Dog Day last July at Stokesay Court, the Club has awarded further grants approaching £5,000 to a wide range of community projects in and around Ludlow. These embrace reading in primary schools, a community orchard, a Men’s Shed, a village hall and support for some of the most vulnerable in our community, not just in Ludlow but also in South Shropshire and North Herefordshire.
The 12 successful applicants comprised of Cleobury Mortimer Men’s Shed; Ludlow Primary School; Friends of Lindridge School; Clun Valley Caterpillars Running Group; Neen Savage Parish Hall; Gallows Bank Millennium Green; Leominster Meeting Centre for People Affected by Dementia; Strengthening Families, Craven Arms; Ludlow Defib4You; Shropshire ME Group, Ludlow and Orleton Evergreens.
This has only been possible through the generosity and huge contribution made by all those involved in Dog Day including our sponsors, volunteers, suppliers and not least the 3000 visitors and their dogs, too many to count!
In addition to supporting Ludlow Rotary Cares, Dog Day 2019 has already made significant donations to St Michael’s Hospice, Hereford; Hope House Hospice for Children and Guide Dogs.
Sadly, due to Coronavirus, Dog Day 2020 has been cancelled but online donations can be made to these wonderful causes by visiting www.ludlowdogday.org.uk and following the links to their donation pages. At present their traditional sources of income have been closed but the need to deliver their vital support still requires funding. Please give what you can.
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Orleton Evergreens Visit to the National Memorial Arboretum on Thursday 25th August 2022
Further to Orleton Evergreen’s successful application to Ludlow Rotary for funding in 2020, we have at long last managed our visit to the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. The £500 you so kindly donated funded the coach. We were able to make the outing accessible to the majority of our members and their friends by keeping the cost to a minimum, thanks to your generosity.
It was an amazing day despite the morning’s rain. We all enjoyed a tour of the site on the land train and some of us joined the guided walk in the afternoon; both so informative and quite thought provoking in such a tranquil setting.
Please convey our sincere thanks to Ludlow Rotary Club.
Report for Ludlow Rotary Cares Scheme Award – March 2020 Clun Valley Caterpillars
Clearly the coronavirus outbreak has significantly changed the way Clun Valley Caterpillars operates, but we have invested the grant very closely to the way we indicated in our bid. The details of expenditure are given at the end of the report, and invoices are held by the club treasurer if copies are needed.
For much of the spring and summer we were only allowed to operate under the “rule of 6”, meaning that our new cohort in the Couch to 5K programme was unfortunately limited to only five runners. Evening visibility at that time of year was good for this group, so the high-viz bibs weren’t needed. However, the fitness training and fitness assessment equipment purchased with the grant helped this small group to improve significantly over their ten-week course. Starting by only running in 90-second bursts, ten weeks later all five ran a measured 5K (3.1 Mile) course in under 40 minutes. The two right-hand pictures below illustrate this group in training and at their graduation 5K event.
Although it didn’t help increase the numbers of this Couch to 5K group, as they were then half-way through their 10-week course, CVC were able to meet the new “Covid Secure Environment” requirements set by England Athletics. This meant that from early August we were able to operate up to four groups of 12+1 each. This increased involvement in a controlled, safe environment has since been commented on by members as a significant benefit in their mental and social wellbeing.
The two extra leaders vests purchased (two were self-funded) are light and high-viz, with 3 litre storage on the back, and two phone/gel pockets on the front. They came into their own immediately as we needed to operate four groups to meet demand. We were able to use them to carry the required mobile phone, sanitiser and tissues and, as Autumn fell, the spare headtorches and high-viz bibs purchased with the grant were stored in the back. In the four post-dusk outings to date both bibs and headtorches have been needed for potential new members, before they committed to their own purchases; and for times when bibs were forgotten or headtorch batteries ‘died’ mid-run.
In October the club entered its first event, a 15-hour virtual relay organised by Builth & District Running Club. Our thirty volunteers ran designated 30-minute slots from 5 a.m. until 7:30 p.m., recording the distance covered by GPS tracking on their phone or smartwatch wherever they were that particular Sunday – from Aberdovey to Northampton. Eight of those slots required headtorches, and many required high-viz bibs as they were run on roads in gloomy conditions. We decided to ensure inclusivity by guaranteeing places for the first thirty volunteers regardless of experience or speed. As a result, over a quarter of the runners were either graduates of the Couch to 5K programme or were new to the club this year, meaning they would have benefited directly from the grant. Finishing a creditable 36th out of 50 teams and covering over 95 miles compared to the predicted 87 were pleasing outcomes, but the comments of those involved (see below) brought the greatest pleasure.
Since March, we have had three articles published in the monthly Clun Chronicle that credited the support of the Ludlow Rotary Cares scheme, with a cover photo to go along with one! From the above, we hope you feel that the investment of your grant award has reaped the improvements in healthy living, both mental and physical, through encouraging greater participation. But it is often the individual subjective outcomes that provide the best insight. The photos and social media quotes on the next page provide that context.
Glyn Hughes 25/10/2020.
“I have never been involved in anything like this before. It was such good fun and the team support over social media was incredible.”
“I’ve never really felt part of a team before.”
“If you’d told me a year ago that I’d get up at 5 a.m. ON A SUNDAY to run (RUN!) a half hour relay leg at 6 a.m., I’d have probably said something unmentionable!”
“So good to feel part of such a great team. Never thought I’d be able to run more than 3 minutes at the start of the summer let alone 30! Thanks to you all.”
Orleton Evergreens 24/11/2020
“As a small community organisation with an elderly demographic, unfortunately we have been unable to meet since last February given the Covid 19 situation. The intended use of the grant from Ludlow Rotary Cares was to subsidise the coach fare for our members to visit the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire in August 2020. It is still our intention to visit as soon as possible, but this is unlikely to be until 2021 when we hope we can resume some sort of normality. Our intention is to send you some photos of our visit as and when it can happen. These are unprecedented times, but with the promise of vaccines on the horizon we are hopeful of a more positive 2021”
Strengthening Families – Craven Arms
“Unfortunately due to Covid restrictions we have been unable to start our project. As soon as we are able to proceed I will let you know.”
Leominster Meeting Centre for People affected by Dementia
We were delighted to receive the award towards group outings however we are still not able to engage in group outings with members. We have re-opened our doors, which we did on the 4thAugust 2020 but are sticking to the rule of 6 with no visitors allowed.
We are hoping very much that we will be able to return somewhat to so-called normal in the Spring and we will carry the funding forward so that we can have the outings in the Spring/Summer. Dr Eveans 25/11/2020
Cleobury Mortimer Men’s Shed
“Thank you for contacting us for a CMMS update. You are right about problems due to the Covid crisis. Fortunately all of our members (average age 70 yrs) have managed to stay in good health but lockdown restrictions have affected the timing of the Shed build both in terms of limiting available work time and exposure as well as delaying the receipt of materials. Despite these restrictions we have managed to complete the construction of the Shed building, insulate the interior (including final wall clading) and install the wiring system (local electrician donated his time).
Our next step will be the construction and installation of the work benches/shelving as detailed in our application which we hope to commence not long after the end of the current lockdown next week. In the interim, utilising our chairman’s (Peter Blackburn) large open space garage, we have managed to complete for the community: bird boxes for a local nature group, and a nativity scene for the town Anglican Church, St. Mary the Virgin. Though we still need £10-15K to complete the Shed we remain hopeful that the Shed will open this coming spring.” Bill Duley 25/11/2020
Ludlow Primary School – Library
“Life in school is pretty busy at the moment and didn’t have time to photograph the books as they arrived, but I’ve attached a photo of a couple of children and one of some books.
Our project for this year was all about engaging children in reading more, and providing them with the opportunity to read high-quality books. Unfortunately, books can be so expensive so it is sometimes difficult, within the school budget, to find enough to restock and refresh the library shelves.
The money that we received from Ludlow Rotary Cares was put to good use in purchasing new books for the children. They are thoroughly enjoying them and it’s lovely to have our library looking much ‘healthier’ and more appealing!”
Thank once again – it was greatly appreciated.
Katie Froggatt Class Teacher – Ludlow Primary School
LUDLOW SUPPORT GROUP FOR PEOPLE WITH ME
This group, which is run by our facilitator, Donna, was meeting in a hall on a monthly basis, with refreshments made by Donna to meet the health requirements of the group. It was going very well, and new members were joining and attending when they felt well enough. Because of the fluctuating nature of ME, places were kept available for them, and Donna kept in touch by phone.
This, of course, could not happen during lockdown or even after, due to the vulnerable nature of the group. However, Donna quickly set up zoom meetings, and now there are two a month, which may include people from outside the Ludlow area, but the core members are still there. There are some who do not, or cannot use zoom. ME causes neurological problems so this could be difficult for a few. However, it has meant that those who would not have felt well enough to travel, sit on a chair for an hour, and be in a room with different lighting etc, ARE able to join in, and some new members have been able to access the groups.
This is interesting for the future. Whilst face-to-face contact is still a very important part of the groups, it may be that zoom meetings will continue for those who are more comfortable with this.
With Long-Covid now taking its toll on people round the country, there is now much more interest in ME nationally, as this is mainly caused by a post viral condition. Whilst we hope that people in Shropshire will not become victims of Long-Covid, we do have the support network to enable those who may be heading towards long term health problems to take the best action early on.
30/11/20.
NEW SHED AT LINDRIDGE SCHOOL
The Friends of Lindridge School have erected a shed in their Jubilee Garden which is available for children who want to take time out from what can be a hectic playtime. The garden and shed were officially opened during the schools jubilee party on the afternoon of 27th May 2022. Some children took the opportunity to try it out immediately which tells us that it really will make a difference. Many thanks for the grant to help us help make this happen.
18/06/22