Two Bank Holidays reduced the amount of Rotary Club meetings in May, but it was still a busy month.
Working jointly with Bassetlaw Hospice, a sell-out VE Day commemorative concert was held in Retford Town Hall on Charter Day. The event was enjoyed by all, and there was high praise for the ‘Bluebird Belles’, who entertained the audience in great style.
The Club’s popular plant stall sale took place on Retford Market on 17th May. Organised by the International Committee, the sale raised just under £1,000 which will be shared between Muddy Fork and Rotary’s supported international charities. A big thank you to all who grew, donated, staffed and organised the sale.
The Retford Young Artist Competition has again been a huge success, with 250 high quality entries from 10 schools. The theme for this year was ‘Peace and VE Day’. The exhibition and awards ceremony was held in Grove Street Methodist Church but some of the art was also displayed at the VE-Day event in the Town Hall, in collaboration with the Retford British Legion. Judged by Retford Art Society, this year’s overall school winner was Ranby House. Thanks go to the schools, parents and Rotarians and church volunteers who were involved.
At the end of the month, the Rotary Club were delighted to announce that ‘Peace Like a Flower’ – a peace anthem co-written and performed by children from eight local primary schools, was now live to view as a video. Inspired by Rotary International’s core mission of Peace and Conflict Resolution, the children were challenged to write and perform a peace song in just one day. Their efforts have blossomed and grown into an original anthem of hope – Peace Like a Flower. The children have since gathered together to form one large choir and create a video of their song.
Rotarians are now trying to spread the message of peace through their words and voices, and to reach as many people as possible locally, nationally and internationally. Listen to the children – they can make a change. See it for yourself at https://rotaryclubofretford.co.uk/pages/peace-like-a-flower or on Facebook, www.facebook.com/retfordrotary/ Watch it right to the end, it’s worth it! And then please share it on!
Coming up, the Charity Golf Day is taking place at Retford Golf Club on Wednesday 23rd July, and will primarily be supporting the Bassetlaw Food Bank and the NSPCC, along with other local Rotary charities. There are still a few places left – applications for teams of four are still welcome by contacting mikedavis13@gmail.com or downloading an application form from the Club website.