Books, Burns and Bikes!

In an effort to maintain the tremendous momentum generated by the Jole Rider project, The Rotary Club of Ballycastle will be offering the chance to win some wonderful prizes in the run-up to Christmas.

The generosity shown during the collection of books and bikes for Africa has been overwhelming and allied to a genuine willingness by individuals to become involved, the outcome has been nothing short of phenomenal.

The next stage of the process is preparing the items for shipment to their African destinations. To assist with the financial demands of this task, Ballycastle Rotary Club will be selling raffle tickets up until December 23^rd – proceeds of which will cover the cost of ensuring each item is fit for purpose and ultimately that they arrive where the need is greatest.

With countless books and over 100 bikes in store, such an undertaking will be no mean feat but the Club is confident that, as always, the local community will support the venture to its completion.

 In keeping with the two-wheeled theme, all who purchase tickets will be in the running to win either an adult’s electric scooter courtesy of Sheskburn Garage, a child’s bicycle, kindly donated by Julie and Damian Martin (Ardclinis Outdoor Centre) or a Christmas hamper from the Rotary Club.

Tickets will be on sale December 4^th, available from all club members. We are very proud to be associated with the Jole Rider cause and your continued support can make a world of difference to disadvantaged children.

***

Looking further ahead, Ballycastle Rotary Club extends a warm invitation to toast that “Great Chieftain O’ The Puddin’ Race.

Friday the 25^th January 2013 will be a must for lovers of Haggis, Tartan and Rabbie.

Billed as a ‘Burns Night Social’, patrons can dine, dance and delight in celebratory acknowledgement of the famous Scottish wordsmith’s life and work.

Complete with Piper, Caller and the obligatory Ode to the Haggis, those in attendance will experience first-hand the elements which combine to make this date such a memorable occasion.

Tickets will be available from all Club members, priced £25 each – 4 course dinner, entertainment and toast inclusive. For one night only, the Central Wine Bar will be transformed into a little piece of Scotland. Tartan-clad lassies and true Scotsmen a pre-requisite!!

So, don’t be a “wee timorous, cowerin’ beastie,”- buy your love “a red, red rose,” and join us as we wish Rabbie a Happy Birthday!

 

Youth Leadership Competition 2012

For the second year running the Rotary Club of Ballycastle is taking part in the Rotary Youth Leadership Development Competition.  Members of the club interviewed candidates in Ballycastle High School and Cross and Passion and one pupil from each school was taken forward and again interviewed a couple of weeks ago.  Alice Mee from Cross and Passion and Emma McCook from Ballycastle High School faced another interview panel where Emma McCook was ultimately chosen to go through to the Area Final of the Rotary Youth Leadership Development Competition which will be held in Larne later this month. 

 

Shorna Meggitt from Ballycastle Rotary Club commended both girls, “I feel that both of the girls are winners and it was a very difficult decision we had to make.  We have high hopes for Emma and will do all we can to support her through the rest of the competition.”

 

Good luck Emma!

 

L-R Malcolm Rankin, Shorna Meggitt, Emma McCook, Alice Mee, Angela Bonnar, Diana Evans

We need your bikes and books!

For many African children, the journey to school each day is one undertaken by foot, often in searing heat.

Not only do these youngsters arrive late, they also begin the school day exhausted.

Bikes 4 Africa and Books 4 Africa aim to change lives through education and as flagship programmes proudly sponsored by Rotary International Britain and Ireland, they present themselves as easy to engage with projects targeting poverty and improving literacy and learning.

Bikes 4 Africa refurbishes donated second hand bikes and delivers them to African schools, whilst Books 4 Africa supplies suitable story, textbook and reference publications in support of the school curriculum.

With every bike received, £10 shipment funding is also required to ensure their passage to Africa – for the books; this translates into 50p per title.

Over the past few weeks, members of the Rotary Club of Ballycastle have been actively endorsing this very worthy campaign and to date have amassed some 60 bicycles in addition to countless books.

Project leaders, Gemma McHenry and Peter Dallat are delighted with the response. “We would continue to urge the local community to give the matter some serious thought” states Gemma, a sentiment echoed by Peter who is certain that there remains plenty of unused bikes and books in the locality  - each one with the potential to change a life.

“There has been a terrific groundswell of support and as Rotarians we are well aware of the generosity the people of Moyle demonstrate”.

For those who cannot donate a bike or books, monetary contributions are equally acceptable, going in no small measure towards the cost of delivering our items to their intended destination. For more information please contact Gemma on 07739405543 or Peter on 07764221099.

With Christmas just around the corner and the possibility of Santa delivering a new bike why not do your part and spread the spirit a little further this year?

 

Red Bay Lifeboat

Earlier this year the Rotary Club of Ballycastle went over to Red Bay Lifeboat station to find out more about the work they do there.  We were so impressed by what we found that we donated some money to them this summer. 

 

On Tuesday Danny and John came along to our meeting and gave us another talk on the work they and the RNLI do. We were delighted to hear that our money helped provide them with the very modern new life jackets they received this week.

The purpose of the RNLI is to save lives at sea. The RNLI is independent of the government and as such relies massively on donations. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboats, and since 2001, its lifeguards, have saved more than 139,000 lives. This is a phenomenal achievement and the effort all the volunteersput in is something very special indeed.

To find out more about the RNLI visit their official website
And for Red Bay Lifeboat visit this site

President's Night & Spirit of Moyle Awards

On Friday the Rotary Club of Ballycastle held its first President’s Night.  Not only was it an event to mark the end of a busy first year for the new Club but it saw the handover of some funds to some very commendable causes including  Good Morning Ballycastle, Redbay Lifeboat and Friends of the Cancer Centre.  The night also provided a platform for the presentation of the Spirit of Moyle Awards.

The focus of the night was on the awards and the winners themselves.  President Brian Jamieson explained the awards were something discussed very early on in the formation of the Rotary Club and were heavily backed by all the members. The thinking behind them was to have annual community based award where people who “went that extra mile” for the area were given some recognition.  Jim Boylan from the Club was charged with overseeing the awards and began the presentation on Friday night by clarifying the rationale behind them.  Jim explained, “Our President Brian got the awards up and running.  In its initial year we decided to create three categories to get things started. Thankfully we received a lot of help from a wide range of local organisations and the press to get the awards some publicity and much to our delight we received some fantastic nominations.  I, along with the rest of the panel, had the daunting and ultimately humbling task of picking the winners. Overall, the standard of the nominees was incredible.  After much deliberation the panel felt three very worthy winners stood out and we were over the moon to find out that they were happy to accept their awards and receive a little recognition for the fantastic work they do.” 

This year’s winners were:

Scott Horner – Young Carer 2012

Scott is described as a wonderful young man who has quietly been caring for his mother and father over the years while still fitting in all the other day to day activities he has to do.  He has tirelessly been by their sides, helping where he can and it is something his parents are both very proud of him for. He has also achieved very well at Ballycastle High School and has excelled in sports as a boxer, hockey player and captain and member of Ballycastle Rugby Club.

James McVicker – Young Volunteer 2012

James stood out to the panel as someone who has been involved in a vast number of groups and organisations including Exodus, Mencap, Spirit of Enniskillen and Greenlight Gateway in a wide variety of volunteering capacities.  He has time and time again went out of his way to help others and given up his own time to help others and again manages to fit it around his busy school work and social life.

Martin McGuile – Community Champion 2012

Martin is a familiar face within the town and his volunteer work with young musicians is something that a lot of people are not aware of.  He has spent a lot of time working and mentoring people young and old, helping them become and better themselves as musicians.  He has nurtured their interest in music and given them something to focus on.  Like the other winners he too has done this for a long time and just “gets on with it”.

Jim also noted, “What stood out in all three winners was that the work they do tends to go on without there being much spotlight on it.  They quietly go about their lives carrying out these admirable works without complaining or seeking any special attention and that is exactly what we hoped to recognise.”

The Club would like to thank all those who helped with the Spirit of Moyle Awards including all those who took the time to nominate, the independent judge Patrick Casement and of course the nominees and winners themselves.  Winners of the Young Carer and Young Volunteer were presented with certificates, cinema vouchers and a glass plaque each while the Community Champion received a certificate, glass plaque and a special cup donated by President Brian Jamieson. The Spirit of Moyle Awards 2012 were sponsored by Choices International Properties, the certificates were kindly printed by Causeway Volunteer Centre and the glass plaques were designed by Kingfisher Designs.

Check out our Facebook for photos of the night!
https://www.facebook.com/ballycastle.rotary
https://www.facebook.com/BallycastleRotaryClub

What is it?

Rotary International

Rotary International is the world's first service club organisation, with more than 1.2 million members in 33,000 clubs worldwide. Rotary club members are volunteers who work locally, regionally, and internationally to combat hunger, improve health and sanitation, provide education and job training, promote peace, and eradicate polio under the motto “Service Above Self”.

The Rotary Club of Ballycastle

The Rotary Club of Ballycastle was chartered in 2011 and became the 75^th Rotary Club in Ireland. So far through a variety of fundraising events we have made sizeable donations to Good Morning Ballycastle, NI Cancer Fund for Children and the Ballycastle MS Centre. New Generation competitions such as the Rotary Youth Leadership programme has helped highlight some fantastic young talent in the area.

This year we hope to raise even more money for causes local and further afield and have received several expressions of interest from local causes we hope to help.  So far in 2012 we have hosted a Night at the Races and a Charity Breakfast.  We have been involved with Greenlight Gateway in conjunction with their Jubilee Garden and we had an evening in the Concern shop where our members donated some items for the shop.  We also initiated the Spirit of Moyle Awards and in this, its first year, we are delighted by the response. We hope to announce the winners in the next few weeks.

The Club depends on community support to help make each of its fundraising events a success and is always open to new members who think their input could make a difference. Our meetings are friendly and reasonably informal. Generally a mixture of club business with occasional guest speakers, project planning and of course a social aspect as well! Meetings are held at 7.30pm on Tuesdays in the Central Bar, Ballycastle. If you feel that Ballycastle Rotary Club could benefit from your input, then please come along and join us.

22nd May 2012 - Visiting Rotarians

At Tuesday's meeting on 22nd May we had some visting Rotarians join us for the evening...

Maureen Magowan (Limavady Rotary Club) presents Brian with Limavady Club's banner

Colin Waters (Southern Districts Rotary Club, Australia) presents our President Brian with a Southern Districts Rotary Club hat

Michael Magee (President, Coleraine Rotary Club), Colin Waters (Southern Districts Rotary Club, Australia) and our President Brian

It was a great evening of fun and fellowship.  As a Rotary member you can attend Rotary meetings worldwide which is a wonderful opportunity to meet people from all over the world so it was especially nice to see Colin who made it al the way from Australia to see us!

If you are a visiting Rotarian in the area (or a potential new member!), you are more than welcome to come along to one of our meetings - 7.30pm on Tuesdays in the Central Winebar, Ballycastle.

Charity Breakfast - Saturday 21st April

Following the success of our first Charity Breakfast last year, we are hosting another Charity Breakfast later this month to raise much needed funds for local Rotary charities. 

Breakfast will be served from 8am to 11am on Saturday 21^st April in the Central Wine Bar, Ballycastle with minimum donations of £10 per adult and £5 per child being sought.

What better way to start the day than to sit down to a delicious breakfast while helping local causes in the process!

We hope to see your there :)

Night at the Races - A Real Winner!

We held our first ever “Night at the Races” on Friday 23rd March and it proved to be a great night of entertainment and fundraising.  The evening saw not only some hats and outfits worthy of Royal Ascot but exciting photo finish races and big winners.

Massive thanks go to those who sponsored races and horses, donated prizes and turned up on the night to show 
their support as well as to the Central Bar for helping host the fundraiser.  


Special thanks go to those people who volunteered their time to put the whole night together. The event raised over £1500 for local Rotary causes which is a fantastic achievement and would not have been possible without the all the generous support people have given.

Night at the Races

The Rotary Club of Ballycastle is hosting its first ever “Night at the Races” this month to raise much needed funds for local Rotary charities.  It promises to be a fun filled evening with lots of runners and riders to bet on and raffles prizes to be won. 


The night will also be a fantastic excuse to dress up with a prize being awarded for “best hat” - for the ladies and gents!


Admission is FREE and the fun begins at 8pm on Friday 23^rd March in the Central Bar, Ballycastle. 

Come along and support a very worthy cause!

Spirit of Moyle Awards 2012

It is with great delight that the we are announcing our very first “Spirit of Moyle Awards”.  The thinking behind these awards is to recognise some of those unsung heroes within our local community who have gone that extra mile to help make it a better place.

There are three categories as detailed below:

1.       Young Carer (must be age 18 or under at 30^th April 2012)

To recognise someone who has acted as a carer within the community.  They may care for you or for someone else within the wider community.

2.       Young Volunteer (must be age 18 or under at 30^th April 2012)

To recognise an individual who has volunteered in one or more capacities where their input has helped make a difference.

3.       Community Champion (all ages)

To recognise an individual who has done something special in some form within the community. It is open to all age groups and hopes to recognise someone who has excelled within the community to help make it shine.

Who can nominate?

Nominations are open to everyone.  We may need to get in touch with you so please provide your contact number and address with your nomination.

Who can I nominate?

Anyone you feel fits the category – you can nominate more than one person in each category if you know more than one person who deserves that award.  We may need to contact the nominee so please provide a contact number and or address for them or their parent or guardian if they are under 18.

How do I nominate?

Nomination forms can be found here


You will need to complete a form for each nomination indicating the category you wish to vote in.  You can submit completed nomination forms:

• by post to Ballycastle Rotary Awards, c/o 10 Main Street, Armoy BT53 8RQ
• or by emailing ballycastlerotaryawards@gmail.com

If you have difficulty with accessing the forms, nominations will be accepted if the full information required is provided in writing.

What happens after I nominate?

A panel will consider all nominations carefully and whittle the nominations down to a final three in each category before deciding on the winners of the 2012 awards.  If you have nominated you may be contacted and asked to provide further information and nominees may be contacted to ensure they are happy to be considered for the award. The decision reached by the Panel will be final.

When do I have to have my nomination in by?

The closing date for entries is 30^th April 2012 and the winners will be presented with their awards in June 2012.


So get your thinking caps on and get those nominations in before the end of April! 

Club Round Up

We have been busy getting ideas together for some fantastic fundraising for 2012.  Over the next few months we are hoping to build on the achievements of last year with a number of events in the pipeline already so we thought it would be nice to have a round up on what has happened so far and what we hope to happen over the next few months...  

2011 was a busy year for us with notable milestones including the Inaugural Meeting in June with the Charter Weekend in October which marked the conception of us as the 75^th Rotary Club in Ireland.  The weekend brought in a number of guests from all over the UK and Ireland for a spectacular showcase for not only the Club but for the local area itself. The weekend was a huge success thanks to the large number of local people and businesses that helped make it a real treat for the visitors and locals alike. 

As well as the Charter Night Dinner itself there was a night of entertainment from local musicians, dancers and performers at Ballycastle Golf Club, storytelling from Danny McGill and Liz Weir, a civic reception hosted by Chairman of Moyle Council, Paudie McShane, a complimentary coach trip showing off the beauty of the area courtesy of McGinn’s Coaches with the weekend ending on a note of relaxation thanks to Rathlin Island Ferry Ltd kindly transporting guests to Rathlin for an outing.  B&Bs in the area offered guests a haven among activities and a chance to experience some North Antrim hospitality.

We were involved in the Rotary’s Youth Leadership programme and had the pleasure of meeting students from Cross and Passion and Ballycastle High School.  Special thanks go to Mrs Irene Kerr and Mrs Una Kelly for helping with the competition as well as to the pupils themselves for taking part. We were proud to have Sarah McKinley represent the Club at the Regional Finals in Carrickfergus in November. 

In terms of fundraising, the Club with the generous help of the Central Winebar, Ballycastle hosted its first Charity Breakfast in April which proved a massive hit.  There was a Rotary ballot for a Peugeot 107 with tickets being sold at the Lammas Fair in August with the lucky winner of the raffle announced as Alistair Laird from Cookstown.  We also held a quiz in the Central Bar, Ballycastle in December which despite the weather (and the ensuing power cut!) proved to be a well supported and much enjoyed event with teams coming from all over the province.  The quiz was kindly hosted by Maurice and Marie McHenry and supported widely by locals and businesses with a whole host of prizes donated on the night including a festive hamper, sweets, bottles of wine and vouchers which were given out to the lucky winners.  The money raised was to fund Rotary Charities.

Some of the charities which have benefited from our fundraising efforts so far have included Good Morning Ballycastle, NI Cancer Fund for Children and the Ballycastle MS Centre.  The Club is determined to help as many local causes as possible and now looks forward to the events planned for 2012.

Our next big event will be a “Night at the Races” starting at 8pm on 23^rd March in the Central Bar, Ballycastle which will be an excuse to not only raise some much needed funds for charity but also promises to be a greats night’s craic where you also have the chance to sponsor your horse beforehand as well as betting on the night. You can sponsor a horse by contacting a Rotary member before 9^th March who will help get you a race!  There might even be some fun spot prizes on the night to be won too!

We also hope to repeat if not better the success of our last charity breakfast with a Breakfast being held on 21^st April in the Central, Ballycastle. 

This year will see The Rotary Club of Ballycastle host the first “Spirit of Moyle Awards”.  These awards will recognise some of the people within the local area who have made a real difference in the community. Anyone can nominate in the three categories including “Young Carer”, “Young Volunteer” and “Community Champion” with a carefully selected panel choosing the winners who will be presented with their awards at the President’s Ball in June.

The Club continues to be on the lookout for new and exciting ways to help causes both locally and further afield.  It is inviting local charities and organisations who feel they could benefit from the Club’s support to submit an application to the secretary for consideration.  Applications should include some background information, reasons why you feel the Club should support your cause during this term of office and your contact details.  This should be sent to the secretary at Mary O’Driscoll, 11 North Street, Ballycastle BT54 6NB or by emailing ciaranandmary@hotmail.com by 31^st March 2012.  For more information you can also contact Mary by phone 07553359596.

The Club depends on your support to help make each of its fundraising events a success and is always open to new members who think their input could make a difference.  Meetings are held at 7.30pm on Tuesdays in the Central Bar, Ballycastle. You can keep up to date with news and events both here and at www.facebook.com/BallycastleRotaryClub

Hello and Welcome!

Welcome to the Rotary Club of Ballycastle's new blog!  This, in conjunction with our Facebook Page is where we will keep you updated on all our latest news and events.


Please feel free to leave comments and get in touch...