PROJECT TEAMS
York Rotary organises its social activities, fundraising and other projects through a variety of Teams, made up from our members
Rotagraph
Editor: Paul Roberts
Rotagraph was first published in 1951 and has appeared monthly since. It is available to our members from the first week of each month. Articles for publication should be sent to the Editor by the end of the preceding month please.
Club Service
Team Leader: Mike Hay
Looks after the successful running of York Rotary for its members, for example ensuring a "buddy system" is in place so members can watch out for, and communicate with, other members.
A diverse and wide-ranging programme of speakers is arranged and full details are included on the website diary page, and in Rotagraph.
Speaker Finder - Mike Fieldsend
Community Service
Team Leader: John Wainwright
With a wide-ranging remit covering service to the Club and to the Community, this team allocates available charitable resources from York Rotary, and assistance available from our members, for both regular annual events and many one-off projects in the City of York and further afield
Dragon Boat Challenge
Team Leader: Brian Joscelyne and David Fotheringham
The Dragon Boat Challenge is our major fundraising project and was started in 2003. Since that time, it has raised over £1,300,000 for local charities, and is now an established part of York's calendar each July. 36 teams take part in heats, culminating in a dramatic and exciting Grand Finale on the River Ouse in the centre of the City. The north bank of the river is also full of interesting stalls to give the day a gala atmosphere.
The Dragon Boat web site is directly linked to the club site, with full details of the previous year's results, and the arrangements, teams and race card as they are finalised for the current year.
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External Relations
Team Leader: Paul Harvey
This is a relatively new team that has been established to develop closer relations between York Rotary and local people who like to be associated with our Rotary objectives and support our activities.
Through the establishment of a "Friends of York Rotary" group, we form partnerships with individuals, organisations and businesses to further our aims of reaching out to the community and providing help where needed, whilst allowing businesses and charities to broaden their involvement in the community, increase networking opportunities, and help meet their Corporate Social Responsibility goals.
The team also looks for opportunities to promote the public image of Rotary through social and traditional media and a presence at local events
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Social
Team Leader: Steve Magac
Arranges members' social events and formal events throughout the year. The dates of events, confirmed and provisional are on the diary page. Provisional arrangements are marked with an asterisk
International
Team Leader: Diane Roworth
This team co-ordinates our activities in supporting international causes and Rotary projects.
Funds are donated as required for Shelterboxes and Aquaboxes to provide emergency help to disaster areas abroad; and other projects such as Sand Dams in developing countries are actively supported.
York Rotary also actively supports and raises funds for our own projects overseas, such as the refurbishment of Ebenezer School in Livingstone, Zambia.
Get-togethers with our sister club, the Rotary Club of Erlangen Germany, take place bi-annually. The 2018 reunion was hosted by our Club in York in May 2018, and the latest get-togetyher was in Erlangen in May 2022. Reports on these events can be found here
Fundraising
Team Leader: Sheila Weatherburn
Regular fundraising events such as sales at St Crux, Theme Nights, quizzes, "bucket collections" and "small change collections" ("Change the World") continue to be a great success. The team co-ordinates these as well as other fundraising ventures.
In addition, the team oversees "one-off" fundraising projects and events, examples being Big Band, Japanese Taiko Drumming and other musical concerts and similar events.
Membership Development & Retention
Team Leader: Kevin Grogan
The Team is very active and is always on the look-out for people interested in supporting the ideals of Rotary by joining York Rotary. Associate Membership is also offered to allow potential members to gain a "flavour" of what Rotary membership means before committing to full membership.
Youth Service
Team Leader: Eileen Davis
The Team aim to provide the young people of York with opportunities to develop their skills and broaden their horizons.
We focus on the various Youth activities which Rotary supports. We encourage youth challenge, sponsoring individuals on the Rotary Youth Leadership Award course and groups undertaking outdoor pursuits.
We carry out mock interviews to help students prepare for further / higher education or job applications. We also participate in sponsored annual competitions such as Young Chef, Musician, Writer, Artist, and Photographer as well as a Technology Tournament.
To enable young people to access these opportunities, we develop links through our School Ambassadors, other youth organisations and social media.
Vocational
Team Leader: Frank Paterson
Vocational visits (to local businesses and organisations) for York Rotary members, and often their partners as well, are planned quarterly, venues being decided and entered on the diary page as arranged.
