There are two Rotary clubs near me that meet on a Monday evening. One is “Canterbury Forest of Blean“, the other is “Faversham“. A couple of weeks ago I decided at short notice to visit Faversham. I hadn’t phoned or called anyone before going, I just took the chance they’d have space for one more. I arrived to the busiest club I’d seen for a long time – there must have been 50 people present. Strange I thought, I’m sure the club directory said they had 20 or so members, so where did all the extra people arrive from? It turns out all of the Rotary Club of Ashford were visiting and there was a presentation on the work of the Princes Trust.
Things learnt from this visit:
- The Princes Trust still work with 14-30 year olds as I remember from growing up. They still have some business start up support but also run courses developing skills for young people without formal qualifications. They are particularly keen to recruit volunteer adult mentors, especially experienced business owners and managers.
- The Faversham club have a strong twinning with a club in Germany (or was it Austria? I forget) and every year they all meet up at a Ski resort
- The main project for them is the provision of 3 trailers that visit different schools. I can’t remember the aim of those trailers, but I do remember seeing it at our local school and both my children looking forward to the visit. This is another good example of where a club is providing a service in the community more than just raising money for other charities