Rotary Northampton centenary: Charity festival to be held with 15 organisations and Northampton Town Council

A charity festival is set to be held in March to mark the centenary of Rotary Northampton, featuring 15 charities that the voluntary group has supported over the years.

The organisation has chosen the '100 Not Out!' celebration to give greater exposure to charitable groups in Northampton, as well as to entice new membership for themselves and the groups.

The event will feature live music performed by Northamptonshire Music & Performing Arts Trust and band SKA2OONS, as well as a Static Cycle Challenge for Cynthia Spencer, hot food, a bar and even an as-yet unnamed award ceremony for stand-out members of the community.

When asked why Rotary chose this event, Brian May, the president of Rotary Northampton, said that it was a chance for both Rotary and their fellow activists to promote their work, something that, he felt, often goes overlooked.

He said: "It's a big deal for us. To go from one Rotary Club Northampton in 1921 to four covering the whole area, (with Northampton West, Becket and Nene Valley), it shows that after 100 years of service, we're still going strong. It reflects all the good work we've done in that time.

"We are very proud of what we do, but a lot of people in Northampton aren't familiar with what we do, as we don't like to crow about it. Part of this showcase is meant to attract new members who have those same shared ideals.

"We're hoping to attract not just new members for Rotary Northampton, but also for Rotary clubs more generally as well as the fantastic charities that we have worked with, in some cases, for many years. They are all great causes and some of them struggle.

"It's a recognition that there are lots of organisations around Northampton doing good works. A lot of people don't realise quite how much.

"This is our chance to say we're here, we're helping and we would love it if like-minded people would come and join us."

Making an appearance will be: Cynthia Spencer, the Wildlife Trust, Sport Trust, Shelter Box, Sailability, Prostaid, the Prince's Trust, Nenescape, the Lowdown, the Lewis Foundation, Canine Partners, Hope Centre Northampton, Homestart, the Faraway Charity and Cerebral Palsy Northamptonshire.

Other events organised by Rotary have included their popular Santa Fun Runs, litter picks, conservation campaigns, youth activities and more. They also work to support local business networking, food banks, clean rivers and even 'Toilet Twinning', where participants donate to gift working toilets to families overseas.

They have also helped fund medical equipment such as in a clinic in Pakistan and a whole eye hospital in India, for which the club helped contribute £30,000

The event is being organised with support from Northampton Town Council, whose representative said: "We are providing support for the Rotary Showcase Event to help raise awareness not only of the work the Rotary Club have done for Northampton historically, but for the charities and community groups involved too.

"The Rotary Club’s members work tirelessly within the community helping support local charities such as the Mayor’s chosen charity this year; Northampton Domestic Abuse Service.

"The objective of the showcase event is to bring together local charities and organisations so that they can show the public what they do, provide a fun day out for the whole family and hopefully entice some volunteers for local projects.

"Being a new council at this event means we have the opportunity to find out more about the work these charities are doing on the front line.

"We want organisations to be able to reach out for volunteers and to have a space where they can share their work and achievements especially after such a tough couple of years."

The festival will take place from 12pm to 7:30pm on Saturday March 5, 2022 at Northamptonshire County Cricket Ground.