We are business and professional men and women - working
and retired - from the Reading area who
meet socially to enjoy ourselves and work together as friends to help others.
Would you like to be part of an organisation that....
• Is open to men and women of all ages, nationalities and religions
• Has been responsible for the elimination of polio from all but four countries of the world
• Supports local schools with reading assistance, speaking competitions and interview skills
• Provides opportunities for young people to develop self confidence and leadership skills
• Provides shelter and practical support to disaster areas in the UK & abroad
• Sends young, business oriented 'Ambassadorial Scholars' to every corner of the world
• Enjoys regular meetings, dinners and a wide range of social activities for all the family
....Then let us have your contact details and we will be in touch to arrange a visit to one of our Club meetings - click here
2012 Activities
Youth Speaks. 6th February
Youth Speaks is the Rotary national public speaking contest for schoolchildren aged 11-17. Our Club hosts the Thames Valley area finals. Read more about the contest and this year's winning teams, Trinity School and Performing Arts College (age 15-17 category) and The Mary Hare School for the Deaf (11-14).
2011 activities
Englefield Run. Sunday 28 August 2011
Nearly 200 runners enrolled for the 10k event, the accompanying shorter run for under 15s and a fun run for smaller children. Reading Abbey Rotary organises the annual event, which is a unique opportunity to run in the beautiful private grounds of Englefield House near Theale, Berkshire. Good weather, unlike last year's rain-soaked inaugural run, helped to ensure an enjoyable day for everyone. It raised £2000 for Shelterbox and other charities. >More information
Our support for Shelterbox rebuilds lives of flood disaster families
The Club regularly contributes to Shelterbox, the Rotary charity that sends survival kits to disaster areas and we contributed to the thousands sent to Pakistan after the devestating floods in 2010. Shelterbox has written to describe how this aid helps families to rebuild their lives. Click here to download the letter (.jpg 400k)
Golf Tournament raises £3,200 for charity 4 July 2011
Local businesses and other organisations take part in this annual AmAm golf event organised by the Club in aid of charity. This year £3,200 was raised, the main beneficiary being Sue Ryder Care, with some funds retained to be distributed by Rotary to other charities during the year.
Playground aid for Brookfield School 6 June 2011
The Club made a £500 donation towards revamping the crumbling playground at the school, which specialises in the development of children with severe physical and learning difficulties. Press report, which includes details of the school project.
St George's Day Dinner 20 April 2011
Paralympic Rowing Gold Medallist Helene Raynsford was guest speaker at the dinner which raised over £4000, mainly for Crossroads, the Reading charity for carers, and also for Helene's charity which helps young people with mental disabilities to engage in sport. Helene is pictured with Club President Tony Smith.
Abbey Ruins meeting 14 Apr 2011
Reading Council's plans for a Lottery-funded £8m deve
lopment of an "Abbey Quarter" centred round repaired Abbey ruins were outlined by the (then) Council leader Andrew Cumpsty (centre) and his lead member for Culture and Sport Tom Stanway (right) at our weekly meeting on 14th April. They are pictured with Club President Tony Smith.
Click here to see details of the Abbey Quarter project on the BBC Berkshire web site.
A lively Q & A also covered local issues such as getting more community benefit from Reading's rivers, progress towards a third Thames bridge and possible alternative uses for Reading gaol.
Youth Speaks 10 Feb 2011
We host the Thames Valley area finals of the Rotary national public speaking contest for teams of 3 schoolchildren aged 11-17. It was Newbury's night this year with Trinity School and Performing Arts College (right) winning the 11-14 category and The Mary Hare School for the Deaf (left) taking the 15-17 trophy. The event was at Reading University.
Earlier activities
Englefield 8k Run 3 Oct 2010
Despite heavy rain, 70 runners turned out for the first of what will be an annual event.
They enjoyed a unique opportunity to around the beautiful Englefield Estate near Theale. The event raised £500 for the Royal Berks Hospital 'Robbie the Robot' appeal.
>Report and results.
>Press coverage.
AM AM Golf Tournament 7 July 2010
18 teams from local businesses and other organisations took part in the annual charity fund raising tournament which this year raised £2,500, mainly for the Reading Branch of the Alzheimer Society.
St George's Day Dinner 23 Apr 2010
This year's event raised £4,655. The main beneficiary was BLESMA, the British Limbless Ex-Servicemen's Association, who received £3000, the balance going to other Rotary supported charities.
Many thanks to the local businesses and other organisations who supported this event.
Youth Speaks 2010
Thames Valley area finals of the 2010 Rotary national public speaking contest for teams of schoolchildren aged 11-17 were hosted by Reading Abbey Club. Trinity School and Performing Arts College won the 11-14 category and The Mary Hare School for the Deaf took the 15-17 trophy. The event was on 11th February at Reading University.
ShelterBoxes aid Haiti victims
Reading Abbey joined with other Reading clubs to collect over £21,000 over two weekends in The Oracle in January 2010 towards sending ShelterBoxes - containing tents and survival aids - to Haiti. Rotary Shelterboxes are providing emergency accommodation for tens of thousands of Haiti earthquake victims. More info.
Funds for Therapeutic Garden
We contributed
£1500 towards the cost of creating a therapeutic garden for children
with mental health problems and their families at Berkshire Healthcare's Craven
Road unit in Reading. It opened on 8 September 2009.
Am/Am Golf 21 July 2009
Teams from all over Reading and the surrounding area took part in this annual
event organised by the Club. It raised over £3,000 for charity, mainly
The Orpheus Centre which helps disabled children through music and the performing
arts.
Music
in the Park 13 June 2009
500 people of all ages enjoyed a picnic in the grounds of Englefield House
and were entertained to an evening of music and song by Starmakers and the
South Berks Concert Band. The event also raised £1400 for Help for Heroes
and other charities. Pictures
St George's Day Dinner 2009
Our popular annual event on 23rd April raised over £4000 this year for
the Reading Single Homeless Project.
Brains
of Reading
A fun quiz evening on 22 January where Reading businesses competed for the
2009 trophy and raised £1800 for charity. Download a report and pictures (Word document 3Mb).
Club thanks public for support
In letters published in the Reading Chronicle and the Reading Evening Post
in December 2008 the Club thanked everyone who had contributed to the £18,000
it had raised for charity during the year. The
letters
Aid
for Arthritis Matters
£1,500 was given to the local charity to pay for sessions in the hydrotherapy
pool at Royal Berks Hospital. The cheque was presented to the charity's patron
Martin Salter MP. Press reports
Music
in the Park 19 July 2008
Englefield House, Theale. A successful event attended by around 400
it raised nearly £3000 for Alexander Devine Children's Cancer Trust
and other local charities. Pictures
Am/Am
Golf 2 July 2008
Raised £4000, mainly for the Duchess of Kent hospice but also other
local charities supported by Reading Abbey Rotary Club.
St George's
Day Dinner 23 Apr 2008
Well supported as usual by local businesses and professions, it raised nearly
£4000 for the British Legion Berkshire Welfare Fund. Report
and pictures.
More
help for Air Ambulance
We have given a further £600 to the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance,
bringing the total of our recent donations to £4000. The Air Ambulance
is entirely funded by voluntary contributions. More
Youth
Speaks Out
We organise the Reading area finals of an annual nationwide public speaking
competition for schoolchildren. At the 2009 event on 13th February The Bulmershe
School and St Anne's School won places in the Southern England finals. More
Visit to our twin club in Macon, France
A delegation from Reading Abbey visited the Rotary Club of Macon St Vincent
for the weekend of 3-5 October 2007 to help them celebrate their 25th Anniversary.
2007 Am/Am Golf Tournament
Our annual
tournament raised over £3,000 for local charities, in particular
The Duchess of Kent House hospice. Held on 10th July 2007 at Reading Golf
Club it was well supported by teams from local businesses.
Music in the Park 2007
The weather could have been kinder but rain failed
to dampen the spirits of the 300 who enjoyed music and a picnic in the park
at Englefield House on 21st June in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support and other
local charities. Report
and pictures.
UK Flood Appeal
Reading Abbey contributed to the nation-wide Rotary appeal to help the towns
badly hit by last year's floods. Clubs raised £300,000 and a further
£500,000 was contributed by Naomi Campbell's Fashion for Relief fashion
show. More.
St George's Day Dinner 2007
The
inaugural dinner on 23rd April at the Crowne Plaza received strong support
from local businesses and raised £5,500 for SSAFA (the Soldiers, Sailors,
Airmen and Families Association). Pictures.
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