Clitheroe's Ribblesdale Rotary Club is in good hands for the future

It wasn't the presidential handover members of the Ribblesdale Rotary Club had planned to welcome their new president, so it had to be a socially distant one due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
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Outgoing president, Barry Wood, can be seen "elbowing" his good wishes to his successor Simon O’Rourke at one venue, while at another, new president Simon has just handed over his President Elect’s chain of office to Liz McGinley, who will succeed him in July 2021.

Clitheroe boasts two Rotary Clubs - Clitheroe which meets normally on Thursday lunchtimes and Ribblesdale which meets on Monday evenings.

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Ribblesdale is known as the "daughter club" because it has only been in existence since 1977 and was formed to accommodate the working man who couldn’t make lunchtime meetings. Women joined Rotary in 1987 and it is believed today there are 27% of International Rotary membership which totals 1.2 million in 35,000 clubs worldwide.

Barry Wood elbowing his good wishes to Simon O'RourkeBarry Wood elbowing his good wishes to Simon O'Rourke
Barry Wood elbowing his good wishes to Simon O'Rourke

Speaking about the local Rotary club's charity work over the years, a spokesman said: "Rotary’s key humanitarian priority since 1985 has been to rid the world of polio.

"We spearheaded the campaign at a time when there were 1,000 cases a day in 125 countries paralysing and even killing children and adults. Today, the number of cases is down by 99.9%. Vaccines work.

"Although an International organisation, Ribblesdale Rotary club enjoys a strong community focus. We have organised the Ribble Valley Pub Walk which has raised many thousands of pounds for the East Lancs Hospice, we participated in a fundraising Strictly Come Dancing competition, helped DIY SOS create a refuge for young people amongst many other activities.

"At the moment Ribblesdale Rotary Club members are meeting virtually via Zoom. If you want to find out more please e-mail [email protected]"

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