This section of the website is going to provide a more in depth look at the committee that oversees District 5 and also the clubs within our district.
Focus On Altrincham Club
The club was formed in November 1930 by a group of wives of local Rotarians, ninety years later we continue to thrive and we celebrated our 90th birthday in November 2020. There have been four district chairmen from Altrincham, Phil Lord, Betty Hayhurst, Astrid Hill and our present district chairman Helen Lamerton. We arevery proud of this achievement.
Our meetings are held at the Cresta Court Hotel in Altrincham on the first Tuesday of every month. We enjoy a meal together, followed by a speaker, a quiz or entertainment. We have had a variety of speakers, who were interesting, informative and representative of all aspects of society and age groups.
Due to the current pandemic we no longer hold our regular meetings; however we now meet weekly online. We have had over twenty weekly social meetings, three formal meetings with speakers and are planning a Christmas quiz for the December meeting. In addition we held our AGM and the Installation of our new President Helena Cowan virtually.
Our plans to hold a special celebration for our 90th birthday have been postponed until we can meet together again. Instead we had a virtual party. All members had a small cake, a birthday candle and a glass of bubbly to raise a celebratory toast to the club...
For those members unable to access the internet, a cake was delivered to their home to ensure that they are included.
Club activities are numerous and varied. Our annual strawberry tea has become a tradition. We have coffee mornings, soup and sandwich lunches, knit and natter sessions and also visits to places of interest. Members have enjoyed knitting - we have made twiddle muffs for Dementia UK, baby blankets for SANDS, blankets and cardigans for the Women’s Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa.
Fashion shows proved to be popular, raising much needed funds for the charities we were supporting. Some of our members planted a rose bush at a local school for World Peace Day, very poignant as this coincided with the Manchester bombing.
For many years we have developed links in the local community, including a care home for the elderly. Locally we are supporting the Women’s Refuge and are collecting clothes and shoes for the homeless in Manchester.
We have supported many deserving charities - Ronald McDonald House, Admiral nurses (Dementia), Canine Partners and Cruse Bereavement to name but a few.
Our links with Altrincham Rotary club are well established. We have helped them with the Christmas
collections and the Salvation Army appeal collecting tins and toys.
We have held several joint International evenings which have been fun, provided fellowship and raised money for charities. Support has been given to Disaster Aid, Water Aid, All We Can, Mercy Ships, Mary’s Meals and Sight Savers. Currently we are supporting the Rotary Shoe Box Appeal.
Inner Wheel is not solely about fundraising although helping others when we can is important; we also have fun and share fellowship. Every year a group of our members attend the Inner Wheel Conference. We have been to Belfast, Blackpool, Bournemouth, Cardiff, Glasgow Nottingham and Telford. All are different; all have had inspirational speakers and enjoyable entertainment.
It is a time when members bond together and enjoy the camaraderie that Inner Wheel offers.