AFTER 84 years serving the local communities of Lymm and Thelwall, Lymm Rotary Club is set to close at the end of this month following an EGM last night (Wednesday).
In view of their very small number, Club Members voted unanimously to close the Club at the end of June 2020.
The Club was established in 1936 and has served the communities of Lymm & Thelwall for 84 years.
This decision was taken with reluctance and great sadness but following recent retirements, the remaining members considered that they did not have sufficient resources to continue.
Over recent years, numbers have fallen to the point at which members are now unable to cope with the workload necessary to run projects such as the Christmas float touring the District; an annual party for 150 local Senior Citizens; sponsorship of a child and her community in a Township in South Africa and a charity based in the Gambia which supports education & health projects.
The Club has also helped with the May Queen Festival, Dickensian Day, Children in Need, World Polio Day and the British Legion Poppy Appeal.
Recently, Charitable Funds have been used to support Warrington Food Bank; Lymm Sanctuary Hub Memory Café and Room at the Inn, a charity helping the homeless.
The collections for the Christmas Float were made possible by local groups working with Rotary Members to collect around the streets of Lymm & Thelwall and in return these groups of good causes and charities have received donations from the Rotary Club to enable them to carry on their own important work. This arrangement has worked to the benefit of the Club and the Groups in the local community.
The Club is conscious of the importance of the Float Collections and sincerely hopes that another group or organisation may be willing to take on this role. Lymm Rotary Club will do all that it can to assist in this process.
President Alan Edwards stated- “This is a very sad time for a Club which has made a significant contribution to the life of the two villages for the past 84 years. We have made several efforts to strengthen the membership of the Club, regularly seeking to recruit new members and even looking to establish a satellite Club which would operate alongside the traditional Club to assist in fulfilling our commitments to the local communities.
“We would like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank-you to the residents of Lymm & Thelwall for making it such a pleasure to serve their communities. We will be in touch with all the organisations who have worked with us and hope that some of the Club’s past projects may be picked up and continued by others.”
While the Club may be closing down, its members will continue to support community projects and organisations in the area and in the wider world.
6 Comments
Very sad news. So sad that people of all ages don’t appreciate the benefits of being a member of a Rotary Club. Friendship fun and the opportunity to do great things for the community. Always the hope that a few like minded people might one day resurrect this valuable asset to the community.
It is very sad that a veteran club is being closed that too had rendered impeccable service to Society. Some one should save the ciub from closure. RI has to take special care for subsistence. … Rtn. Jagadishwer rao. Dist. 3150
Very sad to hear that such a old club doing so much community work has to close because of lack of members. Huge loss to Rotary
This is a tragedy………
My Good Friends and Fellow Rotarians at Lymm Rotary Club have helped many and will be missed by many.
David Williams Vice President Sale Rotary Club
Oh dear. So sad to come to an end after so many years of service to the community. Let’s hope a time will come to restart
Sad for us to read about an 84 year old Club closing down, imagine what must be transpiring with the Members & the Community they lived with for so long & were looked upto. Rotary International for sure must be sizing up to face such situations & reasons to forestall recurrences particularly in today’s World pandemic crisis caused by COVID-19 which has posed a basic threat to the survival of man and property on earth.