Beacon News

Celebrating 250 Home Starter Boxes!

The Home Starter Box team has now issued 250 boxes!

At a celebratory meeting we heard from just three of the organisations that we work with. They shared very moving stories about the recipients' reactions to their box.

​Here's the HSB Team with one of their boxes.

The Plant Sale is back for 2022!

...and we are maintaining our prices at the 2019 level.

Home Starter Boxes "Make a Difference" on East Midlands Today

Here's a link to an item about Home Starter Boxes on East Midlands Today. Click on the link - or the image - and then on the Play button top right...
photos.app.goo.gl/tLp1f3WVomR9kUR59

Jubilee Group Busy at Fearon Hall

Jubilee were in  back in action yesterday, creating a new bin store away from the main building at Fearon Hall to comply with Insurance requirements.
Roses, Helen, Steve and Michael C created the new store using:
  • 12 recycled slabs. - Proper old  2" thick heavy  ones! (Saved from going to land fill).
  • Some donated steel section and timber.
  • 2 bags of postcrete.
  • 2 powder-coated trellis pieces (To match existing black fencing).
  • a few screws and nails.
  • Plus the loan of the works van.

Total job value circa £220
Total spent circa £60 from Jubilee funds

Plus around 37 hours labour including planning and recce visits.

Total calories burned... in the 1000's
Total calories consumed... about the same... thanks to the excellent Fearon Hall cafe.

Recent HSB Feedback from Falcon

I would also like to add how amazing these Home Starter Boxes are!

I have worked here for 6 months now & I have not seen any donations/starter packs like it.

I wish you could have seen Mr Xxxxx's face! He gasped and was in disbelief that he had these new items that he would not have been able to afford himself.

I lost count of how many times he said “Oh Wow, this is brilliant.”

It honestly warmed my heart being able to deliver this to him and share this happy experience with him.

Thank you greatly,

Ashleena Armstrong
Holly and Ivy House
Falcon Support Services

Mayor Visits Home Starter Box Project

Councillor David Snartt and Joan Snartt, Mayor and Mayoress of Charnwood, visited a Home Starter Box packing session recently.
Demand for our Home starter Boxes has been higher than ever over the past few weeks and the team were glad of the Mayor's help in packing one of the boxes.
Volunteers filling Home Starter Boxes

Christmas Donations

We've recently made the following donations:
We're proud to help them in the great work they do.

Some of the money was raised at our Virtual Christmas Party.
  • Why couldn't Mary and Joseph have online meetings with their friends?
  • Because there was no Zoom at the inn.

Festive Falcon

Falcon Support Services do great work with the homeless in Loughborough. (We help them by providing our Home Starter Boxes.)
They've just launched Festive Falcon - their fund-raiser to help people over Christmas.
The funds they collect will provide:
  • Christmas dinners for all residents in our projects
  • Festive Soup Kitchen on Christmas day for rough sleepers
  • Winter warmer clothes packs for rough sleepers containing a foil blanket, warm hat, scarf and gloves, thick socks and hand and foot warmers 
  • Food vouchers for hot meals for rough sleepers
  • Essential food and festive treats
  • Christmas trees and decorations 
  • Entertainment packs for each project

Loughborough Space

Our youngest member - James McKevitt - has been a key player in the University's Loughborough Space society. He's well-qualified having spent time with NASA. He's now based in Vienna.

Loughborough Beacon at Prime Minister's Questions

  • The Rotary Club of Loughborough Beacon figured in PMQs on Wednesday 30th September.
  • Loughborough MP Jane Hunt asked a question about the eradication of polio.
  • Click on the image below to see her exchange with Boris Johnson.

Helping with the Fearon Hall Refurbishment

  • Fearon Hall is getting ready for re-opening in August. Our dynamic but diminutive past president Michael has helped clear some rubbish with a pre-booked trip to Mountsorrel tip (exciting) and also some painting - well as far up the wall as he could reach. You know: the skirting board.
  • Jubilee members - Helen, Roses, Pubudu and Steve - then got their brushes and rollers out and made seriously  inroads into more decorating. With his height and the works ladder, Steve reached dizzy heights.
  • Michael was warned that the others might tie him down to a low chair for safety reasons.

PEPP – EBOX – Project

  • This brilliant project helps keep NHS staff safe from viruses during intubation and other procedures. Here are EBOXES (one of the range of PEPP - Protective Equipment for Patient Preparation) being loaded for delivery to Leicester Royal Infirmary for trials.
  • This brilliant project helps keep NHS staff safe from viruses during intubation and other procedures. Here are EBOXES being loaded for delivery to Leicester Royal Infirmary for trials.
  • Follow this link for more information about EBOXES.

Home Starter Box Project Continues During Covid

The demand for our Home Starter Boxes continues and we've managed to put together another batch.
​Here's the team applying social distancing rules to box packing.

Our President's Review of the Year

Beacon Rotary Club
Donations to Charity

Club President Michael Charlesworth said: “We cannot raise any more money for several months because of coronavirus restrictions, so we decided to make these donations now from money we’ve raised from earlier fund-raising initiatives, rather than have it sitting in a bank account.”

 He added: “All charities still desperately need money, despite the lock-down, including John Storer Charnwood, which is co-ordinating Charnwood Community Action in response to the to the Covid-19 pandemic.”

The local and UK charities to benefit are: 
  • John Storer Charnwood £500
  • Fearon Community Association £1000
  • Wellbeing Project £1000
  • Leslie Edwards Trust £1000
  • The Marios Tinenti Centre £500
  • Macmillan Nurses £600
  • Peter Le Marchant Trust £660
  • VISTA £500
  • Dementia UK/Admiral Nurses £322
  • REMAP East Midlands £500.

 In addition, the Club donated £1000 to the International Emergencies Fund, with £500 to ShelterBox and £500 to AquaBox.

Loughborough People are so Generous!

We've been Santa Sleighing and tin rattling in the the run-up to Christmas and we've collected well over £1000 thanks to the generosity of Loughborough folk. We - and the charities you have helped - are really grateful.
Working with our friends in the Inner Wheel Club of Loughborough we raised enough for 7 of our Home Starter Boxes.

Singing for Fun Concert raises £1800!

We had a very successful night in the Hodson Hall on December 1st. The combination of Caroline Sharpe's Singing for Fun choir and the Loughborough Concert Band wowed the 200-strong audience and we raised £1800 for our three charities.

Loughborough Market Place 

​At the Loughborough Market Place recently we showcased our work building latrines in Ghana and we demonstrated the Rotary Aquabox that provides clean water after disasters. Click on the image for a larger view.

Singing for Fun Concert

Our Twitter feed
On Sunday December 1st, 7pm - at the Hodson Hall, Loughborough - we have the return of our very popular Singing for Fun Concert.

This time Caroline Sharpe's Choir is joined by the Loughborough Concert Band for an evening that is sure to be great fun for all the family.
​

Golf Day Outcome ~ Donations to Charities

  • Two important charities each benefited from a donation of £3,250 from the Loughborough Beacon Rotary Golf Day and plant sales.
  • We're proud to have been able to help these impressive organisations. 
And we've set the date for next year!
Please put it in your diary.
Monday 22nd June 2020.

Tin Rattle for Tesco

  • Tesco have had a big charity fundraiser running across lots of their stores in aid of:
            - Cancer Research 
            - Diabetes UK
            - British Heart Foundation
  • Loughborough Beacon Rotary helped them with a tin rattle in the Loughborough Park Road store.
  • This was organised by their Community Champion, Mike Harrison.
  • It included information on healthy eating from leafie.org

Rempstone Show Caravan Site

  • We've had a busy time running the caravan site for the Great Rempstone Steam & Country Show.
  • We start off with a large and empty field.
  • We mark out the rows and then put in getting on for 300 pegs to mark the pitches.
  • Then we greet the caravanners and take them to their pitches.

Rotary Stars

  • Rotary Stars is a project that recognises and rewards Primary School age children for acts of good citizenship.
  • Our about-to-be-President recently gave out awards at several local schools.

Promoting Awareness of Rotary at the Carillon Court, Loughborough

  • We talked to loads of people about what we do.  
  • Many knew the word Rotary, but few realised the range of activities we get involved with.  
  • We even met a lady who had received a Home Starter Box.  She said it was exactly what she needed - down to the very practical inclusion of a tin opener.
  • One visitor, from Zambia and working in the area was keen to  attend a meeting soon and maybe join the club.

TESCO Bags of Help!

  • The TESCO Bags of Help scheme lets customers vote on which of three local initiatives will receive either £1000, £2000 or £4000 from TESCO.
  • Loughborough Beacon's Home Starter Box project is one of the options for May and June.
  • Please pick up your token at the checkout and vote for our project!

Plants Sale Deadline Approaches!

The deadline for our Plants Sale Order Forms is 10th May.

Don't miss out on having quality plants delivered to your door.

And all the profits go to charity.

Follow this link for more information.

Mentioned in Dispatches

We are very pleased to have made the front page of Nicky Morgan's Newsletter.

She highlights our Loughborough Charities Together initiative.

Any charities that would like to be involved should please get in touch with us.

Assistive technology and guiding blind people
  • We recently had a fascinating evening in the company of James Hassell, Jenny Perry and Hannah Cave from the RNIB.
  • James shared his use of clever apps on his smart-phone and Jenny and Hannah showed us the impact of different sight conditions and gave us the chance to practise guiding a blind person.
  • An interesting and useful evening!
James Hassell telling us how smartphones can help people with sight loss
James Hassell telling us how smartphones can help people with sight loss
A rough impression of James's vision
A rough impression of James's vision
Practising guiding a blind person
Practising guiding a blind person
Jenny and Hannah giving us more helpful tips
Jenny and Hannah giving us more helpful tips

A great evening with...
Last week's meeting was a great success. Our guest speaker, Ros, gave us a fascinating history of 3M and surprised us with the revelation of how many of the products we use every day and take for granted were invented by her company - from Post-it Notes to Scotch tape.
​
We also welcomed Andreea from Bucharest, studying Media and Communications at Loughborough University. A former member of Interact she is keen to bring her skills and energy to Beacon club.

Lord Willy Bach

We had a very interesting talk by Lord Willy Bach, Police and
​Crime Commissioner for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.
​
Here he is with our President, Ian Sharpe.

Sixties Night with "Sixties Sounds"

Good fun was had by all - especially the ageing hippies - at Beacon's Sixties Night. Big thanks to our band Sixties Sounds.

Social Enterprise "Pitches" at Loughborough Students Union

Five student teams each made a "pitch" to Beacon Rotary and friends for £250 to support their social enterprise project. The winning team were working on a peer support project in collaboration with Leicester Samaritans.

Birdboxes with the Mountfields SEND Group

A team from Beacon Rotary and Loughborough Inner Wheel - helped by Tesco Community Champion Mike Harrison - built birdboxes with the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Group at Mountfields Lodge.

A Busy Night at Loughborough Beacon

Beacon and Loughborough Lions recently presented cheques to Rainbows and Dementia UK Leicestershire resulting from a joint Beacon and Lions Santa Sleigh Run before Christmas...
...and we inducted two new members into Beacon - Martin Weedon and Andy Perkins...
...as well as hearing a very interesting talk about the Rothley Wine Estate.

Clockwise Credit Union Present a Cheque to the Home Starter Box Team

Talks by University Postgrads & Postdocs

We recently had three varied and interesting talks by university researchers.

We enjoyed it and found it interesting. They enjoyed it and found it valuable.
​
Comments from the postgrads...
  • I thoroughly enjoyed the evening last night, and it was great talking about my research to everyone – thank you for creating this opportunity for us. 
  • I found the experience extremely worthwhile, especially the Q&A session after the presentation. Answering questions from individuals from different academic backgrounds allowed me to see my research much more broadly, rather than what I am currently used to. I had a question about whether nuclear power is a better alternative than hydrogen, which I hadn’t really looked into before. This is something I aim to address in my thesis as a potential examiner could ask me the same question.
  • I really enjoyed it. Admittedly, the audience were, without sounding rude, better educated than I'm used to! Sorry if it came across a bit patronising as a result. 
  • I think it's a great opportunity for PhD students, there's nothing else that I can think of quite like it. I'm sure there's lots of other research students who would want to do it if you were to run it again.