R.W. Bro. Alam Maguire,Provincial Assistant Grand Master, presenting a cheque for £500 on behalf of PGL Chairties to the Simon Community in Coleraine.

They currently house 16 people, 14 men and 2 woman.

Many have issues with mental health, addiction or are just homless and currently they can be housed for up to two years.

The manager Joy was very appreciative and informed R,W, Bro, Maguire that her grandfather was a Freemason in Omagh

BURNS BREAKFAST

The Annual Charity Breakfast was again held in Bushfoot Golf Club with Chef Melvin (Mel) Archibald and his family providing exceptional food throughout the morning.

Past President Joan was piped in carrying the haggis by Piper David Linton and followed by Dr. John Kerr who as usual delivered an excellent address to the haggis.

Past President Michael Magee served the tots of whisky which were gratefully received by all present.

The funds raised will be used for our continuing support of our Local Charities.

Short extract from Chronicle 17/10/2024 and close links with Coleraine Rotary Club forged 85 years ago

 

​Q. What do you see as the major changes in Rotary over its 85 years in existence?

A. Coleraine Rotary was formed in 1939 by a group of professionals, all men, with the main aim of mutual assistance. Recruitment criteria were strict, and attendance requirements at their weekly lunch meetings were even stricter.

Move forward to 2024 and there has been a massive sea change in our Modis Operandi, and membership.

Membership is open to one and all. It is recognised that we all live busy lives, so it is what each individual contributes to the club that matters, as opposed to the level of meeting attendance.

Of course, we now focus on fundraising for local and worldwide causes and, among our other activities, on organising a number of youth development schemes.

Q. Do you believe The Coleraine Chronicle has assisted in this development?

A. Most certainly? In modern terms, today’s keyword appears to be ‘awareness’. We see events being organised to promote awareness of certain causes as opposed to directly raising money for the cause. The money will follow later.

The Coleraine Chronicle has always been a good friend to Rotary, in that events in which the club participate are well covered by the paper.

Q. Then what do you see as being so different in 2024 as opposed to even 50 years ago?

A. The immediate reply to that is of course the photographs are now in colour, which is of course vibrant and welcoming.

No longer are dour faces staring out of the page, there are happy, relaxed, well-captioned photographs attracting the reader’s attention.

Q. Have you seen any other improvements in the way The Coleraine Chronicle has been of assistance to Rotary?

A. Very much so. Previously if an event was held then three or four photographs would appear tucked away with a couple of other organizations’ functions, all crammed into one page.

Over the last number of years the Coleraine Chronicle has not only ensured that our events are covered by a photographer but one of your reporters gleans information in respect of the event.

This means that Coleraine Rotary is featured, usually on a whole page with excellent photographs and an extensive covering piece accompanying the article.

 

​Anyone interested in our work or even considering joining please feel free to contact John Esler by phoning 07879885996 or emailing jesler52@gmail.com

85th Charter Dinner

The Rotary Club of Coleraine has celebrated its 'Roudri Shanti' or 85th birthday.

Its members celebrated this milestone with a charter dinner hosted by Royal Portrush Golf Club on September 6, as a special fundraiser for Autism N.I.

The evening was very well supported by club members, visiting clubs Larne, Ballycastle, Limavady and East Belfast, together with friends of Rotary.

This year’s President of the club, John Esler, was effusive with his thanks to all who supported the club’s dinner in so many diverse ways.

“We really have to thank Royal Portrush Golf Club for their superb hosting of the event, having set their standards very high," he said.

“Local firm of Chartered Accountants, Moore NI’s table expressed their enjoyment as did Canavan’s table.

Thanks, are very much due to McConaghy Refrigerated Distribution Ltd who made a substantial contribution to the evening, together with other members and past members of Coleraine Rotary meaning that before the envelope collection, £1,000 was secured for the cause.

“We really appreciate our local business support,” John added.

“Mention must be made to our speakers, and thanks given, to Geoff 

As always, if anyone has an interest in assisting Coleraine Rotary, or even joining, then please contact John Esler at jesler52@gmail.com or on 07879885996.

Party Time with Past President Michael

On the evening of Wednesday 26th, 14 members assembled in Cooper's restaurant to thank Past President Michael for what has been an exceptional and fantastic year in office. Great venue, good company, and mighty craic!

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BURNS BREAKFAST

The Annual Charity Breakfast was again held in Bushfoot Golf Club with Chef Melvin (Mel) Archibald and his family providing exceptional food throughout the morning.

Chef Melvin was piped in carrying the haggis by Piper David Linton and followed by Dr. John Kerr who as usual delivered an excellent address to the haggis.

President Michael Magee served the tots of whisky which were gratefully received by all present.

The funds raised would be used for our continuing support of prostate cancer Research at Queens University Belfast, a world-renowned centre of excellence in this field.

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2024 Technology Tournament

The 2024 Rotary Technology Tournament was again organised by the Rotary Club of Coleraine and held on 25 January at Loreto College Coleraine in their superb Technology Suite.

The competition saw teams of four students being challenged to develop a working model to transport a load across a river using only the resources and equipment provided.

The teams of four had to use their engineering and technology skills to design and build a solution in a specific time frame.

The results are as follows:

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Foundation

Dominican College Team 1

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Intermediate / Advanced

Loreto College Team 3 and Runners-up Loreto College Team 2

 

Overall

Dominican College Team 1

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President Joan with the Technology Tournament Winners

The 2023 Rotary Technology Tournament saw fifteen teams of young people put their technology skills to use to create a coin sorter.

The event, organised by the Rotary Club of Coleraine, was held on 27 April at Loreto College Coleraine in their superb Technology Suite. The competition saw girls and boys from Loreto College, Cross and Passion School (Ballycastle) and Coleraine Grammar School and Ballycastle High School take part in the day-long event.

The teams of four had to use their engineering and technology skills to design and build a vehicle from the material provided for the purpose.

There were three sections and an Overall winner and were

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President Joan presents three Paul Harris Fellowships

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PHF awards were made to three local people who had made a significant contribution to the local community.

Raymond Pollock who has raised hugh sums to enable seriously ill or disabled children to visit Santa at his home in Lapland 

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President Joan started her year with a BBQ on her first night

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A social evening, in the form of a BBQ, was held at The Crannagh complex organised by Jimmy Dempsey and John Esler.

John organised the food, ably assisted by his wife Linda's salad dishes which went down a treat!

Jimmy took charge of the two barbecues and cooked everything to perfection including steak, sausages, veggie kebabs and burgers.

A great night was had by all and although it was not a fundraising night there was an excess of £289 deposited to our charity account. 

2022 STEM Technology Tournament

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The 2022 Rotary Technology Tournament saw eight teams of young people put their technology skills to use to create a vehicle powered only by weight.

The event, organised by the Rotary Club of Coleraine, was held on 7 April at Agherton Church Hall in Portstewart. The competition saw girls and boys from Coleraine College and Coleraine Grammar School take part in the day-long event.

The teams of four had to use their engineering and technology skills to design and build a vehicle from material provided for the purpose. The finished articles, powered solely by weight, had then to make their way along a specially designed test track and raise a flag in the process – a challenging task indeed.

The judges had a difficult job assessing the excellent work carried out by the teams. The judges were Tom Keane from Sentinus, who provided Certificates and display boards, Norman Malcolmson, Allprint Design and Print Ltd, Alix Humphrey, principal development engineer at CDEnviro and Milne Rowntree from the Rotary Club of Coleraine.

The winners at Foundation Level, Year 10, were: First place, Coleraine Grammar School Team 1, Second place Coleraine College Team 3.

The winners at Intermediate Level, Year 11, were: Coleraine College.

The winners at Advanced Level, Year 13, were: Coleraine Grammar School.

The overall winners of the event were Coleraine Grammar School, Advanced level.

The prizes were presented by Alderman Norman Hillis and Coleraine Rotary vice-president Joan Breen. The Assistant District Governor of Rotary Ireland, Michael Fleming, also addressed the contestants.

Thanks go to the teachers and students from both schools, the Rotarians and friends who supported the event on the day and Sainsbury’s Coleraine for their kind support.

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Youth Leadership Competition

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Coleraine Area Final

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Rotary Club of Coleraine wishes to congratulate Loreto College pupil, Cora McEwan, on winning this year's Youth Leadership Competition for schools in the Coleraine area.

This year’s Rotary Ireland Youth Leadership competition included an indepth interview covering varied topics such as the Coronavirus Pandemic, COP26 Environmental Conference issues, and Post Brexit implications for N Ireland of the NI Protocol. Cora will progress to a Zone Final to compete against pupil candidates from across the whole of Ireland.

Mrs Cliodhna Rae, Rotary Club of Coleraine, presented the winning prize for Coleraine schools to Cora, and wished her well for the next stage of interviews. Also pictured is Mrs Oonagh McEwan, Head of Sixth Form, Loreto College, Coleraine.

TREE of MEMORIES Fundraiser for PROSTATE CANCER

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 Fundraiser held at the Tree of Memories collection point @ Sainsburys on 3rd, 10th and 17th December raised a total of: £2492.92

 

Thank you to everyone who contributed directly or indirectly.

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Rotary recently hosted Prof Joe O'Sullivan, world expert oncologist on prostate cancer who is developing new treatments to improve outcomes from all aspects of this disease. His talk was very informative and the main message is for men to get checked regularly and be open to discuss the issue of prostate cancer.

About 1 in 9 men in NI will get prostate cancer in their lifetime. Prostate cancer mainly affects men over 50, and the risk increases with age.

Detection early is the lifesaver.

Rotary Tree Planting at Care Homes - 23 September 2021

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Final Tree Planting took place  22 & 29 November 2021 (Madelayne Court and Ratheane Care Homes

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The Rotary Club of Coleraine is committed to Environmental Projects and especially those that benefit our local communities.

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Our project was to plant a tree in the garden of our local Care Homes – in memory of any residents or staff who have passed away due to Covid and also to thank all the staff for all their work throughout the Covid pandemic.

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All the trees were carefully selected after liaising with each individual Care Home as to their specific needs relating to the choice of location, shape of the tree and any other individual requirements.

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The trees were paid for by a Rotary Grant applied for by The Rotary Club of Coleraine and each tree was planted by the Rotary Club members. Each memorial plague placed with every tree was kindly donated by Hugh Wade & Son Funeral Directors and each Rotary insignia was donated by Steve Gill of DPCNC Solutions.

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Cottage Nursing Home:

‘In memory of the residents in our care who lost their lives during the Covid 19 pandemic and in honour of our staff who stayed grounded and kept going throughout’

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Brookmount Nursing Home:

‘In thanks to all staff who worked throughout the Covid pandemic’

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The Rotary Club of Coleraine members:

Graeme Strachan – Rotary President

Terry Waide

Ray Robinson

Karen Sloan

Loretto Blackwood

Cliodhna Rae

NEPAL  - WINE TO WATER Project

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3 November 2021 - Binod visit to  Limavady

 

Big Welcome from Coleraine, Limavady and Londonderry Rotary Clubs to Binod and his family on their visit to Northern Ireland and dined the the Moonlight Indian Restaurant in Limavady.

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Coleraine, Londonderry & Limavady Rotary Clubs, working alongside the Rotary Club of Narayangarth & the N.G.O. “Wine to Water” (www.winetowater.org), are transforming the lives of 124 households in the village of Amarauli, Nepal. Phase 1 of the project is underway and this has been financed by cash input from our Clubs & massive financial support from The Rotary Foundation!

 

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Click Lottery Ticket for Winner's Page

 

LOTTERY - FUNDRAISING for LOCAL GOOD CAUSES

 

Over the last 18 months the Rotary Club of Coleraine provided significant financial support to the following:

 

- Air Ambulance Norther Ireland

- Community Rescue Service

- The Salvation Army

- St Vincent de Paul

- Oasis - Caring in Action

- Causeway Foodbank

 

We would like very much to continue to support local Charities and Good Causes but our fundraising has been curtailed by Covid-19. We are now organising a LOTTERY as a Covid safe fundraising effort and we are asking for help from the public. Our lottery tickets cost £20 each for entry into 12 monthly draws, first draw in July 2021. Each monthly prize will be a minimum of £70.

 

If you would like to help support our Local charities and Good Causes by buying a lottery ticket please contact:

 

Karen: 077 38 11 11 30 or Terry: 079 25 80 81 16 or

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1 JANAURY 2021 - Happy 2021 to EVERYONE

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https://www.colerainerotary.org/news

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Thursday 31 December 2020 - Total Raised    £13,000

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AIR AMBULANCE NORTHERN IRELAND

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Rotary Fundraiser - amazing TOTAL raised is now £13,000 (including Gift Aid) for AANI on JustGiving and the Spin Club Challenge collection - enormous thanks to all those who so generously gave to this worthwhile cause. Overwhelmed by your generosity.

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AIR AMBULANCE NORTHERN IRELAND

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https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/aanispin

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"KEEP IT FLYING"

Today AANI had to rescue a man who collapsed in the Mourne Mountains -

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2020 Technology Tournament

March 03, 2020

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Tuesday  3rd March saw the 4th Rotary Technology Tournament get under way at Loreto College. Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Coleraine teams from Loreto, Coleraine College, Dominican College and Coleraine Grammar took part. 15 teams in all entered.

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In teams of four the students had to build an advertising billboard with a flashing light.  The light had to flash at a particular frequency depending on the ages of the competitors. 

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The students took to the task with great enthusiasm and produced some great  creative results over the day.