MONTHLY donations have been made by Pershore’s Rotarians to help organisations and individuals suffering hardship due to the impact of Covid-19.

The club decided to start the new programme of monthly donations after finding they were unable to raise funds in their usual way during lockdown.

Nominations were invited from community groups and organisations needing help with running costs and, with the help of the Volunteer Centre, several candidates were identified from June onwards. One of these was Pershore’s Riverside Centre, whose core activity is running drop-in sessions, activities and support for young people.

The Riverside Centre needed financial support to create a comfortable Community Room for these activities. 

Carol Christmas, Marketing Manager at the Riverside Centre, said: “Trustees had been talking about ways in which to open the Riverside Centre to a wider range of local groups, so this was an opportunity to create a comfortable Community Room.

“It is very clear that the negative impacts of lockdown, school closures, economic downturn, loss of apprenticeships and increasingly uncertain futures has adversely affected local young people, especially 16-26-year olds.

“With the prospect of long-term social distancing, we could not go back to youth club nights so needed more useable space to provide effective youth support. 

“Thanks to Rotary’s funding, the Community Room will be re-decorated, wired for workstations with laptops and good Wi-Fi, ready to install furniture in September.” 

Pershore Rotary’s Graham Avison has worked closely with Abi Wilks, the centre manager, and Bradley Edmunds, the lead youth worker, from the Riverside Centre over the past few months. In addition to the Riverside Centre, Pershore Rotary has made similar donations to Pinvin Federation Schools, Pershore Relief in Sickness, Abbey Park School Breakfast Club and the St Andrew’s Centre.

If you are interested in getting involved with Rotary in Pershore and making a difference in your community, contact Kit Carson at secretary.pershore@btinternet.com or on 07747 117624.