June 2011 update:

The Rotary Club of Inverkeithing and Dalgety Bay continues to enjoy a healthy membership and a full and active programme of events. The Club raises around £20,000 each year through its various fund raising activities. These include a very well supported and enjoyable annual music concert organised jointly with Inverkeithing High School, a charity golf day at Aberdour Golf Club and an annual sponsored walk in September from the Ballast Bank in Inverkeithing to the Silver Sands in Aberdour. Other ad hoc fundraising events include race or casino nights, coffee mornings and sales of work, grand raffles and collections at local supermarkets. The Club is appreciative of the support it receives from the local communities in Inverkeithing, Rosyth, North Queensferry, Dalgety Bay and Aberdour.

But what happens to the funds the Club raises? In recent months we have provided shelter boxes (which provide emergency accommodation for families affected by natural disasters) and water purification systems to communities affected by earthquakes in Haiti and Pakistan, funding in support of a clean drinking water supply in Engongolweni in Malawi and a very substantial contribution to Rotary International's major initiative to End Polio Now - a campaign to eradicate polio from the four countries - Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and Nigeria - where it remains endemic. Nearer to home we have provided financial support to MacMillan Cancer Care, to Maggies Centres in Kirkcaldy and Edinburgh, to Piggy Bank Kids, the charity chaired by Sarah Brown that provides practical support to vulnerable new born children, and to Fife SANDS, the stillbirth and neonatal death charity which supports families that have suffered the death of a baby in pregnancy or soon after birth. The Club also supports local care centres in Inverkeithing, Dalgety Bay and Aberdour.

A particular feature of the Club is its very strong relationship with Inverkeithing High School and a number of primary schools in the area. In addition to the High School concert mentioned above the Club is involved with the school in various ways. Each year it sponsors two High School students to attend the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards camp at the Nethybridge Outdoor Centre in Speyside. These camps (accommodation is actually in modern dormitories) combine a week of challenging and rewarding outdoor activities with team building activities and motivational talks. The Rotary Club has sponsored more than 60 High School students at these camps over the last 60 years. Other school activities include a Young Chef competition, a recently established Young Musician competition and an annual primary school quiz in which local primary schools have often been very successful.

The Club was formed in 1974 and currently has over 40 members. There are over 1800 Rotary Clubs in Great Britain and Ireland with 57,000 members. The main objective of Rotary is ''service'' - in the local community and worldwide. Rotary Club members build goodwill and peace, provide humanitarian service and encourage high ethical standards in all vocations. The Rotary motto is ''Service Above Self''.

The Club meets weekly, on Wednesdays at 12.30 in the Queensferry Hotel, North Queensferry. Lunch is usually followed by a speaker and meetings finish at 14.00.

The Club is always looking for enthusiastic new members of both sexes so, if you are interested in joining or would like to know more get in touch with our secretary John Curtis on 01383 860228.