Hello, my name is Val Depledge – current convenor of the U3A Writers’ Group and wife of River Dart Rotary President Alan Depledge.
I have been requested by River Dart Rotary to write a Newsletter. These ‘tales of the riverbank’ from our new group in Town, I hope will entertain and inform you. Initially published from time to time, the intention is to grow River Dart Reflections into a regular newsletter for all our members, friends and supporters.
Where it all started
To give you a brief outline, River Dart Rotary’s inception was on 5th March 2024 when it was chartered, with a small and informal ceremony at Bar 1620 where the camaraderie and excitement at this new venture were very much in the air. While initially short on funds to start with, the Band of Happy Rotarians was certainly not short on commitment and enthusiasm from the ten original members, who seeded the funds needed to help get things rolling. Since then the members have grown to seventeen, with a full waiting list and the hope that there may be twenty members by Christmas, but – like anything else worth waiting for – these things need time!
PROJECTS
With limited funds yet available, the ‘New Kids in Town’ have instead been focussing on offering services in the community whenever and wherever they can. The Team are also involved in projects dealing with aid for the Ukraine and also Physionet: collection and distribution of unwanted hospital equipment for use in other countries.
Since that very first day, the RDR Team has been constantly busy with various community projects, including the painting of corridors at the Townstal Community Hall with a promise to paint the Hall interior as soon as possible. There was also support early on to help the lovely people in Blackawton with their famous Worm Charming event in May.
Not to mention the success of the Dartmouth Weeding team whose numbers – like the weeds – are continuing to grow. Those hard working volunteers, led by Rotarians Jonathan Needs and second-in-command Paul Tann – are making a huge difference to the town and the feedback and appreciation they have received from locals is second to none – which makes it all very worthwhile and rewarding. It must be mentioned that the weeding team have received fantastic support from the community, not only from local artist Simon Drew, who has designed a logo for their T shirts, but with grants and support from the Town Council, SHDC, Dartmouth Green Partnership, and the new Chamber of Commerce
Plans are also afoot to help Blackawton villagers with their Fireworks party in November.
Our next big event will be the Tractors of Light parade in December as part of the Christmas activities planned for Dartmouth by the Chamber of Commerce. Plans are already well underway and we will bring you more info in the next edition of Reflections.
Fundraising
RDR held their first community fundraising event on August 17, The Summer Jamboree, and were delighted by the turnout of many happy shiny people enjoying the stalls, the live music, the BBQ, and of course the famous Tea Hut: home not only to the freshly-made sandwiches(thank you Sarah) but also the legendary home-baked cakes and pastries (thank you Ladies) which were selling all day long – well, like hot cakes…
President's Comment
I am delighted to add my comment to this first edition of Reflections and my hope that it will be the start of getting our message and purpose across to the local community.
We want to let you know what sort of things we are doing so that you can let us know where we might help next. It is also important that we try to encourage a stronger sense of civic pride in our beautiful community. That comes from having a tidy town where different groups and organisation come together to continually work to improve our situation. We all love this area and it is important that we strive to make it even more attractive to visitors, businesses and residents alike.
There will be a need for volunteers, usually for fun things to do. Maybe as a one off thing or from time to time, it doesn’t matter. Every little bit of support helps!
So if you feel like helping us in any of our projects just get in touch.
