Ballymoney Rotary plant 5,000 purple crocuses to celebrate World Polio Day

On Monday 24th October 2015 Ballymoney Rotary joined with Ballymoney & District Gardening Club, U3A & Inner Wheel and planted 5,000 purple crocuses to celebrate World Polio Day at the verge adjacent to St. James, Newbridge & Portrush Road.

Richard Orr, President of Ballymoney Rotary Club said "For over 30 years Rotary has been working hard to rid the world of polio. We are closer than ever to wiping out this terrible disease that can kill or severely disable children".

The purple crocus is a symbol of Rotary’s worldwide campaign to eradicate polio, with its colour representing the purple dye used to mark the finger of a child who has been immunised. Rotary clubs in the Great Britain & Ireland will be planting over six million purple crocuses this year as part of it's Purple4Polio partnership project with the Royal Horticultural Society.

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Mayor, Councillor Joan Baird presented the Rotary Club “300” Cash Awards to local & community groups on Wednesday 21st at St. Patricks Old School House. This was her first official visit to Ballymoney.

Richard Orr, President of the club stated “I am delighted that Joan was able to attend and hear about what is happening in our community. The awards reflect the generosity of the people of Ballymoney who funded this new project from donation’s at our Charity Breakfast. We want to make a difference to our local community by supporting local groups“

The mayor congratulated groups from Ballymoney, Cloughmills, Dunloy & Dervock on their awards and the important work they do in their communities.

The Community “300” Cash Awards is a new project for the Rotary Club of Ballymoney. We invited local community groups to apply for a small grant of up to £300 that would help support new and existing projects in their community.This was funded from donations from our charity breakfast earlier this year. The aim is to support community based projects that demonstrate a real benefit to our community.

This year we are able to donate nearly £2,000 in total to the following:

Cloughmills Community Action Team “John Muir Award”

This will help 8 young people of mixed religions take part in the John Muir Award which is a recognised award across the UK. It will be delivered on site to a new intake of young people not previously involved in their activities

Dunloy Development Association “Active G3 Lunching Together”

This will help expand their luncheon club which provides older people with a healthy meal and reduces loneliness

Cloughmills Golden Oldies “Tastes better eating together”

They provide opportunity for personal and social development for older people. The award will go towards covering the cost of food for dinners in July & August

Cheers Youth Centre “25th Anniversary

Cheers seeks to engage with local young people enabling them to make better life choices. This is their 25th anniversary. The award will go towards continuing existing projects.

Ballymoney CAP (Christians Against Poverty) “CAP Lifeskills”

CAP provides free debt advice and counselling for clients who find themselves in financial distress. The award will go towards CAP Lifeskills, an 8 week programme teaching how to manage and make the best of peoples finances.

Dervock & District Community Association “Patching up Community Partnerships”

This award will help target under represented, marginalised people (women & youth) by facilitating workshops, talks/discussion groups.

Whizz kidz “ NI Ambassador Club”

This is a charity dedicated to improving the lives of disabled children and their families in local communities. The have groups in Belfast and Derry. The award will be used to facilitate an awareness meeting in the Ballymoney area.

Our Rotary Club supports a number of local and international communities in a number of different ways and a donation was also presented to St Vincent de Paul.

Our next major fundraising project will be our Dragon Boat Challenge on 9th September 2017

Ballymoney Rotary Community “300” Cash Awards

Presentation of Awards 21st June 2017

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Richard Orr (immediate past president) of Ballymoney Rotary Club presents David McKeown with a sponsorship cheque for Coleraine and District Samaritans. David is taking part in the Prudential Ride London 100, the cycling equivalent of the London Marathon at the end of July.

He is raising much needed funds to help Coleraine Samaritans continue to deliver their service. More details about Samaritans and David’s bike ride can be seen at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fund/coleraineanddistrictsamaritans

Picture L-R Jimmy Dunlop, John Flynn (President), David McKeown, Richard Orr (immediate Past President).

David McKeown

Rotary Scholar Kristina McLaughlin visited our club on Wednesday 26th July 2017. The members enjoyed hearing about Kristina’s experiences as a Rotary Scholar. Kristina enjoyed her visit to Dunluce Castle accompanied by President John Flynn and past presidents John McMenamin & Dr Robbie Barr

We are seeking new members and supporters. We have fun working together and making things happen. We have a structure that focuses on action and positive results.

We are MEN and WOMEN of all ages who are keen to use our skills and resources to help others.

Together, we empower youth, improve health, promote peace and advance our communities in all corners of the globe. With 1.2 million members in 34,000 clubs worldwide, our global communities’ impact has never been greater – and it continues to grow.

Our Club

We meet weekly at varied times and locations detailed on our website – www.ballymoneyrotary.org

We often have a speaker on topics relevant to our community.

We also have regular social activities including dinners, walks, trips to regional places of interest and theatre outings and golf.

Our Projects

We work on a number of projects relevant to our local or international communities. Over the years we have donated thousands of pounds to help support individuals and communities.

In the last 2 years we supported the following projects or organisations:

Tree of Remembrance Campaign December 2017

Rotary President John Flynn with Black Santa Liam Beckett MBE

Past President Dr Robert Barr with champion boxer Carl Frampton

Thursday 10 May saw a group of 100 people attend Ballymoney Rotary Club’s first Business Breakfast held in St Patrick’s Parish Centre in the town. Following a sumptuous breakfast the attendees were enthralled by a short talk delivered by Ken Belshaw, Founder and Director of Grafton Recruitment. He regaled the audience with stories from his early days in employment and the factors and indeed chance encounters leading up to the establishment and growth of Grafton Recruitment. He concluded by sharing a few key take-home messages useful to anyone dealing in an environment involving people.

During the presentation you could have heard a pin drop. The audience were left wanting more but sadly the daily pressures of the work place had to be acknowledged.

The event was hugely successful in terms of interest from the local business community. The fact that the event was generously sponsored by O’Neills Caravans meant that all the proceeds and donations received would be used by Ballymoney Rotary Club to support its numerous charities.

Business Breakfast - May 2018

September 2018

The Rotary Club flower display at Meetinghouse Street, Ballymoney is looking well

Dragons were reported on the River Bann on Saturday 8th September 2018 or rather dragon boats as Ballymoney Rotary Club held its second annual Dragon Boats event. Television cameras were even there to record the reappearance of the dragons. BBC NI were there to record the participation of the Moycraig Young Farmers team as part of the BBC Home Ground rural affairs series.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS OF THE DRAGON BOAT CHALLENGE 2018

After the event Ballymoney Rotary Club were pleased to report that similar to last year all the teams participating had raised over £5000 for a variety of charities.

Ballymoney Rotary Club is indebted to the many sponsors who ensured the success of the Dragon Boat event. These include Knockanboy Vets, Riada Vets, Bayview Hotel, John Steele Farm Supplies, Chestnutt Mills, DJM Robinson & Sons, O’Neill’s Caravan Sales and Distributors, Old Market Vans, Manor Architects, John W Pinkerton & Sons Solicitors, Greer Hamilton & Gailey Solicitors, Sam Moore, Indigo Jewellers, McAfee Properties, Dervock Community Group, Ballymoney Kyoujin BJJ, La Petite Baguette, Causeway Coast & Glens Council, Culbertson Music Coleraine,  Bryson Lagan Sports and BBC Home Ground – Below the Radar.

In addition to the above teams, also taking part in the event were Ballymoney Inner Wheel, the Samaritans, Christians Against Poverty, The Bravehearts, Ballymoney Kyoujin BJJ, Mossiders, Ballycastle Buccaneers, Kilraughts Young Farmers, Limavady Grammar, Payescape, JKC, John Laverty Opticians, Forge PT and Ballymoney Rotary Club. There was a wide variety of ages and backgrounds but everyone had one thing it common, they all had fun raising money for good causes.

Ballymoney Rotary Club Dragon Boat Event 2018

Photo: Preparing for the event

Rotary International funding of over US$1.2 billion means that Poliomyelitis may soon become only the second disease ever to be totally eradicated following a worldwide vaccination campaign, smallpox being the only other fully eradicated disease.

In UK and Europe we take for granted the childhood Polio vaccination drops given to protect our children and general population. There are still many people in our communities who suffer from continuing lifelong disabilities due to Polio illness contracted mainly before the development of Polio vaccination in the late 1950’s.

In 1916 a single outbreak of Polio in New York City resulted in over 2,000 deaths. Rotary International commenced funding a worldwide vaccination programme in 1979. 30 years ago there were still 350,000 cases of Polio reported in 125 countries worldwide.

PRESENTLY there have been only 20 CASES of Polio infection reported last year in ONLY 3 COUNTRIES. This massive reduction has been due to the Global Polio Eradication Campaign sponsored by Rotary Clubs worldwide and assisted by the World Health Organisation. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has made a major contribution to funding by promising to donate £2 for every £1 raised by our Clubs.

Ballymoney Rotary Club has made it one of their main targets this year to support the END POLIO NOW campaign. We wish to thank all those members of the public who have supported our fundraising projects so far this year.

BALLYMONEY ROTARY CLUB MARKS WORLD POLIO DAY 24TH OCTOBER 2018

Ballymoney Rotary Club recently held the local heat of this year’s annual Youth Leadership Development Competition. This competition rewards young people with clear leadership potential demonstrated by their extra-curricular activities and interview skills.

 Following an interview process locally, winners go through to regional heats and the final 24 successful students meet with local politicians and business leaders and travel to Dublin for further meetings with leaders before travelling to the European Parliament in Strasbourg to debate a variety of motions at Euroscola.

As always the standard was very high. The winner of this year’s local heat is Mark Crawford from Dalriada School and the runner up Lucy Mitchell from Ballymoney High School. Mark now goes through to the regional heat taking place in Coleraine later this month.

Ballymoney Rotary Club Youth Leadership Development Competition

John Flynn, President Ballymoney Rotary Club, Audrey Shields, President of Ballymoney Inner Wheel, competition winner Mark Crawford, Nicola Johnston (Dalriada School),  Lucy Mitchell (runner up) and Richard Hargy, Ballymoney High School.

Ballymoney winner Mark Crawford with John Flynn, President Rotary Club of Ballymoney

David McKeown of Ballymoney Rotary Club Presents a £500 Rotary Club cheque on behalf of the club to Gareth Barton, one of the transatlantic rowers who completed the arduous Talisker Atlantic Challenge.

In the Home to Portrush boat, 7 metres long and just under 2 metres wide, the four man team was the only Northern Ireland team to enter and complete the world’s toughest rowing race and completed it in a world record equalling time of 31 days, 8 hours and 57 minutes.

Rotary club members were delighted to be able to boost the funds  helping the rowers raise in excess of £30,000 to assist the RNLI, Willie’s Orphan Fund and Row for Ross.

Ballymoney Rotary Club boosts funds for to Home to Portrush charities

On what was a very successful day seventeen teams competed leading up to a successful final between the Roseyard Rockets and the Finvoy Young Farmers with Finvoy securing victory.

Previous Events

Indoors, a courtroom drama was performed by members of the Rotary Club, PSNI Officer and the pupil actor arrested at the crash scene outlining the court proceedings that would follow from the mock accident witnessed outdoors. The audience was very seriously attentive to the possible outcomes that might follow in Court and ultimately Crown Court proceedings.

A panel from the Emergency Services then answered very well constructed questions from pupil representatives.  A very large proportion of accidents affect young people in 16-24 age group, particularly young male drivers. The main causes of road accidents are SPEED, INATTENTION, MOBILE PHONES, ALCOHOL OR DRUGS, and CARELESS DRIVING.

During the event there were 63 pairs of shoes displayed on the stage powerfully representing the number of lives lost on the road due to accidents in N Ireland during 2017.

Ballymoney Rotary Club would like to thank all those people who assisted in organising and contributing to this event: the three School Principals; teachers, caretaker, pupil ‘casualty victim’ actors; all the personnel from PSNI, Fire Service and Ambulance Service who took part in the outdoor mock accident event and also the important guests Mayor Joan Baird and Mervyn Storey MLA.

The overall aim of this event was to save JUST ONE LIFE.

Just One Life road safety event

Ballymoney Rotary Club sponsored a very successful Road

Safety Event ‘Just One Life’ on Wednesday 14th March 2018

and wishes to thank Dalriada School and staff for hosting this important event.  Approximately 280 pupils aged 16 years attended from Our Lady of Lourdes High, Ballymoney High and Dalriada Schools, accompanied by school principals and teachers. Causeway Coast and Glens Mayor Joan Baird and Mervyn Storey MLA attended and Mayor Joan emphasised the importance of learning road safety in her speech.

The ‘Just One Life’ Driver Awareness Programme for young

drivers is designed to emphasise the stark realities and often tragic results of inappropriate driving behaviours.

After an introduction by a Senior PSNI Inspector for

accident investigation, there was a dramatic outdoor demonstration showing a mock road accident scenario with a school pupil acting as driver illegally using a mobile phone whilst driving. Other pupils and a Rotarian acted as injured occupants, including one ‘fatality’.

A full commentary was provided as about 20 emergency services personnel from Police, Ambulance and Fire Brigade arrived and set about safely extracting the injured occupants from the vehicle. The ‘driver’ was ‘arrested’ at the scene and had to undergo ‘breathalyser’ procedure.

BALLYMONEY ROTARY CLUB – JUST ONE LIFE EVENT 27 MARCH 2019

Ballymoney Rotary Club sponsored their annual ‘Just One Life’ road safety event at Dalriada School on Wednesday 27th March. The Club wishes to thank Dalriada School, their Head Teacher and staff for hosting this event again this year. Over 300 pupils aged 16 years from all 3 Ballymoney secondary schools attended: Ballymoney High School, Our Lady of Lourdes School and Dalriada School. This group of pupils will soon have the opportunity of being new car drivers in the near future.

The main part of the event centred on an outdoor demonstration by all 3 Emergency Services and a Consultant Dr in Emergency Medicine who all demonstrated the rescue and emergency care of a mock accident involving 2 vehicles. Pupils from each school acted out the parts of a car driver driving dangerously and several accident victims, one of whom sustained serious life changing injuries as they had been a rear seat passenger not wearing a seat belt.

Ms Brenda Chivers, Mayor of Causeway Coast and Glens Council, then addressed all the pupils in the assembly hall and challenged the pupils to pay serious attention to road safety during their driving careers.

A short drama was then performed by members of the Rotary Club and a PSNI Officer which portrayed the legal proceedings and serious outcomes of a driver charged with dangerous driving.

Also on display were 55 pairs of shoes representing the 55 victims of road traffic accidents in 2018 who had died. The PSNI Traffic Branch Officer also pointed out that 14 people had already been killed on our roads this year from start of January 2019 compared to 9 deaths during the same period last year.

Several questions posed by representatives from all 3 schools were answered by a panel representing all 3 Emergency Services and the Consultant Dr in Emergency Medicine. All in attendance including pupils and staff were obviously challenged by the joint experiences of Emergency Staff dealing with past serious accident situations and paid attention to the various advices given for ensuring safety for vehicle occupants and pedestrians on our roads.

Ballymoney Rotary Club would like to thank all the pupils for attending and taking part, the Staff of each school for their organisation, Mayor Brenda Chivers of Causeway Coast and Glens Council, and all the representatives of the PSNI Traffic Branch, NI Ambulance Service, NI Fire and Rescue Service and Emergency Doctor who gave their valuable time and expert advice.

Congratulations to ‘Black Santa’ Liam Beckett who raised £12,500 during the week of 18th to 22nd December 2018. Ballymoney Rotary Club members were pleased to support him during his sit out and many personal messages were left for the Tree of Remembrance by those coming to support Liam.