A helping hand from Rotary
A new Rotary fund that gives financial help to local groups and individuals is now up and running in Whitchurch.
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The ‘Helping Hands’ project has been set up to help people and projects that are facing immediate needs or challenges.
Grants could support an individual or group that needs help... or kickstart a small initiative that could make a real community difference in the town.
Application details, offering choices of online, email or paper forms, are now on the Whitchurch Rotary website - whitchurchrotary.org.uk
“Our aim is to move quickly, make fast decisions and then give the grant within three days while the need is at its greatest,” says Whitchurch Rotary’s community chair Andy Danton.
“There might be other ways of getting money but it often takes too long and damage is already done before it arrives. In that time a health emergency, a struggling project, or a personal crisis has taken its toll. We want ‘Helping Hands’ to be there, with rapid financial assistance, when it’s most needed – not weeks later.”
Typical uses could be to help cover the cost of a new school uniform, to overcome a health problem, to meet the cost of visiting someone in hospital if there is no access to a car, or launching a small-scale local community project that promises lasting benefits.
“There obviously has to be conditions,” adds Andy Danton. “For instance, we can’t give money to a profit-making venture or a large-scale project that requires long-term funding. We couldn’t support something that might endanger health and wellbeing. And because Rotary is not a political or religious organisation, we couldn’t support either of those areas. We’re looking more at charitable or community projects or for personal need.”
