French-themed Rotary night boosts Shrewsbury Hospital garden appeal
Rotary raise £200 at recent event.
A Shropshire Rotary Club’s unique French evening in the setting of a local college restaurant has raised a further £200 towards a Critical Care and Oncology Garden on the new wing of the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.
The fundraising French evening was the brainchild of Rotarian Joycelin Hoyland, one of Shrewsbury Severn Rotary Club’s newest members, and was held in the Origins Restaurant at Shrewsbury Colleges Group where she is Chair of Governors.
Sixty Rotary members and guests attended the event and heard from club president Johnathan Callwood that £11,000 has already been raised towards the Critical Care and Oncology Garden project.
He told visitors: “This is the largest project I believe the club has undertaken in its 40-year history and will reflect the generosity of our corporate sponsors and our members selfless dedication to making the world a better place.
“Mike Russell, our garden designer, has gone above and beyond to create this beautiful garden. As a result, we have the drawings and design agreed by the staff, health and safety executive, fire and contractors at the hospital and we will now be moving to the next stage of this exciting project.”
He told the audience that the club’s involvement with the college has just begun and he foresaw ‘huge opportunities and positive future experiences’ for students.
He added: “We are planning an amazing new project which will be rolled out over the next few years with an aim to pass experience and knowledge by bridging the generational gap with young and old in a supporting and quite unique 21st century way.”
The president made specific mention of what he described as the ‘amazing kindness’ of local people and organisations who have helped the club in so many ways.
He thanked Furrows and Hatfields who both lent vehicles to tow the Santa Sleigh during the club’s successful 2025 Christmas campaign.
Whatman Worth had created the club’s new website and were now working on Shrewsbury Severn Rotary’s new Tree of Light fundraising page. Berwick House had held a fundraising event free of charge and as a result Rotary raised £1,000 which he described as an ‘amazing amount.’
Dyke Yaxley, who for many years had helped Shrewsbury Severn Rotary with their Tree of Light campaign, provided the means for the club to raise on average £6,000 a year during the busy traditional fundraising Christmas period.
Said the club’s French evening organiser Rotarian Joycelin Hoyland: “It was a wonderful evening, the sun shone, and the college’s level 2 and 3 students created a wonderful meal and served it impeccably.
“Rotarian John Yeomans introduced the winners of the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards competition and gave an overview of what RYLA is about.”
Anyone wishing to know more about Shrewsbury Severn Rotary Club can contact [email protected] or [email protected].