The Rotary Club of Douglas received its Charter from Rotary International in January 1924 and, since that time, has sought to be ‘a force for good in Douglas and the Isle of Man’.
The Club maintains an environmental sustainability policy, which aims to be at the centre of all its activities and decisions. Club members are encouraged to adopt the same principles in their private lives in order to make a positive environmental impact.
Through the Club’s charitable trust company, more than £35,000 is donated annually to local charities and organisations across a broad spectrum of activities such as Hospice, Sight Matters, Ellan Vannin Home, IOM Foodbank, Victim Support, Sailing for the Disabled, Beach Buddies, Crossroads Care and many others. These donations help to support organisations which are often a vital ‘safety net’ for parts of our Island community that Government or other central agencies are unable to help.
In addition to making direct financial contributions to local charitable organisations, since 2020 the Club has organised an annual Mini Parish Walk for Kids. This is held at the Arboretum in St John’s and attracts about 300 children each year to compete over a number of different courses through the ‘Parishes’ within the park. Children are encouraged to seek sponsorship for charities of their choice and it is estimated that more than £30,000 is raised each year for good causes.
In 1954 Rotary organised the first tour of Douglas by Santa on his sleigh in the weeks leading up to Christmas. This was immediately popular with the local community and Santa has continued to make calls on his sleigh, these days concentrating on visits to primary schools in Douglas, Onchan, Braddan and Marown.
The Schools’ Public Speaking Competitions were first held in 1962 and have continued every year since then, giving many hundreds of young people the opportunity to speak in front of an audience.
The Club supports the local community by organising such events as the annual commemoration service for the victims of the Winter Hill air disaster, helping the Foodbank with supermarket collections and providing funds to enable bodies such as the Douglas Town Band to continue to provide musical opportunities for young and old.
The Club recently engaged with the Western Civic Amenity Site to provide (free of charge) ‘Hot' compost bins to 26 of the Island’s primary schools. These bins will provide children the chance to see at first hand how the process works and, hopefully, teach them good recycling habits from an early age.
In celebration of its 100th anniversary in 2024, the Club entered into a partnership with Manx Wildlife Trust to create a new community amenity by developing the Hairpin Woodland Park. The Club has pledged to raise £100,000 to enable MWT to realise its dream of having a fully accessible, sustainable and environmentally diverse woodland in the north of the Island. When complete, more than 10,000 new trees will have been planted, new nature areas will have been created and the whole area’s biodiversity greatly enhanced. It will also be a place that will be good for people as well as nature.
The Rotary Club of Douglas continues to support the work of UNESCO Biosphere Isle of Man through its charitable giving and its community involvement and keeps in mind in all its activities the vital 5 'Es'.
