An organisation that helps athletes who cannot run independently will benefit from a Rotary Club golf day taking place next week.

The Rotary Club of Leytonstone and Woodford President's Golf Day is taking place on September 9 at Chigwell Golf Club and money raised will go to East London RaceRunning.

RaceRunning is a relatively new sport for children, young people and adults who cannot run independently and rely on support aids for mobility and balance.

The RaceRunner is a three-wheeled frame which supports the athlete’s body, enabling the athlete to propel the frame with their feet and steer using their hands.

The club was very pleased to support East London RaceRunning in the purchase of their first three-wheeled frame and to continue this support this year.

For further details about the golf day, contact John Bracken 07711 415 771 or email jembracken@gmail.com.

East London and West Essex Guardian Series:

Haven House's Ginny Donnelly receives a cheque from Peter Jaques accompanied by fellow club members

The club held a virtual Festival of Music in aid of Haven House Children's Hospice and Chigwell Riding Trust.

Haven House was founded in the early 1990s to provide care and support to life-limited children and their families at no cost to them.

Chigwell Riding Trust was the first ever riding centre for people with special needs, and provides riding instruction to people of all ages and abilities.

Club member Grahame Williams brought together, by video on the Zoom platform, an array of artistes which included Jenny Ewington and Modality Choirs, club member Ronald Burton, Joshua Lord, Caitlin Downie, Ken and Rachel Bartels, Niall Weir and Phoebe-Jane Weir, accompanied at the piano by Colin Sell, the much-maligned pianist on I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue. The performances ranged from the classical to the popular.

The Lambourne End Centre is a centre for outdoor learning. Their aim is to inspire, particularly young people, to make a positive contribution to the community and also to themselves. The club has provided funds for the provision of a beehive.

For a number of years the club has supported, in a variety of ways, St John’s RC School, which is a special school for those aged between five and 19 who have, amongst other things, moderate to severe learning difficulties, autistic spectrum disorder and speech, language and communication difficulties. The school undertook a project to provide a new garden, which the club was able to fund for them.

Despite all the restrictions placed upon our activities the club gained a Presidential Citation for the year 2020/2021.

The citation is awarded to clubs who achieve a set of targets, these being set by each year’s Rotary International’s President.

The club has continued to hold a weekly meeting on the Zoom platform. Guest speakers have included Mark Wasilewski, manager of Royal Parks, who gave an insight into St James’s Park, Theo Sergiou, who gained the Rotary Young Citizen award in 2020, Stephen Wells on the story of Butlin’s holiday camps and Gabriele Canavan, Rotary Global scholar from Texas.

To find out more about the club, visit www.rotaryleytonstonewoodford.org or call Esther on 020 3597 2921.