West Kirby Rotary Club marks World Polio Day, 24th October 2025
West Kirby Rotary Club will be one of thousands of Rotary clubs across the world taking action on World Polio Day to raise awareness, funds and support to end polio. This vaccine preventable disease still threatens children in parts of the world today.
One of our members, Angela Macaulay, has written an article for Rotary that we would like to share with you.
Leila Goodchild, Joint President of West Kirby Rotary Club commented, “We’re proud to be marking World Polio Day locally and recognising the work of Rotary and our partners and the millions of people involved in so many ways in the fight for a polio free world. Only together can we end polio, a virus that is still potentially just a plane ride away.”
Please visit our “Press Releases and Articles” page to read the full article.
****UPDATE – We raised over £2750 for PROSTATE CANCER UK – what a brilliant effort from everyone concerned. Thank you all so much for your hard work and all the donations received – UPDATE****
Join us on Saturday 21 June from 9.00am at West Kirby Concourse if you can, use your own static bikes at home or go for a real ride
Prostate Cancer is the most common form of cancer for men in the UK and it’s not surprising that most of us know someone who has suffered or is suffering from it. In the absence of a national screening programme, essential early diagnosis is frequently missed.
So, how’s your cycling? We need you and your bike (exercise or otherwise) as once again, West Kirby Rotary Club is fundraising for PROSTATE CANCER UK, and we would really appreciate your support. We are running a hybrid cycling event (and we’d love you to join in) using our road and exercise bikes to cycle ‘virtually’ between 7 key North West Cancer Centres on Saturday 21st June 2025. The route is – Countess of Chester, Clatterbridge, Arrowe Park, Royal Liverpool, Christies (Manchester) & back to Broadgreen. This will be a minimum of 170.6km between us, although with support of family, friends and fellow Rotarians we hope to clock up many more beating last year’s total of around 400Km. If you’re able to take part remotely on the day or in the week before or following, just record your mileage (or should that be kilometrage?), tag West Kirby Rotary on Facebook, Instagram or X with the distance travelled and we’ll add it all together for a final total. Photos are very welcome. Persuade your family and friends to join in too and donate or sponsor you.
Last year we raised over £1500 (including Gift Aid) and it would be wonderful to beat that this year.
As in previous years, the local sports centre in West Kirby is supplying us with outdoor static biking facilities so you can come along to the West Kirby Concourse Sports Centre from 9.00am on Saturday 21st June 2025 where West Kirby Rotary Club will kick off the cycling event on two static bikes, outside but under cover, pedalling away in relay, with the distance ridden indicated on our “laser display board”. Unfortunately, Cycle Team GB won’t be there but you don’t have to be an Olympic cyclist to take part and we’ve had all ages and abilities pedalling in previous years as part of the overall effort. Please come along on the day to support if you can.
We’re also urging people to get on their own dynamic bikes and under their own steam (and responsibility), to pedal away on a real unsupervised ride wherever they choose in the fresh air, weather and muscles permitting. If you’d rather use your own exercise bike and get sweaty in front of the telly or in the garden, that’s good too. Please post on Facebook with the distance travelled to be added to the total (photos also welcomed!).
A suggested donation for riders of £5 per adult and £2 per child would be great, but any support /sponsorship / donations would be welcome – maybe get your family and friends to sponsor you as well. We did think about a suggested donation per kilometre cycled but concluded that this would probably be counter-productive.
ALL sponsorship will go to Prostate Cancer UK who have a simple ambition – to stop men dying from prostate cancer. Through shifting the science over the next 10 years to focus on radical improvements in diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and support, we will stop prostate cancer being a killer. You can donate to our JustGiving page by clicking here:
Easter Egg collection, Rotary Ride, Wirral Coastal Walk & Art Exhibition
We’re already planning our 2025 diary so here are a few things to look forward to.
In the next couple of months we are planning litter picks around West Kirby, bag pack & collection at Morrisons, an Easter Egg collection again for a local Women and Children’s refuge – donations gratefully received – and a couple of other activities to be finalised alongside our regular events – see our Diary 2025 page.
As in previous years, West Kirby Rotary Club members will be doing their bit to raise money for Prostate Cancer UK in support of prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment. Last year we raised over £1500 thanks to your support. We hope that this year’s event will take place towards the end of June at the West Kirby Concourse Sports Centre.
The Wirral Coastal Walk will be in early July this year and we will be covering the King’s Gap checkpoint.
The very successful annual Art Exhibition at the Floral Pavilion in New Brighton will be held in August and we will be assisting again. Over 300 paintings by local artists will be on display and available to purchase. Free admission and free catalogue.
Later in the year Earthfest (early September), Who on the Wirral 2025 (late September) and our Annual Quiz (mid October) are all planned – dates and details to be confirmed.
We are grateful for all your support and hope you will continue to contribute to our efforts. Thank you.
Annual Quiz, Rotary Ride, Earthfest, Calendar, Charter Night, Christmas Fair & Panto time
We were left a little breathless after events piled up in September but kept on going. We couldn’t believe how quickly they came and went.
Our popular Annual Quiz this year was on Saturday September 7th – a fun packed evening of celebration and brain teasers at Westbourne Hall Community Centre. We raised over £600 for local visually impaired charities and Clatterbridge Cancer Centre.
As in previous years, West Kirby Rotary Club did their bit to raise over £1500 for Prostate Cancer UK in support of prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment thanks to your support. On Saturday 21st September with the help of the West Kirby Concourse Sports Centre we pedalled our way to over 200km on the static bikes that they had so generously provided for us.
We lent our support on Saturday 28th September to Wirral Earthfest at St Bridget’s Centre by manning the cafe and raising over £400 for St Bridgets and local visually impaired charities along the way.
Our 2025 charity calendar – “Our Picturesque Peninsular” proved to be a popular seller and has raised over £1700 so far. Our president Tim, a local artist with visual impairment, created this for us to raise funds for local charities that support the visually impaired. Our 2026 calendar is already underway!
In November we celebrated our 10th birthday with a lovely meal at Forza, accompanied by Rotarians from other clubs in the district. One of our founder club members, Beth, is our District Governor this year and she was able to surprise another of our members, Betty, with the Paul Harris Fellow award for her voluntary works throughout the community.
Taking part in West Kirby Sailing Club’s Christmas Fair in November was a real pleasure and we raised around £150 – an unexpected bonus.
And last, but certainly not least, sneaking into 2025 (only just!) we had a club meal at Figo’s followed by a trip to the West Kirby Community Theatre Panto, Robin Hood, at Westbourne Hall – oh yes we did! This was a fun and laughter filled evening with fabulous frocks – oh yes they were. Local charities will benefit from the bucket collection taken at the end of the performances.
Phew indeed and roll on 2025. We are already planning for repeats of these and other events – watch this space and thank you all for your support.
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West Kirby Rotary 