The Rotary Youth Centre, funded by Rotary’s Flood Relief Appeal, was officially opened at Hull KR Rugby League Team’s ground Craven Park recently.
The Centre, which will provide an informal, fun, enthusiastic environment in which to engage with young people and their families, was built as a result of an identified need within the community following the devastating floods in 2007.
The project was a three-way partnership between Hull KR – who donated an area under the East stand that was formerly housed the players gym – Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland (RIBI) who donated £115,000 to convert the redundant space, and the Hull KR Education and Sport Trust who will be responsible for the operational management of the centre.
The eight Hull and East Riding Rotary Clubs, supported by Rotary District 1270’s Flood Task Force, from RIBI’s 2007 Flood Relief Fund in February of this year jointly donated the £115,000, which is the largest donation made from these funds.
RIBI President, Ian Thomson explains: “This is a wonderful project and a testament to Rotary’s commitment to promoting the opportunities of young people.
“Rotary members worldwide are totally committed to the support of young people. It would be simplistic to say that ‘they are or future’ but without them we do not have a future. Today’s youth are tomorrow’s leaders and we feel it is so important to invest our time in their development. If you stop believing in young people, how can we expect them to believe in themselves?
“The floods were devastating for many, many people, but we should be proud of how our communities pulled together to support each other in troubled times. Rotary was founded on these principles of camaraderie and it is heart warming to know that community spirit is still alive and well.”
The opening event, which took place in June prior to the Hull KR v Harlequin Game, included healthy eating demonstrations within the Centre itself, a mini rugby competition on the main pitch as well as a brief presentation on the work of the Hull KR Education & Sport Trust.
Delighted to be asked to open the Centre, Hull KR and Rugby League legend Roger Millward MBE said he believed rugby clubs should contribute to their local communities, adding: “The rugby club is part of the community and the community is part of the rugby club. Our connections with our local Rotary Clubs have helped to provide this new facility for our young people – without the financial support of Rotary this facility would not be here”
Hull KR Chair, Neil Hudgell said “we are delighted to be working in partnership with Rotary to provide these much needed facilities. Rotary’s input and involvement is invaluable in helping to tackle local issues through the provision of this youth facility”
The activities provided will be from sport to ICT, construction to sexual awareness as well as basic life skills such as cooking and career advice. Through these activities young people and their families will be able to develop confidence to tackle some of the prominent socio-economic issues that directly affect them and their future ie: improving educational attainment and skills levels thereby improving employment opportunities and increasing emotional well being as a means of reducing crime/harm.
Hull KR Education & Sport Trust Chair, Mark Broadbent “The Centre will provide facilities to enable the trust to reach to so many more young people, giving us the opportunity to expand on the good work we already do within the community. It’s brilliant that we were successful in obtaining this funding working in partnership with Rotary”
In total Rotary’s Flood Relief Appeal has distributed £491,500 to 40 organisations and projects in the Hull and East Riding area, from books and computer equipment for schools to additional counselling support workers for the Council for Voluntary Service, from cleaning materials for affected buildings to replacing playground equipment.
District Governor, Mohammad Ali explains “After the June 2007 floods we, in Rotary District 1270, formed a Flood Relief Task Force. At that time we thought that we would be able to do a few projects to help the people in our District who were affected by the floods.
“To date we have supported over 70 community-based projects where the monetary contribution from Rotary is over £640,735, including a number of larger projects (like this one) which are not just restoring flood damage but providing long term boost to the lives of many young people.
“All these projects have hands on involvement of Rotarians. We also worked with local organisations to achieve great results. I am extremely proud of Rotary’s involvement and leadership provided in these flood relief projects."
14/07/09
