Rotary Club marks half a century of fellowship and fundraising

Local Rotarians gathered to reflect on half a century of fellowship and fundraising at a recent dinner to celebrate their club’s 50th anniversary.

Sparkbrook Rotary Club was first formed in 1973 as a Daughter Club of Birmingham Rotary Club and within a few months its numbers quickly grew.

By the middle of 1974 the club was all set to be given its Charter and Ernest Clews became the first president with the local vcar, Rev John Benardi, as vice-president.

Today, the small inner-city Rotary Club is the only one remaining in the south of Birmingham.

Members have since gone on to raise around £200,000 and have provided hands-on support to many dozens of local charities as well as humanitarian projects worldwide.

The club also recently sponsored the purchase of a goat for a village in Pakistan.

Ongoing philanthropic efforts have included everything from fundraising and summer fayres, food donations packed and delivered, a Christmas parcels project, day trips, sponsorships, exchanges, sporting competitions and organising the district’s Young Electronic Organist Competition.

Over the last two years the club has provided significant funding to assist the large number of Ukrainian refugees who have come into the area.

The club was renamed Moseley and Sparkbrook by the mid-1980s, to recognise the expanded territory it was serving and, following Rotary International’s decision at the Council on Legislation in 1989, to admit women, the club’s first female members joined in the following decade.

Current club president Laurence Taylor said: “I have a lot of memories of fun and fellowship during my 33 years in Rotary.

“But around 2012 we were only nine in number, a historical low in membership and seriously wondering whether we could continue functioning. 

“We decided we should leave a lasting legacy and made a donation to the National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas which enabled us to affix a plaque on Rotary Ridge, commemorating the 38 years of service by our members.

“Fortunately, in 2015 we were bolstered by the induction of three new members with new ideas, being my wife Gill, Sue Maskell and the late Pam Holt. They were active and committed and we were able to re-energise the Club and continue to deliver our projects.

“Gill even went on to become our first lady president in 2017-18 and has just completed the role a second time.

“Our two most recent members, Jon and Kim Meadows, are full of energy and enthusiasm, and Kim will be taking over as President next year.”

This year the club have committed to helping two local charities, The Jericho Foundation, a social enterprise charity based in Balsall Heath which provides work opportunities and individual support for people who have been marginalised because of disability or are survivors of modern slavery, and Spurgeons, which supports young carers in the family, based in Birmingham.

The club is run by a small group of loyal volunteers, including treasurer Ian Barnett secretary Jon Meadows, foundation officer Stewart Ross, vocational officer Barry Sullivan, speaker secretary Sue Maskell and 101-year-old Herbert Leiter who joined Rotary in 2008 at the age of 84.

Laurence added: “It has been great to have the opportunity to reflect on the 50 years of service given by Moseley & Sparkbrook Rotary Club to its local community and the wider world. It is also an opportunity to look forward to many more years of service by its dedicated members.”

Pictured: Herbert Leiter (aged 100) at Asda Tin Shake 2023 with longest serving member Hywel Williams