Rochdale Inner Wheel
Rochdale Inner Wheel club is a women's group and part of a global service organisation, whose objectives are:
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To promote true friendship
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To encourage the ideals of personal service
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To foster international understanding
Cllr Irene Davidson is the Inner Wheel President for 2024/2025.
Her main charity for this year is The Brain Tumour Charity. Whilst our International charity is The Purple Community Fund.
Secretary: Nichola Helliwell email: njh1963.nh44@gmail.com
What Does Our Club Do?
Promoting friendship is easy! We have our monthly meetings: dinner and a chance to chat. The first meeting of any year decides on the coming year's fund raising. Speakers may come from the chosen charities or be chosen by members. Each year, the President organises a trip for members and their friends. Annually, we have a dinner and social evening with members of Rotary and friends and a Christmas dinner for members. In March, we celebrate our Charter Anniversary.
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To encourage the ideal of personal service, we fundraise for local and national charities in the UK. To further international understanding we raise funds for overseas charities. Practically, we save stamps, knit baby clothes and blankets and make small knitted teddies. We donate items to fill school bags for children in Africa. In times of extreme need, we can dip into our funds to support relief efforts in e.g. drought or earthquake.
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Before Christmas each year we concentrate on planning, speaker meetings, including speakers from our focus charities and small fund raising events. The big stuff comes in the second half of our year (which runs from 1st July). Our Charter anniversary is in March with dinner with guests and a speaker. The main international fund raiser is in April. The biggest fund raiser is for the chosen national charity - lunch at the Bella Vista restaurant and a speaker. Past favourites have been Norman Prince, Edwina Currie and the Bar Wizards, This is always a sell out but the restaurant are very helpful with squeezing in an extra table when needed.
To see examples of what we have done in the past, click on the History button
Meeting Times
We meet every 4th Wednesday of the month for a meal followed by the formal meeting, including fund raising planning and often a speaker. 6.30pm for 7.00 pm at the Royal Toby, Manchester Road, Rochdale.
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There are four Executive meetings a year, a Charity Lunch held at the Bellavista restaurant, usually in May, and a monthly Book Club. We also hold various fundraising events throughout the year.
Who Can Join Us?
If you are female, interested in gaining new friends and enjoying the social side of our club while joining in our fund raising, we would love to meet you. Contact our Secretary for details of our next meeting.
How Does Inner Wheel Work?
The four levels of organisation sound very formal. In fact, from day to day what matters to club members is the business of their particular club and interactions with other local clubs.
International Inner Wheel is one of the world's biggest women's organisations with a conference every three years at which all countries are represented. Recent conferences have been in Sweden, New Zealand and Malaysia. Every club votes for international officers.
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National associations hold an annual conference each year to discuss how Inner Wheel works in their country.
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Each district has its own executive committee with regular meetings which all members of clubs in the district can attend to discuss local policy and vote in members. Rochdale Inner Wheel is part of District 128 which covers Oldham to Warrington. The districts elect members of the national association.
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The important bit: each club has its own executive committee recruited from the membership which can recommend activities for fund raising and social meetings. But the final decisions are made by the members.