Amazing donation for trip to Brownsea Island
With February’s Rotary Club of Grantham Swimarathon event a dim winter memory, we were delighted to be invited to join over one hundred volunteers from 30+ local groups, along with the Swimarathon’s generous corporate sponsors, to the annual Presentation Evening at Harlaxton Church.
In its 35th year, the RotarySwimarathon raises money for local charities and deserving causes in and around Grantham. From the first event in 1990 to the present day, the team has raised over £1 million for the local area, with some startling statistics:
· 6,400 teams
· 38,378 swimmers
· 761,000 lengths swum (that’s 11,000 (ish) miles…..
At this year’s Swimarathon 1st Caythorpe and Duke’s Covert Scout Group had 16 Cubs and Scouts in the water, a small percentage of the 1,392 swimmers who took part overall, and raised over £450 in sponsorship.
We subsequently applied to the Rotary team for funding towards our joint Summer Camp with 1st Foston Scout Group. This camp will see 51 Scouts and Explorers head to Dorset for an activity holiday of a lifetime. The list of activities on offer is too long to include here, however the highlight of the week, and the part we asked for financial help with, is a two-day expedition to Brownsea Island. This is the birthplace of Scouting, where Lord Baden-Powell took 20 boys to participate in an experimental project which led to the creation of Scouting back in 1907 https://www.scouts.org.uk/about-us/our-history/our-online-exhibitions/the-early-days-of-scouting/brownsea-island-trialling-scouting/
We were absolutely delighted to hear that the Rotary Club of Grantham Swimarathon has donated an amazing £1,300 toward our event, specifically to cover the cost of the ferry transport to the island and the costs of the camp while we’re there. This was beyond our wildest expectations and we’re thoroughly delighted with this generous gift. Thank you.
Watch this space for photos of our camp, especially as we trace our Founder’s footsteps, thanks to the RotarySwimarathon. [link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kY8szVPtN9I]
….Shall we book lanes again for 2025? Plus a ‘parents and leaders’ lane too…?
