Rotary in Harpenden – Service before Self

Harpenden

SUPPORTING THE LOCAL COMMUNITY

Rotary in Harpenden support local people of all ages by organising and running community events and activities, and raising funds for charitable purposes.

SEE WHAT WE DO

International

ROTARY’S IMPACT ABROAD

Rotary responds to natural disasters around the world with temporary shelters and access to potable water. We also fund health and education projects in developing countries.

Rotary’s campaign to rid the world of the debilitating disease polio reached another milestone when the World Health Organisation certified Africa as wild-polio free. Only in Pakistan and Afghanistan does the wild poliovirus remain endemic.

Connections

COMBINING OUR SKILLS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

With members from all walks of life, we meet regularly to talk, share ideas and develop events and opportunities to help our community.

BECOME A MEMBER

Latest News

Raising £130,000 for a Ugandan women’s hospital

How do you raise more than £130,000 to equip a Ugandan women’s medical centre with an operating theatre, transforming the centre into a fully-fledged hospital?

That was the task begun by Rotary in Harpenden under the leadership of Dr Jim McWhirter of the Reading Matins Rotary Club.

Donation for the President’s cause

Terry Heritage marks the end of her year as Rotary in Harpenden President by presenting a cheque for £5,000 to the staff of Harpenden Plus Partnership, her special cause during her presidential year.

Terry said: ’Our donation will be used to support the work of family counsellors and the purchase of training courses for families and children around behaviour and trauma. During my visit I heard the challenges that children and families are facing especially around socialisation following the Covid pandemic.’

‘The best ideas we have seen’

Pitching their business ideas to three Dragons, Year 6 at High Beeches Junior School excelled themselves.

All 60 children were invited to form teams to create businesses to be operated at an upcoming school event with parents. Rotary in Harpenden provided training together with seed corn money to get the teams started. We then arranged for the Dragons to put the children through their paces.

Young photographers’ stunning entries

The Harpenden heat of the 2024 to 2025 Rotary in Great Britain and Ireland Young Photographer Competition saw some excellent images from the young people of Harpenden. The theme of the competition was “Wonderful Water”.

The unenviable task of separating winners within the intermediate and senior entrants was kindly performed by Ali Asplin of Harpenden photographic Society.

A spectacle not to be missed

Wednesday 23rd July 2025 is the day Harpenden Common will come alive with 1000 classic cars, motorbikes and scooters for the 31st annual CLASSICS ON THE COMMON, organised by ROTARY IN HARPENDEN.

Entry is FREE for spectators but visitors to the show give generously to the bucket collections in aid of charity. More than £30,000 is raised regularly for national, local and children’s charities.

The show runs from 11.30am till dusk.

It’s a spectacle not to be missed.

Achievements Awarded

Eloise Starkey of Roundwood Park School and Aryan Pise of Sir John Lawes School are joint winners of this year’s Bill Hewetson Memorial Prize* and Rotary Young Citizen Award.

The awards recognise a young person’s achievements in the spirit of Rotary’s motto Service above Self and were created by Rotary to counter the negative impact of bad news about young people.

Harpenden Quiz of Quizzes
March

Young Citizen Award
May

Photography Competition
May

Dragons’ Den
June

Classics on the Common
23rd July

Friendship Boxes
October

Mock Interviews
November

Technology Tournament
November

Carol Concert
December

Harpenden

International

Connections