Raising Funds for local & International charities

Project Report | Sep 28, 2026
Donations Made Since Our June Report

By Les Sheppard | Community Service Chairman, Billericay Rotary Club

Club members presenting the Air Ambulance cheque

Thank you once again for your continued support for this GlobalGiving project. It is one of the various ways we raise money for our Benevolent Fund, from which we are able to support deserving local, national and international causes.

Helped by the generosity of you, our GlobalGiving supporters, since our last report in June we have made the following donations from our Benevolent Fund:

£1,802 to the Rotary Foundation. This is Rotary's own charity, founded in 1917 “for the purpose of doing good in the world”. Since then the Foundation has spent more than $4 billion on life-changing, sustainable projects.
£500 to the Essex & Herts Air Ambulance, a charity that we have regularly supported over the years. Although it works closely with the NHS, it receives minimal government funding and is reliant upon donations and grants to fund its activities. The average cost of a call-out is about £2,800.
£250 to the Cater Museum, the museum of Billericay, which has recently undergone major repairs and reorganisation.
£1,000 to Médecins Sans Frontières in response to the Venezuelan earthquake.
£250 to BOSP (Brighter Opportunities for Special People). This local charity, based at Wat Tyler Country Park, aims to improve the lives of children and young people with complex disabilities or life-limiting conditions (and their families) by providing high-quality, fun, educational activities, support and respite care.
£600 to the Billericay 'Unite in Kindness' project, a local initiative, launched by the Billericay Dementia-Friendly Community, Kinder Essex and Quilters school, that aims to highlight and encourage the kindness, empathy and everyday connections that make Billericay such a special place. Supporters wear a yellow badge to indicate that they have made a simple pledge to brighten someone’s day and help build connections, respect and understanding across all ages in the town.
£250 to the Billericay & District Parkinson's Support Group, one of about 450 such groups nationally. The group is targeted at carers and family members as well as people with Parkinson’s. In addition to providing activities that address various Parkinson’s symptoms, a key benefit of the group is that it provides a safe space where the carers and family members can exchange ideas and experiences, providing peer to peer support and creating a sense of community.

Thank you once again for your continued support.

Launch of the Unite in Kindness project

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Jun 9, 2026
Donations Made Since Our February Report

By Les Sheppard | Community Service Chairman, Billericay Rotary Club

Child receiving Polio vaccine at a health centre

Helped by the generosity of you, our GlobalGiving supporters, since our last report in February we have made the following donations from our Benevolent Fund:

£5,825.83 to End Polio Now, Rotary’s project to rid the world of Polio. A significant portion of these funds were generated by our “END POLIO NOW Challenge 2025” microproject. See the report on that microproject for further information about Rotary’s fight against Polio.
£1,327.92 to fund a “Rotary Children’s Fun Day” event for 36 Junior-age children from Thriftwood School (plus their 25 teachers and support staff). We took the children to Old Macdonalds Farm & Fun Park where they enjoyed a guided tour in the morning to meet the animals (including stroking and feeding them where appropriate). Then in the afternoon the children were free to enjoy all the different rides and shows.
£100 to the Cater Museum (the museum of Billericay life), following a talk given at a Club lunch.
£421 to purchase a new water pump for the borewell at Karungu School that we created in Kenya a few years ago. This was needed because the original pump had been stolen. Club member Rev Margaret Fowler visited our partner Club, the Rotary Club of Embu, in May and was able to hand over the replacement pump that we had purchased

Thank you once again for your continued support.

Club member Rev Margaret Fowler delivers new pump

Rotarians from Rotary Club of Embu unpacking pump

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Feb 10, 2026
Donations Made Since Our October Report

By Les Sheppard | Community Service Chairman, Billericay Rotary Club

Our blindfolded President, ready for the walk

Helped by the generosity of you, our GlobalGiving supporters, since our last report in October we have made the following donations from our Benevolent Fund:

£500 to Barrow Farm Riding and Carriage Driving for the Disabled, a local charity we support annually, which provides horse riding and carriage driving facilities for children and adults with special needs and disabilities.
£250 to Brentwood Catholic Children’s Society (BCCS), a charity addressing children’s mental health issues across Essex and East London. Most of their services are delivered in schools, but some specialised counselling services are provided in a building on Billericay High Street. Although it started as a Catholic Church initiative (hence the name) it supports all schools regardless of denomination and it receives no church funding.
£50 to the Royal British Legion, our annual Remembrance Sunday donation to the work of the British Legion.
£320 To Quilter’s RotaKids, to fund stamps for their cross-generation Pen Pals project. The children write regularly to volunteer senior citizens in Billericay who reply to the children. Each year the children invite their pen pals to an Afternoon Tea at the school, giving the opportunity to get to know each other better.
£1,000 to Rotary Foundation UK’s Hurricane Melissa response fund, to support recovery from the destruction brought by the hurricane in Jamaica.
£528.75 to Orbis, a charity we support each year through a sponsored blindfolded walk by our President. Orbis is an international charity providing state-of-the-art eyecare, plus training to local ophthalmic practitioners, in countries where this expertise would not otherwise be available. This is delivered by means of an adapted airliner complete with an operating theatre and lecture hall. Internet connection gives access to the training for those unable to get to the plane
£2,823.75 to End Polio Now, Rotary’s project to rid the world of Polio. A significant portion of these funds were generated by our “END POLIO NOW Challenge 2025” microproject. See the report on this microproject for further information about Rotary’s fight against Polio.

Thank you once again for your continued support.

President Steve, blindly leading the way

President Steve, laying our Remembrance wreath

We will remember them

The BCCS base in Billericay High Street

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