Homeless people in Maidenhead and Windsor are set to receive some seasonal good cheer thanks to a joint initiative by three of the borough’s service organisations.
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Maidenhead Bridge Rotary Club, Maidenhead  Rotary Club  and Maidenhead Lions Club have teamed up to provide 30 goodie  bags packed with fun and practical items ranging from socks and toothpaste to chocolate Santas'.

The initiative is co-ordinated by Rotarian Eddie Piekut, who is also a volunteer for the RBWM Primary Care Service for the Homeless. He said: “If I was on the street I would be really chuffed to get one of these bags. It would give me a real lift to know someone was thinking about me this Christmas.”

He added: “It’s great to be part of the borough’s overall approach to the homeless. With help from RBWM’s ‘Make Every Adult Matter’ Rough Sleepers Team and Browns Community Services CIC we will ensure these bags provide some Christmas cheer to those in need.”

Lions president Karen Brown said: “The presents are part of the Lions’ overall approach to Christmas in 2021, where we are delivering vouchers to some of our town’s vulnerable people and their families to let them know Lions are still out there assisting the community.”

Nas Parkes, president of Maidenhead Bridge Rotary Club, said: “Winter is a very difficult time for people without a permanent roof over their heads, especially during the pandemic and this will help bring them a bit of festive cheer.”
President of Maidenhead Rotary Club Martin Trepte added: “This is a great initiative and shows what can be achieved when the town’s service clubs work together.”

​We are excited to release the second edition of our club newsletter for this Rotary Year.  ​It is packed full of updates and articles on all the amazing things we've been doing over the past couple of months and a few details of upcoming events (now we’re allowed out in public again!).

​You're Invited!
If you're not a member of the club yet, then we’d also like to extend an invite to you and your friends to join us at one of our fun upcoming events to find out more about what we do and how you can get involved. Remember we’re a very relaxed, flexible and friendly club so you don’t have to commit huge amounts of time to get involved.  It’s a great way to meet new people, try out new activities and give something back to the local community.
 
Check out the list of upcoming events on the back page of the newsletter, if you’d like to join us get in touch today.
 
We hope you enjoy reading it and if you, or anyone you know, would like to get involved with any of our volunteering opportunities, or attend one of our meetings, please do get in touch; and feel free to share our newsletter with others too.

Almost £15,000 was raised for 39 different charities by walkers taking part in the 40th Rotary Club Boundary Walk on Sunday.
 
More than 350 participants stepped out in aid of their favourite causes for the annual sponsored walk. While most completed the traditional 13-mile circular route around the town, others followed a new 5km family route introduced this year to ensure the event was accessible to walkers of all ages and abilities.
 
The highest single amount of sponsorship was £2,500, raised by a 55-strong team led by Rotarian Gurdip Bahra in aid of the Makindhu Dental Project, which provides vital dentistry to a rural community in Kenya.
 
The event is based on the tradition of ‘beating the bounds’, a walk around the boundary of the old Maidenhead borough which dates back to the town being given its charter in 1582.
 
It is organised jointly by the Rotary Club of Maidenhead and Rotary Club of Maidenhead Bridge which deployed nearly 60 volunteers to man checkpoints and marshal road crossings along the route.

​This year saw the Boundary Walk return to business as usual after being held in a special ‘bubble’ format last year due to Covid-19 restrictions.

​Event chairman Jim Howles said: “Despite the number of walkers being down, which we think is due to people still being cautious after lockdown, the amount raised for good causes was absolutely fantastic and up there with some of our busiest years.”

Fellow organiser Lisa Hunter added: “It was really wonderful to be back for our 40th anniversary and to see the happy, smiling faces of those taking part.”

Maidenhead MP Theresa May once again joined walkers for the start of the walk, along with Royal Borough Mayor, Cllr John Story, and Rotary district governor Karen Eveleigh.
 
Mrs May said: “It’s great to see the Boundary Walk back to normal. It is such an important feature of the Maidenhead year. It’s lovely to see so many people coming along and participating.  It’s really important that people are out today raising money for charities as they have found it really difficult during the pandemic as most of their fundraising events have not been able to take place.”

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There’s still time to sign up for the 40th anniversary Boundary Walk next month. But did you know the popular charity fundraiser has its roots in a much older local tradition?

Hundreds of walkers are expected to be stepping out to raise money for their favourite good causes when they take part in the Rotary Boundary Walk. The event, on Sunday, October 3, has become one of the town’s biggest charity fundraisers and this year is celebrating its 40th anniversary with the addition of a new 5km route for families.

But walking the main 13-mile route following the boundary of the old Maidenhead Borough harks back to the very origins of Maidenhead itself and the granting of a ‘Charter of Incorporation’ which brought the Borough of Maidenhead into being in 1582.

It became a tradition for the Mayor to get beaters to drive square-headed nails into posts and walls along the boundary route, each bearing his initials on its head. So was born the tradition of ‘beating the bounds’.

By 1934 the boundary of the borough was marked by stones – many of which can still be seen today – and during the walk the mayor would tap each one with the ceremonial mace to ‘reinforce’ the boundary. The last official ‘beating the bounds’ was in 1973, when Euphemia Underhill was Mayor.

But in 1982 the Boundary Walk as we know it today was resurrected by Rotary and the East Berkshire Ramblers to help mark the 400th anniversary of the granting of the charter and became an annual fundraising event.

Originally held on the last Sunday of September, the date was changed to the first Sunday in October as it clashed with Harvest Festival church services. While other changes over the years have included a shift to online booking and sponsorship, the event remains at its heart an opportunity for people to walk in aid of their chosen charities.

Now run as a joint project by Maidenhead and Maidenhead Bridge Rotary Clubs, the Boundary Walk will be back to normal in October after being held in a ‘bubble’ format last year due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Boundary Walk chair Jim Howles said: “We are delighted the Boundary Walk is back in its usual format this year. So, individuals, groups and families are all invited to take part in this little bit of Maidenhead’s history and at the same time raise money for their chosen causes.”

Both routes start and finish at Boulters Lock car park and follow a fully signposted path with checkpoints manned by Rotary marshals. The family route is a nice circular stroll via Guards Club Park, Oldacres and the A4.

There is a registration fee to take part which covers administration costs including route maps and completion certificates. All sponsorship raised goes to the walker’s chosen charity.

For more details and to register see www.boundarywalk.org.uk

Maidenhead Bridge Rotary hosted a One Big Thank You Event on Sunday 25th July to recognise all the amazing volunteers who stepped forward from the community to help them deliver their Covid-19 Response Project over the last 18 months.  Held at Moor Hall in Cookham guests were treated to a variety of delicious cakes including chocolate cake, lemon drizzle and the most popular of all carrot cake!
 
The event was primarily to thank club members and volunteers for being part of the project which saw more than 120 people join forces to support more than 150 households with errands such as shopping, prescription collections, dog walking and befriending.  The amazing team ran more than 1,245 errands which equated to over 2,500 hours given in service.  In addition the club also provided weekly food parcels to 23 families who lost access to free school meals throughout the pandemic.
 
Lisa Hunter, event organiser and Covid-19 Project Manager, commented “It was so lovely first of all to see people face-to-face, I hadn’t realised how much I’d missed seeing people!  Secondly it was so special to be able to thank our wonderful volunteers who enabled us to support our community, putting faces to names that I’d been emailing or calling for months. It was a perfect afternoon.”
 
“This project proved the power of Rotary, the difference we can make to improve lives when we work together, use our skills and knowledge and take action to get the job done.  It’s one reason why I’m proud to be a Rotarian and today I couldn’t be prouder of everyone in the room.  Thank you for being superheroes.” Lisa continued.

Also at the event outgoing President Victoria Williams presented incoming President Nas Parkes with the ceremonial chain of office and a special gift was handed over to Victoria in recognition of the amazing job she did leading the club over the last year.
 
If you’d like to get involved in local projects, want to volunteer, raise funds for charity or simply meet new people, make friends and expand your horizons, then get in touch with Maidenhead Bridge Rotary today and discover what opportunities await you.

You're Invited!
If you're not a member of the club yet, then we’d also like to extend an invite to you and your friends to join us at one of our fun upcoming events to find out more about what we do and how you can get involved. 
 
Remember we’re a very relaxed, flexible and friendly club so you don’t have to commit huge amounts of time to get involved.  It’s a great way to meet new people, try out new activities and give something back to the local community.
 
Check out the list of upcoming events on the back page of the newsletter, if you’d like to join us get in touch today.
 
We hope you enjoy reading it and if you, or anyone you know, would like to get involved with any of our volunteering opportunities, or attend one of our meetings, please do get in touch; and feel free to share our newsletter with others too.

You're Invited!
If you're not a member of the club yet, then we’d also like to extend an invite to you and your friends to join us at one of our fun upcoming events to find out more about what we do and how you can get involved. 
 
Remember we’re a very relaxed, flexible and friendly club so you don’t have to commit huge amounts of time to get involved.  It’s a great way to meet new people, try out new activities and give something back to the local community.
 
Check out the list of upcoming events on the back page of the newsletter, if you’d like to join us get in touch today.
 
We hope you enjoy reading it and if you, or anyone you know, would like to get involved with any of our volunteering opportunities, or attend one of our meetings, please do get in touch; and feel free to share our newsletter with others too.

​You're Invited!
If you're not a member of the club yet, then we’d also like to extend an invite to you and your friends to join us at one of our fun upcoming events to find out more about what we do and how you can get involved. 
 
Remember we’re a very relaxed, flexible and friendly club so you don’t have to commit huge amounts of time to get involved.  It’s a great way to meet new people, try out new activities and give something back to the local community.
 
Check out the list of upcoming events on the back page of the newsletter, if you’d like to join us get in touch today.
 
We hope you enjoy reading it and if you, or anyone you know, would like to get involved with any of our volunteering opportunities, or attend one of our meetings, please do get in touch; and feel free to share our newsletter with others too.

Members of Maidenhead Bridge Rotary and Maidenhead Rotaract joined forces on Saturday to spread a little cheer this season.  The team, all socially distanced from each other, created 114 hampers filled with festive treats including mince pies, stollen, biscuits, jam and of course no hamper is complete without a chocolate Father Christmas!
 
The recipients of these hampers are the elderly who usually attend the annual OAP Christmas Party hosted by Maidenhead Rotaract, which sadly, but for obvious reasons, couldn’t go ahead this year.  Other recipients are people who Maidenhead Bridge Rotary have been supporting since March due to having to self-isolate and were chosen as they will be on their own this Christmas.
 
Lisa Hunter, event organiser, commented “It was such a lovely morning, working together as a team to bring a smile to people’s faces this Christmas.  There was a real buzz in the room and I was very proud to be a part of it knowing that it will make a difference to someone locally.”
 
The team have already had some lovely messages back from the 114 people they delivered hampers to, some of whom were speechless when they saw the gift on their doorstep, and that’s what it’s all about, spreading some festive cheer in what has been a very difficult year.

This year’s Rotary Boundary Walk, which took place in a new ‘Bubble’ format due to Covid-19 restrictions, has been declared a resounding success by organisers.

Nearly 200 people took part in the 12-mile charity sponsored walk over three weeks in October, raising more than £7,000 for a range of good causes.

The event takes its name from the tradition of ‘beating the bounds’ - an annual walk around the boundary of the old Maidenhead Borough – and follows the same route.

Usually it sees about 600 participants setting out on a single Sunday in October to walk a fully marshalled route with checkpoints and road crossings manned by Rotarians.

But this year, due to social distancing rules, walkers were given a three-week window to complete a non-marshalled route in ‘bubbles’ of up to six people, such as families or charity groups.

“We were absolutely delighted with how the ‘Bubble’ format worked,” said organising committee chairman Jim Howles. “With the Boundary Walk impossible to run in the normal way, having 200 people still take part and raise so much money for charity in such a difficult year is a fantastic result.

“Lots of charities rely on it as a major fundraiser and we were determined to find a way for it to go ahead despite the restrictions.

“We’d like to say a huge thank-you to all the walkers who took part and to the Louis Baylis Trust and Shanly Foundation for their support.”

The Boundary Walk is jointly organised by Maidenhead Rotary Club and Maidenhead Bridge Rotary Club. They hope that by next year it will be able to return in its usual format but are thinking about introducing a longer window for walkers who are unable to take part in the main event.