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.”

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.