PRESS RELEASE

Date: 5 May 2020

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WINCHESTER ROTARY ACTIVE IN LOCAL COMMUNITY DURING COVID-19 CRISIS

Since the Covid-!9 crisis began, Rotary has begun a number of community initiatives, aimed at helping those affected, whether they be self-isolating at home or working on the “front line”. An early project was the purchase of a number of items, DVDs, games, puzzles, cards etc. supplemented by an appeal social media, which resulted in a carload of items being delivered to HMP Winchester, to help alleviate conditions for both prisoners and staff. The Prison Governor James Bourke also joined Winchester Rotary members at their online meeting on 4 May, to explain more about the how the crisis is affecting the prison. Staff at both and Peter Symonds College have been making protective visors, which Winchester Rotary members – with help from Worthy Runners – have delivered to a number of care homes and local businesses. As a result of the Crowdfunding initiative by Deborah Philbrow of Workroom ( Chronicle 30 April) and a donation from Winchester Rotary 380 sets of the scrubs being made by Deborah and her team will be donated to care homes. Several Winchester Rotarians live in and a recent initiative to collect food for the Basics Bank resulted in well over 100 items of food being collected in boxes placed at strategic locations. Local photographer Sam Gavins is taking a series of photos (suitably socially distanced!) of householders during lockdown, as part of a fundraising project and Sam’s photo attached shows Graham Perrin and Winchester Rotarian Nick Bell with some of the Kings Worthy boxes.

{Photos: Delivery of items to prison; Visor making at Henry Beaufort School; Visor making at Peter Symonds College; food collection in Kings Worthy [credit to Sam Gavins for this one]}

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For Further Details Please Contact: Gill Russell, Press Officer, Winchester Rotary Tel: 07930 546807 Email: [email protected] Web: www.winchester-rotary.org Facebook: Winchester Rotary UK Twitter: @WinchRotary