CHARITIES

The Club has raised over £450,000 for charity since it was formed as well as helping with many local and international projects.

We expect to raise approaching £4000 from this event. Our expenses are kept to a minimum as Rotarians and their partners give of their time freely and we are very lucky to have a number of suppliers and sponsors who either make no charge at all or just a nominal fee. Please see the Sponsors page for more details.

This year our Key Charities are CIRDIC and CROSSROADS.

CIRDIC is a drop-in-centre, established in 1990 because a group of local Christians wanted to respond to the needs of the homeless and clearly disadvantaged people in Reading. Originally the aim was to provide a welcoming place in which to offer food and clothing. Now, in response to growing needs, the Centre offers a wide range of support services to the homeless. CIRDIC is now recognised as the only Centre in Reading that offers a truly open door and free service.  Who do they help?

• Homeless
• Rootless
• Substance abusers and sufferers of addiction
• Afflicted with mental health problems
• Living in poor housing
• Unemployed
• In serious financial difficulty

Many bear the burden of several of these problems. Some have been using the service for years, others simply pass through. But whatever the circumstances CIRDIC strive to offer an environment in which each guest can experience him or herself as worthy of respect and genuine concern. Building relationships is slow and often invisible work, but the hope is that with appropriate support our guests may become ready and able to address some of their often overwhelming difficulties.

CROSSROADS

Reading Crossroads is committed to providing practical support in the home in order to enable carers to have a break from their caring responsibilities.

Charitable objective:- To relieve the stresses experienced by carers, and children and adults who have care needs as a result of disability, illness or age, by offering a respite service through the provision of community based support workers.

Mission Statement:- Crossroads promotes, offers, supports and delivers high quality services for carers and people with care needs

In Reading Crossroads currently provide over 700 hours of care per week, either by visiting carers in their own homes and staying with the person they care for while they go out, or by people attending one of the five social day care clubs that we run.

WHO ELSE DO WE HELP?

Just some of the local people we are currently helping are Whitley Park School, Talking books, Liberty of Earley Residential home, and  The Wokingham Waterside Centre, which helps the young and disabled get on the river. On the International front we have recently helped an Orphanage in India and with a water project in Tanzania as well as supporting the Shelter Box Charity which provides emergency shelters in disaster zones such as Japan and Haiti.

Recently we have also supported The Shaw Trust, a national employment charity which helps disabled and disadvantaged people to find work and achieve independence. and Daisy's Dream which supports children and their families both facing and following bereavement.