Rotarians boost charity coffers as games maker drops in (From The Advertiser Series)

Rotarians boost charity coffers as games maker drops in

1:20pm Wednesday 16th January 2013 in News

ROTARIANS in Darlington presented a charity with a cheque for £2,250 at their most recent meeting.

Tom Stebbings, chairman of the Darlington branch of Mencap, collected the cheque from senior vice president Ken Young.

The money was raised at last year’s Rotary fashion show.

Mr Stebbings said this was the second substantial donation from Darlington Rotary Club and the support has been very significant in the refurbishment of Mencap's Gateway Club which provides essential facilities for his members.

Rotarian David Haywood reported on the recent Christmas Tree collection in Darlington, which is a joint fundraising initiative with St.

Teresa's Hospice.

Mr Haywood said the initiative was a success, with 400 trees were collected and £2,700 donated by grateful householders.

The speaker was Bill Robson President of Bishop Auckland Rotary Club who gave an illustrated talk about an unforgettable experience when selected as one of the volunteer games makers at last year’s Olympics.

He said his experience started when he filled in an application form in 2010 followed by interviews at The Baltic in Gateshead and then training.

Volunteers at the Olympics filled very many roles and were extremely important to the success of the Games.

Mr Robson was given the job of an anti-doping chaperone which involved being given the names of randomly chosen athletes that he would approach and accompany to the on-site testing centre.

Urine samples were taken, identified by code numbers and the sent to an off-site laboratory for testing.

He said he found the work challenging and initially nerve-wracking but was very impressed by the professionalism of the athletes who were well used to the procedure.

Mr Robson was also one of 500 games makers chosen to attend the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards in December.