Rotary Club of
PRESS RELEASE –21st February 2007
Communications & Press
officer Ian Valentine ian@cival.info
New
Minibus for Kennel Lane School
Three locally-based Clubs joined forces during 2006 to collect
monies in support of
Gordon Parris, who with his wife Ann founded Children With Special
Needs Foundation in 1995, explained “The bus will be an invaluable asset to
Kennel Lane school, enabling them to access the full curriculum, travel to
other schools, and take part in sporting tournaments. It will work to full
capacity!” All three organisations were determined to support
Last Wednesday 21st February saw their ambitions realised, when Tom O’ Connor, a committed patron of Children With Special Needs Foundation, presented the bus to Deputy Head Teacher Jan Beats, who was delighted, saying 'Learning for our children will be enhanced with this wonderful new resource. It will enable us to reach out and take advantage of exciting opportunities and real-life experiences within our community'.
Tom was joined at the enjoyable ceremony at Mill Ride by Gordon Parris, Terry Blake, Mill Ride Golf Club captain, Marilyn Passmore, Mill Ride Ladies’ Captain, and Geoff Donovan, President of the Rotary Club of Ascot – and by many of the excited children from Kennel Lane School, with their teachers! They couldn’t wait to explore and use the bus, and, for some of them, to watch as the hydraulic ramps lifted them in in their wheelchairs. ‘I am delighted to hand over the keys to this bus’, explained Tom, ‘it is so rewarding to see our fund-raising having an immediate benefit for local children’. Terry Blake and Geoff Donovan added that their clubs were proud to see so clearly how their fund-raising money is spent, making a significant contribution to help local children in need.