At a virtual online club meeting convened on 28^th September, The Rotary Club of Church Wilne, were treated to a fascinating and informative talk from Ann Gregory. Ann is currently serving as President of The Inner Wheel Club of Church Wilne for the second time. Ann entitled her talk "The best you get for nothing", a title which belied the wealth of interesting information provided as she told us of the many achievements and influences in her life so far.

This was followed by a "Potted History" of Inner Wheel from its conception in 1923, when 27 ladies formed the initial Inner Wheel Club naming it "The Inner Wheel Club of Manchester", a name which is still running through to the present day.

From that initial club, Inner Wheel has grown and there are currently 568 clubs in Great Britain and Ireland, divided into 29 Districts with 13,000 members. The inaugural meeting was held in Manchester in November 1923 when the objectives of the club were agreed, these were, to foster friendship between the wives of Rotarians and, without encroaching on the prerogatives of the men, widen their opportunities of service, which official club status would give them.

By the time of their next meeting 10^th January 1924 (now celebrated annually as "World Inner Wheel Day") funds had been raised and 80 woolen baby garments knitted and delivered to St. Mary's Hospital in time for Christmas. Embracing the object of International Understanding, International Inner Wheel was formed in 1967. Active in 108 countries with 108,000 members in 3,895 clubs, it is one of the largest women's voluntary organisations in the world, and has representation at the United Nations.

The aims and objectives of Inner Wheel are "To promote true friendship, to encourage the ideals of personal service and to foster International understanding".

If you wish to know more about the Church Wilne Rotary and how the members aim to make a difference in the local community of for more information on Rotary, our speaker evenings, events and the main activities organised by our club please contact our Secretary, David Hewitt at: rccw1220@gmail.com

If you wish to know more about the Inner Wheel Club of Church Wilne and how the members aim to make a difference in the local community, please contact the Inner Wheel Secretary at: iwccwsec@gmail.com

Rotarian Brian Stokes
For Church Wilne Rotary