On Saturday, January 18th, the Bombeiros of São Brás welcomed to their fire station members of the Rotary Club Estoi Palace International, representatives of the Angels Theatre Group and members of the public and local dignitaries to witness the handover of the keys to a new ambulance which will make an enormous difference to the people they serve in the São Brás region.
This successful project represents a huge triumph for the entire community. Many groups and individuals, including The Angels Theatre Group who kick-started the fundraising by donating €2600 to the cause, have made significant contributions to the Bombeiros ambulance fund since November 2012. Due to the involvement of the Rotary Foundation only €4000 Euros from this fund was used to purchase the ambulance, and the Bombeiros now have a significant bank balance to apply to other projects.
Shirley Dunne Present of Rotary Club Estoi Palace International handed over the keys saying “…it is my pleasure and privilege to hand this ambulance over to the Bombeiros of São Brás. We appreciate the work you carry out and the risks you take on our behalf and this is a small token of the appreciation of Rotary and the local community for what you do.”
Chris Garner, the Rotary Zone Coordinator, who oversaw the Rotary Foundation fundraising, explained how the Rotary Foundation works:
“The Rotary Foundation is the charitable arm of Rotary, which taps into the global network of 1.2 million Rotarians who invest their time, money and expertise. Its mission is to do good in the world. Using the power of the Foundation we have enabled €8000 raised here in the Algarve to become this magnificent ambulance worth over €60,000. One thing we all know in Rotary is that we can do more together than we can alone. Together we have a tremendous reach.
With the power of Rotary and its Foundation we are proud to help multiply small funds raised here into large projects. This is the power of the global community helping people in our local community. We Rotarians support our Foundation ourselves and encourage others to do the same so that all of us can do more good in this world which needs our help so much.”
During the course of further remarks by various dignitaries and Bombeiro commanders the proceedings were interrupted by a call to the fire house for an ambulance, underscoring the community’s reliance on the Bombeiros and the ever present need for our continued support for their important work.
The Rotary Club International Estoi Palace
The Estoi Club has 27 members from nine nationalities and the official language is English. Their first project was to support the community in the parish of Estoi by raising funds to buy and distribute milk for children via the Food Bank Against Hunger campaign.
In August of 2013, the club purchased a refrigerated truck for the Banco Alimentar Contra a Fome, which made it possible for the food bank to collect large quantities of fresh fruit and perishables from Algarve supermarkets and to deliver these easily spoiled food items to 16,000 needy people in our region every month.
W: www.rotaryestoipalace.org
The Angels Theatre Group
The Angels Theatre Group was founded in 2008 by Joy Behennah and Marion Griffiths, to provide light hearted entertainment, whilst raising money for local charities. To date the Angels have raised over €40,000 for 9 different charitable causes in the Algarve.
W: www.angelstheatregroup.com
