Rotary Club of Helderberg, District 9350, South Africa
Club No.: 17492 Chartered 17.05.1983
Club No.: 17492 Chartered 17.05.1983
History of the Rotary Club of Helderberg
The Rotary Club of Helderberg takes its name from the famous Helderberg mountain. It overlooks our hometown of Somerset West and our neighbouring towns of Strand, Gordon's Bay, Lwandle and Macassar. Together, in one of the most scenic parts of South Africa, we form the Helderberg constituency of the greater Cape Town metropole. Helderberg has a total population of 120 000 and lies fifty kilometres east of Cape Town.
Our club was chartered on 14th April 1983 with 32 Rotarians, 7 of who are still members. We have a membership of 37 (June 2011) and this is twenty lower than ten years ago, almost exclusively due to young active members resigning because they cannot meet the attendance requirements. Helderberg has been a very active club since inception; in the community; in the District; in fellowship. Our public relations activities and club bulletin are as old as the club is. During our first five years we....
·rescued a local kloof of silwerboom trees from alien vegetation and eventually had it declared a Natural Heritage Site in 1992.
·started a fund-raising barbecue and refreshment garden at the Somerset West craft market, which is still a major source of project income and of good fellowship.
·established a bursary with donations from the local farming community, which supports agricultural students at Stellenbosch University.
During the next five years we….
·entered into a second-hand clothes shop fund-raising project (the Bargain Box) with other local service clubs and it is still going strong.
·started an Interact Club at Parel Vallei High School.
·leased a derelict building from the municipality at a nominal rental, renovated it at a cost of R135 000, and created the Lyndhurst Community Centre, housing Drug Abuse, Child Welfare and Patch (abused children protection).
Since then we....
·have started an annual fund-raising Glen Miller Evening on the historic Vergelegen farm, which draws crowds from near and far.
·inaugurated an annual Careers Expo in conjunction with the Strand Club, which attracts over 70 exhibitors and 4000 pupils from schools throughout the Western Cape.
·started another fund-raiser - a swish annual Spring Ball, complete with wine auction.
·built a crèche in Nomzamo (Lwandle). This was a 'green-field' project and we received donations from Safmarine and NBS to assist in building the crèche. We equipped the project and provided staff training by a matching grant with clubs in the UK and US.
In the Rotary year 2001-2002 we gave a computer room to the Lyndoch Primary School in the Winelands District. This was done through a matching grant initiated by the Brandywine Hundred Rotary Club in Wilmington, USA and a donation from Dell Computer (Pty.) Ltd.
·we built a crèche in Nomzamo, which was funded by a Dutch Ladies Club. It is called the Nobuntu Day-Care Centre.
·we built an extension for the Camelot Home for the aged.On the International front we have hosted 14 exchange students and sent out 10, and two years ago we started participating in the short-term programme. We have been involved in GSE, Ambassadorial Scholars and Friendship Exchange. In September 2000 PP Dick Solms lead a GSE team to District 1230 in Scotland.
In the Rotary year 2002-2003 we gave two foetal monitors to the HH Hospital, thanks to a Matching Grant from the Rotary Club of Ballarat, Australia.
We are working on a sports field for the Raithby Primary School.
The club celebrated it's 20th anniversary in May 2003. DG Peter Vurgarellis was in attendance. The sports field at Raithby Primary School was formally handed over to the school early 2005. A joint cocktail party, with the Gordon's Bay Rotary Club, was held on the 23rd of February 2005 to celebrate Rotary International's 100th birthday. Over 200 guests attended. Current projects include the Rotary Centennial Project (done jointly with the other Rotary Clubs in the Helderberg Basin) and the Bizweni Project for handicapped children. The Bizweni Project is now completed and was officially opened by Judge Deon van Zijl in February 2009. The club is currently planning to build an extension at Bizweni to house skills development training.
The projected cost is appr. R 2,000.000. Peninsula Beverages, through the good offices of the Newlands Rotary Club, made a major donation enabling us to start construction in July 2015. Construction continues at a fast pace, and the completion is scheduled for early December 2015. The newly completed Skills Development Centre extension was officially opened by District Governor Geraldine Nicol on Thursday 17 March 2016. The membership count in July 2018 is 21 plus 3 honorary members. Membership count April 2021 is 15 members.
Our club was chartered on 14th April 1983 with 32 Rotarians, 7 of who are still members. We have a membership of 37 (June 2011) and this is twenty lower than ten years ago, almost exclusively due to young active members resigning because they cannot meet the attendance requirements. Helderberg has been a very active club since inception; in the community; in the District; in fellowship. Our public relations activities and club bulletin are as old as the club is. During our first five years we....
·rescued a local kloof of silwerboom trees from alien vegetation and eventually had it declared a Natural Heritage Site in 1992.
·started a fund-raising barbecue and refreshment garden at the Somerset West craft market, which is still a major source of project income and of good fellowship.
·established a bursary with donations from the local farming community, which supports agricultural students at Stellenbosch University.
During the next five years we….
·entered into a second-hand clothes shop fund-raising project (the Bargain Box) with other local service clubs and it is still going strong.
·started an Interact Club at Parel Vallei High School.
·leased a derelict building from the municipality at a nominal rental, renovated it at a cost of R135 000, and created the Lyndhurst Community Centre, housing Drug Abuse, Child Welfare and Patch (abused children protection).
Since then we....
·have started an annual fund-raising Glen Miller Evening on the historic Vergelegen farm, which draws crowds from near and far.
·inaugurated an annual Careers Expo in conjunction with the Strand Club, which attracts over 70 exhibitors and 4000 pupils from schools throughout the Western Cape.
·started another fund-raiser - a swish annual Spring Ball, complete with wine auction.
·built a crèche in Nomzamo (Lwandle). This was a 'green-field' project and we received donations from Safmarine and NBS to assist in building the crèche. We equipped the project and provided staff training by a matching grant with clubs in the UK and US.
In the Rotary year 2001-2002 we gave a computer room to the Lyndoch Primary School in the Winelands District. This was done through a matching grant initiated by the Brandywine Hundred Rotary Club in Wilmington, USA and a donation from Dell Computer (Pty.) Ltd.
·we built a crèche in Nomzamo, which was funded by a Dutch Ladies Club. It is called the Nobuntu Day-Care Centre.
·we built an extension for the Camelot Home for the aged.On the International front we have hosted 14 exchange students and sent out 10, and two years ago we started participating in the short-term programme. We have been involved in GSE, Ambassadorial Scholars and Friendship Exchange. In September 2000 PP Dick Solms lead a GSE team to District 1230 in Scotland.
In the Rotary year 2002-2003 we gave two foetal monitors to the HH Hospital, thanks to a Matching Grant from the Rotary Club of Ballarat, Australia.
We are working on a sports field for the Raithby Primary School.
The club celebrated it's 20th anniversary in May 2003. DG Peter Vurgarellis was in attendance. The sports field at Raithby Primary School was formally handed over to the school early 2005. A joint cocktail party, with the Gordon's Bay Rotary Club, was held on the 23rd of February 2005 to celebrate Rotary International's 100th birthday. Over 200 guests attended. Current projects include the Rotary Centennial Project (done jointly with the other Rotary Clubs in the Helderberg Basin) and the Bizweni Project for handicapped children. The Bizweni Project is now completed and was officially opened by Judge Deon van Zijl in February 2009. The club is currently planning to build an extension at Bizweni to house skills development training.
The projected cost is appr. R 2,000.000. Peninsula Beverages, through the good offices of the Newlands Rotary Club, made a major donation enabling us to start construction in July 2015. Construction continues at a fast pace, and the completion is scheduled for early December 2015. The newly completed Skills Development Centre extension was officially opened by District Governor Geraldine Nicol on Thursday 17 March 2016. The membership count in July 2018 is 21 plus 3 honorary members. Membership count April 2021 is 15 members.
Past Presidents of the Rotary Club of Helderberg
1983-1984 John de Bruin,1984-1985 Niall Welch, 1985-1986 Peter Hodge
1986-1987 Bill Ewen, 1987-1988 Garry Sloane,1988-1989 Jack Gardner
1989-1990 Kit du Plessis,1990-1991 Peter Rode, 1991-1992 Dave Barnes
1992-1993 Andre Boonzaier, 1993-1994 Chris Marshall
1994-1995 Harry Berning
1994-1995 Harry Berning
1995-1996 Neville Davey,1996-1997 Peter Humphreys
1997-1998 Brian van der Grijp
1997-1998 Brian van der Grijp
1998-1999 Keith Viljoen, 1999-2000 Dick Solms
2000-2001 John McNaught Davis
2000-2001 John McNaught Davis
2001-2002 Winfried Löffler, 2002-2003 7-2 Buster Tinsley
2002-2003 3-6 Winfried Löffler
2002-2003 3-6 Winfried Löffler
2003-2004 Alan Blues, 2004-2005 Tim Bembridge
2005-2006 Hannes van Tonder
2005-2006 Hannes van Tonder
2006-2007 Alberto Casciati , 2007-2008 Ron Vader
2008-2009 Niels Swellengrebel
2009-2010 David Good, 2010-2011 Alan Hartley, 2011-2012 Dick Solms
2012-2013 Mervyn Cole 2013-2014 Peter Cohen
2014-2015 Joke Young, 2015-2016 Joke Young
2016-2017 Brian van der Grijp, 2017-2018 Pierre du Plessis
2008-2009 Niels Swellengrebel
2009-2010 David Good, 2010-2011 Alan Hartley, 2011-2012 Dick Solms
2012-2013 Mervyn Cole 2013-2014 Peter Cohen
2014-2015 Joke Young, 2015-2016 Joke Young
2016-2017 Brian van der Grijp, 2017-2018 Pierre du Plessis
2018-2019 Alan Hartley, 2019-2020 (7-5) Jean de Beer, (6) Winfried Löffler
2020-2021 Winfried Löffler
2021-2022 Joke Young
2022-2023 Joke Young
Copyright © 2023 Rotary Club of Helderberg *
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