COWDENBEATH Rotary Club will be committed in the 2018/2019 period to continuing back local good causes and maintaining their work on the international scene.

At the club’s assembly meeting the club’s new president, Norman Black, went through some of the ideas he has for the new session, which starts from the beginning of July.

During the evening the club also heard from assistant governor Heather Stuart.

President elect Norman said: “One of our key targets in the new session will be to continue to grow our membership.

“Without members we cannot continue to do the good work which has been achieved over the years at home and abroad.

“To help that we will have a membership committee of four people who will look at ways of developing our numbers.

“Our fundraising team will again be led by Marie Shevas who has done so much to achieve the funds which allows us back so many local good causes at home and carry out a lot of good work abroad.

“We have been able to help a number of people from the Cowdenbeath-Lochgelly area over the past 12 months and that is a key element about what we are about and what we will want to achieve in the new session.”

International convener, Tom Russell, said that the excellent fundraising carried out by the club and backed by the community was making a differences to lives across the world.

He said: “The Shelter Boxes we have sent to crisis zones have help many people get their lives back on course but there have been others maybe less well known that have been as effective.

“Our link with Pitlochry Rotary Club has seen homes built in Nepal to replace those lost in the earthquake of two years ago which devastated communities while our Joe Homan Trust link is currently backing two Indian girls’ education.

“These are things we want to continue to back while we also will continue to support the three local nurses who do a lot of important work in Haiti, the link with TWAM which sees tools refurbished and sent to the Third World to help people cultivate crops, and the Beath/Malawi Partnership.

“But this can only be all done through the public backing our fundraising work.”

Assistant governor, Heather Stuart, was delighted to hear of the work of the Cowdenbeath club and said: “It is an ambitious programme but the amazing efforts of the 20 or so members of this club can certainly make it happen.

“It is not the biggest Rotary Club but it has a big heart and the projects are amazing helping people at home and making a huge difference to lives in other countries.

“I hope that the recruitment drive works well and if you can make your target of three new members over the coming 12 months it can help greatly to make everything achievable.”