Home Meets… Beth from West Kirby Rotary Club – Local Wirral Charitable Organisation Q & A

Since opening our brand new estate agency in last year we have met a number of local independent business owners and have really enjoyed getting to know a little bit about them and their businesses. We thought it would be great fun to share their answers and stories from a series of questions during a recent meeting. In this latest instalment we caught up with Beth Murray, founder member of the West Kirby Rotary Club!

What is the Rotary Club and what do you do?

West Kirby Rotary was formed in November 2014, and we have been supporting local and international projects ever since. We are part of a much wider global network of 1.4 million neighbours, friends, leaders, and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change – across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.

Our most recent major project has been “Natterjacks” – we meet with people who may need a someone to talk to (natter) and keep them company, and have funding to buy them a coffee as we chat. You might have noticed the large Natterjack Toad painted on Rotary Corner (on the side of Le Biz) kindly painted by our member Tim – that’s our way to promote the project with its piece of cake and a coffee. It started out of lockdown and the club found there was a real need to have a “natter” with passers-by. We have a noticeboard in that area which can promote Rotary and community news/events as well.

We are not what you may expect from a “Rotary Club” traditionally. Of 18 members, 15 are women and the age range is 30’s – 70’s (although our oldest members have the youngest mind set!). We meet on a Monday night, twice a month these are business meetings to talk about projects, but we have A LOT of fun.

Did you know we have TEN Rotary Clubs in our borough alone though? West Kirby, Royden Revolve, Penny Bridge (Wallasey), Wallasey, Birkenhead, Mid-Wirral, North-Wirral, West-Wirral, Bebington and Heswall. All are always looking for new members if you want to get involved in both local and international projects.

Recently all Wirral and Chester clubs worked together to get school bags containing a calculator, ASDA voucher and water bottle to all school aged children that arrived from Ukraine. This will continue throughout this year and is a fabulous opportunity to show how we can all work as a team. We had some lovely feedback from children and parents.

When did you join the Rotary?

 I joined officially in November 2014, one of the founder members of West Kirby Rotary. At the time I was living in West Kirby and although I’ve since moved to Wallasey Village, this club has remained my home. There are lots of opportunities within Rotary to build on skills, especially leadership which I am making the most of – I have been President of our club, I’m currently Assistant Governor for all Wirral Clubs and from July 2024 I’ll be District Governor for area 1180 which covers part of NW England and North Wales – 70+ Rotary clubs.

What was your motivation to join and were there any particular reasons or people who influenced you?

I actually joined on the back of a tweet!! I was on Twitter having a moan about a local bar and how although they benefited from a stunning display from West Kirby Christmas Lights, they weren’t donating funds towards them. This was 8 years ago – that bar is a HUGE supporter of our club and the Lights – things have changed massively. BUT my tweet was picked up by a member of another Rotary Club, Kirsty from Royden Revolve, who saw I was interested in local causes and asked me to join a meeting to look at creating a new club. I had never heard of Rotary before!! From that meeting in September 2014, I was in.

What do you for a job outside of your Rotary work?

I work for an International Recruitment & HR Solutions company, currently in Internal Recruitment – I’ve been with them 11 years now. I’m lucky enough to be field based which helps when I need to have a Rotary meeting during my lunch or a zoom at 6pm.

Describe working with the Rotary in one line?

Fellowship, Fundraising and FUN!

Is there anything new or exciting that the Rotary is planning?

There is a Rotary event locally every month – did you know for example that the Wirral Coastal Walk is a Rotary event, arranged by North Wirral for over 30 years. That’s on 11^th June this year – registration will open soon!

Specifically West Kirby Rotary, if you follow our Facebook group we advertise all of our events on there. We made a calendar for 2022, trialled Christmas cards which went down well, then each year we always host a quiz and the ever-popular cheese & wine nights!

Watch this space for a special project which the guys at Home are supporting West Kirby Rotary with for 2024!

What challenges does the Rotary face?

Our image, and therefore membership. Rotary has an outdated image of being a bunch of “grey old men in grey suits” who sit around a table eating a meal…. The vast majority of Rotarians are so much more dynamic than this. We need more young-minded people, of any age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, class – if you are interested in doing good for your local and international community then we’d love to meet you! https://www.rotary.org/en/get-involved/join

Death Row Picks? Final ever choice ….

Chocolate bar? Probably a toffee crisp, but 1 is NEVER enough!!

Soft drink? Diet Coke, always.

Packet of crisps? Skips.

Quick five!!?

Favourite colour? Pink!

Favourite song/musician? Anything from a musical – SIX is my current favourite.

Favourite hobby? Any time spent with my Niece and Nephew.

Football/sports team? None really, but at a push it would be a fabulous fan-owned club called FC United of Manchester. My Dad is a founder member!

Worst habit? Probably saying yes to too many things.

Thank you to Beth from West Kirby Rotary for taking the time to answer our questions and have a bit of fun with us in the process. We have been to a number of Rotary events over the past 12 months including a great quiz and a delicious cheese and wine evening. Check out their website and keep your eyes peeled for any current and future events. Not only are they great fun but they all contribute to raising valuable funds for local charities and causes! https://westkirbyrotary.org/