Rotary Club of Whitby & District - North Yorkshire

24/08/2026

WHISH is a previous beneficiary of our club. A fantastic charity doing much needed work in our community for children and young people with hidden impairments. Please do consider supporting them at their celebration.

🎉✨ THE SECRET IS OUT! ✨🎉

We’re delighted to announce that WHISH is hosting a very special Ball on 13th November at the stunning Sneaton Castle! 🏰🥂
🕡 6:30pm
📅 13th November
📍 Sneaton Castle
🎶 Live entertainment from Back in the Habit and Thee & Me! 🎤

Looking for the perfect opportunity to celebrate your Christmas party with colleagues, friends or your team? 🎄🥂 Join us for an unforgettable evening while helping us raise money for a fantastic local charity supporting children with disabilities, hidden impairments and special educational needs (SEND). ❤️

This promises to be a particularly significant evening for WHISH, as we come together to celebrate our achievements, recognise the incredible support of our community and acknowledge our receipt of The King’s Award for Voluntary Service.

Expect glamour, great company, delicious food, dancing, live entertainment and plenty of fun! 💃🕺✨

🎟️ Tickets can be booked via the link attached. https://www.zeffy.com/en-GB/ticketing/celebration-ball
Gather your group, book your tickets and join us in making a difference this Christmas! 🎄❤️

We can’t wait to celebrate with you! 🥂✨

Please note: Zeffy may add a fee to your donation to support their service. If you do not wish to pay this additional fee, click the down arrow next to the amount, select “Other” and enter £0. This means you will be charged only the amount of your donation.
Tickets are also non-refundable.

08/08/2026

Ready and raring to go for Regatta! Come down and see the fantastic prize list for our raffle. Only £1 a ticket or a special offer for today: 5 tickets for £5.

27/07/2026

Last Friday was a special occasion at our Rotary breakfast, where we were paid a visit by the new District Governor, David Hartley, and his wife, Yvonne, both proud members of the Rotary Club of Louth.

There was a very valuable exchange of ideas at breakfast and we look forward to learning more from David's extensive experience as a Rotarian during the new Rotary year.

02/07/2026

At 21, she rowed the Atlantic - alone. She then became the first woman to swim the full length of the British Isles.

Most recently, she completed a remarkable 24,000-mile solo circumnavigation of the globe aboard her 19-foot plywood yacht, Numbatou, in the Mini Globe Race.

Now British Adventurer Jasmine Harrison is coming to Whitby.

Join us for what promises to be a fascinating illustrated talk as Jasmine shares the challenges, triumphs and unforgettable moments from some of the world's toughest endurance adventures.

📅 Tuesday 30 September 2026
📍 Royal Hotel, Whitby
🍽️ £30 per person, including a two-course lunch (main course followed by dessert or cheese & biscuits)
🕛 12PM
For further information or to reserve your place, please contact Doug Lowther - [email protected]

Photographs courtesy of Jasmine Harrison

26/06/2026

History was made today at the Rotary Club of Whitby & District as Soraya Watson became the Club's first female President in its 68-year history.

Soraya received the Chain of Office from outgoing President Steve Maltby, who was warmly thanked for his outstanding leadership over the past year. Having now served as President for the third time since 2019, Steve leaves the role with the Club's sincere thanks and every wish for a well earned rest.

In her inaugural address, President Soraya outlined an inspiring vision for the year ahead. She pledged to build on the Club's proud tradition of community service, with a particular focus on supporting Young Carers, recognising the invaluable contribution of our growing Friends of Rotary, and strengthening relationships with Whitby's fishing and farming communities, whose hard work and heritage deserve our support more than ever.

We are excited by Soraya's fresh ideas, inclusive approach and determination to ensure our Club continues to grow, evolve and serve the people of Whitby and the surrounding area.

Congratulations, President Soraya Watson. Here's to a successful and memorable year ahead!

24/06/2026

🚧 PAPER, STRAWS... AND 9KG! 🚧

On 11 June, Whitby and District Rotary Club held its first ever Design and Build Competition at Goathland Village Hall for local primary school pupils.

Teams were challenged to build a roadway spanning a 45cm gap using only paper, card and paper straws. The aim? Support the heaviest load possible!

The standard was incredibly high, with three teams successfully supporting an impressive 9kg. After judging, two teams could not be separated and were declared joint winners:
🏆 Glaisdale Primary school
🏆 Castleton Community Primary School - Yorkshire Endeavour Academy Trust

Congratulations to all the young engineers who took part. The creativity, teamwork and problem solving on display were outstanding!

19/06/2026

"That's all folks!"

Steve Maltby's Presidential Evening was a fitting finale to a busy and successful year as President of Whitby and District Rotary Club.

From leading the Club to continuing his work with our Technology Tournament, Steve's energy, commitment and enthusiasm have never been in short supply.

Thank you, Steve, for everything you've done for Rotary and our community over the past year.

Now the baton passes to Soraya Watson and we're looking forward to seeing what the next year brings.

23/05/2026

We were thrilled to welcome film and television star Ace Bhatti to our Rotary breakfast this week, where he shared stories from a remarkable life on and off screen.

Known to millions as EastEnders villain Yusef Khan, Line of Duty’s Police and Crime Commissioner Rohan Sindhwani, and Freddie Mercury’s father in Bohemian Rhapsody, Ace brought humour, honesty and plenty of surprises to the morning.

Perhaps the most unexpected story came from his time living in Staithes, where he volunteered to help clean the RNLI lifeboat, somehow ended up joining the crew, and later found himself stranded at the top of a training buoy wondering what on earth had happened to his day.

Ace also spoke candidly about the precarious reality of acting, the importance of always keeping busy between roles, and the determination needed to sustain a career in such a competitive industry.

Our sincere thanks to Ace for taking the time to join us and give such an engaging insight into his life and career.

11/05/2026

Following a recent banner exchange in Japan between our President Elect Peter Craggs and the President of the Rotary Club of Kanazawa, we were delighted this week to welcome another international Rotary visitor to Whitby.

Claudine Jackson, a member of the Rotary Club of Marbella East and wife of our own Peter Jackson, who is also a Rotarian with the Rotary Club of Deauville, joined us for breakfast at our Whitby meeting.

On behalf of Marbella East President Linda Eccles, Claudine exchanged club banners with our President Steve Maltby, marking another small but meaningful link in Rotary’s worldwide network of friendship and service.

A very enjoyable and interesting conversation was shared by all over breakfast, with plenty of stories, experiences and plans for the future.

28/04/2026

A big well done to Whitby’s talented young photographers, Jack and Amelia, who represented us at the District 1040 final of the Rotary Young Photographer Competition 👏

While they won’t be progressing to the next stage, reaching the district final is a fantastic achievement and they should be very proud of how far they’ve come. They will each receive a certificate along with judges’ feedback on their work.

Congratulations also to this year’s regional winners, Nathan Wooloff (Ilkley Wharfedale) and Maddie Ostler-Beech (Hull), whose entries on the theme “Happiness in Nature” will now go on to the national final. We wish them the very best of luck! 📸

Photos: Nathan and Maddie's competition entries