HAVING finished his two terms as Mayor of Kingsbridge, Wayne Grills has turned his attention to creating a new Rotary Club specifically for people between the ages of 18 and 30.

Having received support from Kingsbridge Rotary Club, of which he is a member, Wayne is looking for young people who would like to join a new Rotaract group.

The whole idea of a Rotaract group is to be social, most of the events revolve around pub, events, and having fun.

Carol Horton, chair of Kingsbridge Fair Week committee, used to be a member of the local Rotaract group. ‘It was a lot of fun and we raised money along the way’, she said, ‘there are Rotaract groups all over the UK and the world and you interact with them too.

‘We used to do carnivals and raise money for Children In Need - we used to dress as lollypop ladies and stop people going to work, it was silly things like that; but if anyone in the community needed help, we would help them too.

‘Its a bit like a posher version of the Young Farmers club. In fact the three-legged race in Kingsbridge Fair Week started from a Rotaract group. It used to be a wheelbarrow and scarecrow race we used to do in Totnes, then we brought it to Kingsbridge but the young farmers used to steal the wheelbarrows so it turned into the three-legged race. Now its a sort of “right of passage” for young people in Kingsbridge.

‘You make life-long friends from Rotaract groups too, I have six godchildren and their parents are all ex-Rotaract friends of mine. Its a very good social life. You can go on your own, everyone is welcomed, and a lot of people meet their other halves there too.

‘Rotaract has the Rotary Values but with more mucking around and having fun. We used to take trips at the weekend and go and visit other clubs in the country. It cements your bond with your town but also gets you out of your town to other places too.’

Trips are organised to breweries and distilleries as well as international opportunities. One Rotaract group is currently organising a Rotaract Montenegro Trip, taking in the country, the people, hiking, clubbing, national parks and mountains.

‘A Rotaract club is run by members for the members and provides an opportunity to develop personal and organisational skills by taking club office’, explained Wayne. ‘It also provides young people with the chance to meet new people, make a difference to your local community, develop skills, have fun, and try something new.

‘Most Rotaracts meet twice a month, once is a more formal business meeting and the other is more social. The rest of the time many different events can be organised. Because the club is run by its members anything is possible - it isn’t all about fundraising, and there is usually a visit to the pub involved, even after fundraising!’

Rotaract is a non-political and non-religious organisation with over 190,000 members of many different cultures, races and creeds in 170 countries. In Great Britain and Ireland there are over 2,000 members across over 100 clubs, however there are none currently in Devon and Cornwall.

If you would like to find out more about Rotaract and register your interest in joining, visit the website: j.mp/kbrotaract which will take you straight to an online form to fill out.