Welcome to Christchurch Rotary
Christchurch Rotary Club is a vibrant club which is very active in the local community. We raise then give away over £25,000 a year to local, national and international charities and charitable projects. We run community events such as the Christchurch River Pageant and hold fund raising events such as Dinner About Town and the Christchurch Living Advent Calendar. The latter on its own has raised over £100,000 for local charities in the last 5 years.
Christchurch Rotary currently has around 35 active members, men and women, from all walks of life. We welcome new member enquiries and would be happy to chat to anyone who, like us, would like to give something back to the local community and have fun in doing so! See our Join Us! page for further details.
We also welcome offers of sponsorship, raffle prizes and practical support from local businesses.
We raised over £25,000 for local charities last year. Your donations helped make this possible. Please help us if you can so that we can help others.
What We Do
Christchurch Rotary is part of Rotary International. We are a registered charity and rely on donations from our members and from the community. We also organise community events which raise money directly for charities. 100% of the money we receive is put back into local community projects and international projects. We also raise funds directly on behalf of other charities. Below we introduce the types of events and initiatives we are involved in.
Local Events
Christchurch Rotary organises several major annual events for the town, all designed to raise money for the local community – either directly or through other charitable organisations. Over 20 charities a year benefit from our fundraising events include MacMillan Caring Locally, University Hospitals Dorset and Listening Ear.
Christchurch Dinner About Town
Wednesday 16th September 2026
at Restaurant Locations in Christchurch Town Centre.
🍽 What Is Dinner About Town?
- A progressive dining experience celebrating the very best of our town‑centre restaurants
- A welcome champagne reception
- Three courses served across three different restaurants
- Live musicians performing throughout the night
- A lively, social atmosphere in the heart of Christchurch
- Luxury Raffle, with a selection of high quality prizes
- Supporting local charities and good causes
It’s a celebration of food, community, and the unique character of Christchurch.
Christchurch Living Advent Calendar – Past Event
1st – 24th December 2025
Various Venues Christchurch Town Centre
Christchurch Rotary Club has organised and hosted the Living Advent Calendar for the town since 2021. Having now run for 4 years, it is truly established as one of the highlights of the year.
In December 2025, this 24 day event raised £23500 for local charities. This brings the grand total including the previous 4 years to a staggering £107,565!
Christchurch Rotary Charity Challenge Quiz
– Past Event
Saturday 18th April 2026 7pm for 7.30pm start
MUDEFORD WOOD COMMUNITY CENTRE, PIPERS DRIVE, BH23 4TR
£152.00 (£19 each) for teams of 8. Entry includes Fish and Chips + Wine + Nibbles.
We can accommodate a team with a minimum of 6 under special circumstances or individuals where the cost will be £18.00 a head. Rotary reserve the right to make these up to teams of eight.
The Christchurch Rotary Charity Challenge Quiz has been held annually for over 40 years. It is open to anyone who would like to have a fun evening while also giving to charity.
The 2026 quiz made a profit of around £1250 for Rotary Charities.
Wishing Well Walk 2026 – Past Event
9th MAY 2026 12PM Cliffhanger Café, Highcliffe
The Wishing Well Walk is from Cliffhanger Restaurant, Highcliffe to the Rotary Wishing Well at Mudeford Quay and back.
It is an annual sponsored, family and dog friendly, fun walk designed to raise funds for local charities, including Macmillan Caring Locally and other local Rotary-supported causes.
At our last walk on May 9th 2026, there were fun activities for all the family from face painters, Mr Pop’s Balloons, a walkers’ quiz with a £50 Amazon gift voucher prize and another £50 Amazon gift voucher for the most sponsorship raised!
The walk itself raised an impresive £2000 which was divided between Macmillan Caring Locally and Rotary Charities.
Thanks to everyone who contributed!
Christchurch River Pageant – Past Event
25th July 2026 12pm – 2pm Tuckton Tea Gardens
£2,250 Raised for Our Amazing Local Charities!
Following a fantastic day of sunshine, fancy dress, and river celebrations, we have some incredible news to share! Thanks to the overwhelming generosity of our community, participants, and supporters, the Christchurch River Pageant has successfully raised a brilliant £2,250 for our three partner charities.
Every single penny of this total will be split equally to support the vital work of:
- Hengistbury Head Outdoors
- Bourne Water Dragons
- Pink Champagne Breast Cancer Dragon Boat Team
A Massive Thank You to Our Supporters
Whether you hopped on a motor boat or paddle board, joined us on the banks by Tuckton Tea Gardens, or gave what you could from home, your support has made a genuine difference.
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who donated online via our JustGiving page or texted in their contributions. Your kindness directly helps these wonderful local causes continue their incredible work, particularly in supporting individuals recovering from cancer diagnoses and fostering our local outdoor community.
This year’s event, a triumphant collaboration between Christchurch Rotary and Boscombe & Southbourne Rotary Clubs, proved just how special our community spirit is when we pull together. A massive vote of thanks to Rotarian Chris Knight and all the organising team from Boscombe & Southbourne, and our own Duncan Wilkinson, who worked so tirelessly to organise and manage the event.
International Projects
ShelterBox
Right now, more than 113 million people around the world have been made homeless by disaster and conflict. Rotary is working with Shelterbox to change this.
By providing emergency shelters and tools for families robbed of their homes by disaster, Shelterbox is transforming despair into hope.
Christchurch Rotary supports ShelterBox through its donations from charitable funds and by giving practical help to the organisation.
End Polio Now
There have been no confirmed cases of paralysis due to polio caught in the UK since 1984. Although some poliovirus has been found in sewage from London recently, the risk of getting it remains extremely low.
Rotary International has been working to eradicate Polio worldwide for over 30 years. Since 1988, we’ve seen a worldwide reduction in polio cases of 99.9%. Only two countries remain polio-endemic: Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Christchurch Rotary contributes to End Polio Now through its charitable funds.