When did you last spend a weekend with strangers and never wanting it to end?
For me, it was my weekend at Clubs Connect Newcastle! Walking in on Friday evening to the first event not knowing what to expect and by Sunday, laughing with new found friends at the beach having spent a weekend helping the local community... I knew exactly why I am so happy to call myself a Rotaractor.
From across Great Britain and Ireland Rotaractors came together to spend a weekend together at Clubs Connect Newcastle. We started with icebreakers and a pub crawl, then spent time volunteering at Newcastle’s long-standing Star and Shadow community centre. A scavenger hunt sent us exploring the city, games night kept us up late and we finished at Tynemouth beach, wandering the weekly craft market with the Northumberland coastline as our backdrop. The weekend was built on fellowship, community and a simple desire to do good and the energy was electric from start to finish.
What stayed with me most wasn’t on the programme. It was the unplanned moments, when networking turned into friendship and I realised I was surrounded by people who cared as much as I did about doing good in the world. I had found my people and thinking back on that weekend still makes me smile. I left with a renewed sense of purpose, a stronger support system and real plans to collaborate on future projects.
A huge thank you to the Tyneside organising committee for such a seamless weekend and to everyone who brought their ideas, enthusiasm and willingness to do good in the world!
The next Clubs Connect event will take place between Friday 12th March - Sunday 14th March in Bath.
Known for and named after its Roman-built baths, the city became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, and was later listed as one of the "Great Spa Towns of Europe". Our third Clubs Connect weekend takes place in Bath, hosted in partnered with the Rotaract club of Chippenham.
Find out more about our Clubs Connect programme, and how to get tickets for our next event, on our website.
