Dumfries Devorgilla Rotary Club

26/10/2026

The Rotary Clubs of Dumfries Rotary Club Dumfries and Dumfries Devorgilla carried out a bucket collection at Palmerston for the Queen of the South v’s Ross County game on 17 October collecting money for “End Polio Now”, the Rotary charity whose sole purpose is to rid the world of polio. This coincided with World Polio Day which is held every year on 24 October to raise awareness of this devastating disease.

In 1988 Rotary International and the World Health Organization launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, at that time there were an estimated 350,000 cases of polio in 125 countries. Today polio is only endemic in 2 countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan if the vaccinations were to stop, within ten years there could be as many as 200,000 cases again.

The collection managed to raise over £160.95 with the kind generosity of the football fans and with thanks to Queen of the South who allowed the collection. This sum will then be increased by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to £482.85 and help to maintain the good work of the charity in their quest to eradicate polio completely.

More information on End Polio Now can be found at www.endpolio.org

19/10/2026

Devorgilla and Rotary Club of Dalbeattie held their annual AM/AM Charity Golf Tournament at Southerness Golf Club earlier this year on 14th of August and raised an astonishing £17,296. The joint event was held with the kind generosity of Southerness Golf Club who donated the day of golfing with all proceeds raised on the day given to the chosen charities of Maggie’s Centres and Children's Golf Trust. A big thank you is also due to the generous support and in many cases continuing support of 48 x teams/196 competitors who entered our Charity AM/AM.

To recognise the achievement and charity donations, a special presentation was organised at the Garden of Cosmic Speculation at Portrack House near Dumfries. The garden is normally open to the public one day a year but due to ongoing reconstruction work will not be open in 2026 and so it was a great privilege to be able to hold the presentation at Portrack which was the home of the late Maggie Keswick Jencks who founded Maggie’s.

Maggie’s supports people with all types of cancer within their purpose made centres around the UK and internationally, providing a new form of care and support from Maggie Keswick Jencks own experiences of having cancer. Maggie’s was selected by Dalbeattie Rotary Club and £9118 was presented to Shona Morrison who represents Maggie’s locally. The money donated is specifically for the new Maggie’s centre intended to be built adjacent to the current ‘DGRI’ which will be the first Maggie’s centre in Dumfries and Galloway and is very much seen as the ‘coming home’ for Maggie’s.

The Children’s Golf Trust aims to increase the participation of children playing golf and to provide a pathway from schools to possible membership at their local golf clubs. Founded by Professional Golfer Kieran Stevenson (Royal Troon GC). The charity funds golf coaching introducing primary school children to golf as part of the school curriculum, as well as providing tuition in etiquette, teamwork and help in improving physical and mental health. The Children’s Golf Trust was selected by Dumfries Devorgilla Rotary Club and £8178 was presented to Kieran Stevenson along with local Professional Golfer James Erskine from the Dumfries and County Club (local Trust coaching coordinator) who also provided assistance in running ‘Beat the PRO’ on our Am/Am day. The money donated is to be ring fenced for local schools in our area and intends to reach between three and four thousand children over the next two years. The approach by the charity has demonstrated a clear link to young people joining local golf clubs ensuring the future of the sport.

The presentation was attended by Rotarians and friends from both Devorgilla and Dalbeattie along with special guests and representatives of Maggie’s and The Children’s Golf Trust. The celebration was a great coming together to acknowledge Rotary working in partnership. Both Dumfries Devorgilla President, Robin Park and Dalbeattie President Ian Wilbur thanked the efforts of all involved in hosting a successful event with a fantastic amount raised for 2 worthy charities as well as providing a special thanks for the kind generosity of Southerness Golf Club in donating the day and all the teams who entered our Southerness Charity golf AM/AM. The success of which has guaranteed a further golf day scheduled for next year.

Pictured are Rotarians presenting cheques to Shona Morrison of Maggie's Centres and Kieran Stevenson and James Erskine of The Children’s Golf Trust.
Rotary Scotland South

15/10/2026

Save the date! We're looking forward to staging this year's Dumfries Christmas Lights Switch-on event once again this year.

08/10/2026

Our first guest speaker for our Rotary year was an excellent talk from Dr Fraser Gibbs, a Consultant Psychiatrist for older people for NHS Dumfries and Galloway and trained GP whilst in Australia for 10 years. This interesting career was not the purpose of his talk however but his love of the Falkland Islands which he had only just returned from as part of a twice yearly visit.

For Fraser is also a consultant Psychiatrist covering the Falkland Islands. A position he has had since 2019 working in the hospital at Stanley and covering all of the archipelago islands. His talk provided a broad description of the islands covering economy including farming, fishing as well as the increasing tourism and more controversial oil industries. He also summarised the islands demographics and of course wildlife. This is certainly a passion of Fraser along with some amazing photography with the different type of penguins, albatrosses whales and sealions.

Of course in terms of history this also had to cover the war which in terms of his own role, still has relevance.

It was a fascinating insight to the island which was most appreciated by the attending Rotarians. Vote of thanks was provided by Joe Reid. Pictured are Fraser and President Robin Park.

06/10/2026

We were able to help out to a recent request for funding from Lochside Community Association. The community group hosts Grub Club three times a week during school holidays. It is a struggle for some families to budget for days out, holidays or simply meals during school holidays during a cost of living crisis with cost of food increasing. The charity’s initiative gives children and families an activity and learning in a practical and fun way by flat pack meals and pizza making. This provides every ingredient required to make a meal for 4-6 people and a recipe card with step by step instructions to make it simpler and children can enjoy joining in and learning to cook whilst having fun. Also pizza making is provided where most children could manage themselves with a picture/text step by step recipe card. This also assists in learning to cook on a budget.

Lochside Community Association Grub Club provides 150-250 lunches to children at no cost each session. An additional £1000 funding from Devorgilla Rotary has enabled this additional service for take home meals and pizzas during the summer break. This ensures more families in need can be helped.

Photographed are Karen Wylie of Lochside Community Association along with Devorgilla Treasurer, Joe Reid. Devorgilla Rotary are committed to supporting our locally communities and families.

20/09/2026

17/09/2026

Great partnership working with River of Life Youth Group and Dumfries Adoptive Railway Gardeners for Dumfries Shine week cleaning up the areas around St Mary's Street and Lovers Walk. Dumfries Town Board

18/08/2026

Southerness Golf Club Rotary Club of Dalbeattie Rotary Scotland South

The enormously successful AmAm tournament at Southerness last Friday would not happen without the large number of volunteers, who ensured that this major fundraiser went off without a hitch. Clearly showing signs of stress and overwork, some of those intrepid volunteers had to sit inside and thus missed all the glorious sunny weather (and a bit of golf).

14/08/2026

Many thanks to all the great teams who took part in our Am Am Charity Golf day at Southerness Golf Club today. An amazing 50 teams took part for a great day of golfing and raising money for Maggie's for the local Dumfries centre and the Children's Golf Trust. This was the third year of the event organised jointly with Rotary Club of Dalbeattie and with thanks for the generosity of Southerness Golf Club for hosting the event. Rotary Scotland South

13/07/2026

🌱 Exciting News for Sandside Community Garden! 🌱
​Big things are growing at A Patch Ae Land, and we want you to be a part of it! We are officially holding our Annual General Meeting (AGM), and everyone in the community is invited to attend.
​Whether you want to hear about what we’ve been up to, share your ideas, or just support your local green space, we would love to see you there! 😊
​📅 The Details:
​When: Thursday, 23rd July
​Time: 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
​Where: Glen Aros Church, Sandside (The Old Community Centre) 📍
​🤝 Join Our Board of Trustees!
​Are you passionate about community, gardening, or making a difference locally? We are looking for enthusiastic people to join our Board of Trustees! 🛠️🌻
​If you are interested in helping us steer the future of the garden, please let us know ahead of time or simply turn up on the day to chat with us.
​All are welcome to attend! Let’s keep growing together. 🌿💚
​
​Sandside Community Garden (A Patch Ae Land) is a registered Scottish Charity: SC054563