Rotary Edinburgh

11/06/2026

THE POWER OF ‘POWER OF ATTORNEY’!
Great talk last week from Sandra McDonald, former Public Guardian of Scotland.
Sandra took us through all the pitfalls of not appointing a ‘Power of Attorney’, and gave us numerous tips on how best to get it organised. Sandra has published a book ‘Power of Attorney’ which is described as a ‘One-Stop Guide to all you need to know about granting it, using it or relying on it’ which probably should be on all our must-buy lists!
Want to hear inspiring speakers like this every week? Why not think about joining us? Come along to one of our meetings! Drop us an email on [email protected].

05/06/2026

04/06/2026

INSPIRING YOUNG SPEAKER!
The speaker at our lunchtime meeting last week was an inspiring young woman, Elsa Mercadante-Wilson.
Elsa is originally from Edinburgh but is now studying at Dundee University to be a teacher.
Before starting university, Elsa decided to volunteer for a year in a school in Honduras via the charity Project Trust. She chose Honduras because she had learnt Spanish at school and wanted to improve her conversational skills. She raised £7,450, mostly through hard personal work, to fund the costs involved.
Elsa told us how she greatly enjoyed her teaching role in the local school (plus private 1:1 tutoring in the afternoons). She found it easy to make friends and now views the whole experience with great pleasure, feeling it gave her time for both reflection and growth as a person, and has helped her tremendously in her ambition to be a teacher!
Elsa inspired us all with her vitality and vision, and we are confident that our society is in great hands with youngsters like this!
Want to hear inspiring speakers like this every week? Why not think about joining us? Come along to one of our meetings! Drop us an email on [email protected].

04/06/2026

01/06/2026

🌱 Ready to make an impact?

Join Rotaract for a morning of community service and environmental action! From litter-picking to trail maintenance, every helping hand makes a difference.

📅 13 June 2026
⏰ 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
📍 Friends of Burdiehouse Bothy, Edinburgh

Together, let’s keep our community clean and green! ♻️💚

23/05/2026

HELPING OLDER PEOPLE ACCESS DIGITAL SERVICES!
Great talk to our club on Thursday from Ian Couper, manager of ACE IT Scotland, an Edinburgh based charity.
Older people are at risk of being excluded from our new digital society, and ACE IT has been helping older people learn digital skills and get online with confidence since 2005.
ACE IT supports anyone over the age of 50 to use digital devices, through one-to-one coaching at locations across Edinburgh.
They also deliver weekly activities sessions for residents of care homes through the ‘Moose in the Hoose’ service.
All their services are free - just contact them to book an appointment.
Rotary Edinburgh was delighted to help this amazing charity recently, funding the purchase of much needed new laptops and screens.

19/05/2026

HELP US RAISE MONEY FOR EDINBURGH CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL CHARITY!
Throughout the month of May members of Edinburgh Rotary are raising funds for Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity (ECHC).
Will you help us by making a donation!
Day in, Day out, this wonderful charity helps make the lives of children attending the Sick Kids that little bit better.
Large or small every penny helps! Just click on the link below to donate safely via Just Giving.

www.justgiving.com/page/rotary-challenge-for-all

Thanks for your help!
PS When donating please leave a message!

13/05/2026

A VERY WARM WELCOME TO ANOTHER NEW MEMBER!
We were delighted to welcome another new member at our Lunch Meeting last week!
A very warm welcome to Bill Campbell.
Bill is a well-known GP and also a director of Corstorphine Dementia Project who for 30 years have been supporting people with all types and stages of dementia.
Delighted you have chosen to join us, Bill!
Interested in joining us? Why not pop along to one of our meetings or events. Everyone is welcome - just drop us an email on [email protected]

10/05/2026

Today, Sir David Attenborough turns 100.

For generations, he's helped us fall in love with the natural world – and shown us what we stand to lose if we fail to protect it.

He once said:

“𝘛𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘵, 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘪𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝙒𝙚 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙.”

Rewilding the world won't happen all at once. It will happen because people, communities and countries choose to lead – restoring nature one place at a time.

Scotland could be at the forefront of that movement. By reconnecting habitats, reviving natural processes and bringing back missing species, we can help shape a future that's richer in wildlife, more resilient to climate change and better for people too.

That’s why we’re committed to – and why we believe Scotland can become the world's first .

Wishing Sir David the happiest of birthdays – and thanking him for a lifetime spent inspiring wonder, hope and action for the natural world.

10/05/2026

Rotary Supporting the Environment!

Across Great Britain and Ireland Rotary members are the driving force behind so many different environmental projects in their local communities 💚🌳🌊🪲

In this article we showcase just a handful of environmental projects that are transforming communities and protecting our planet 🌍

Take a look and bee 🐝 inspired!

https://magazine.rotarygbi.org/rotary-briefing-the-environment-april-2026