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SEVEN volunteers braved the Solent Waves and raised over £200 for The Rainbow Centre, supported by the Fareham Rotary Club.

Members of the Rotary Club of Fareham supported a team of ‘wonderful’ volunteers on Sunday 24 July, who carried out a 1km swim in the Solent in aid of The Rainbow Centre.

The seven swimmers, sporting rainbow colours in support of The Rainbow Centre, set off alongside a safety kayak from the seafront near Solent Airport Daedalus all the way to the Rotary Wheel House at Hill Head.

This voluntary project was started by Lesley Charlton, from Titchfield Common, who gathered her ‘aqua team’ to support the local charity.

The team of volunteers complete their epic swim of one kilometre in the Solent, in aid of The Rainbow Centre.

She said: ‘I enjoy swimming in the Solent regularly, as do some of my friends, and when I heard that the Rotary Club of Fareham were trying to raise funds for this special roundabout I thought it would be a fun way to help.’

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The swimmers raised £230 for The Rainbow Centre – a charity which supports local children affected by neurological conditions, helping them to live their lives to the full – a total which is still rising.

President of the Rotary Club of Fareham, Pam Marsden, said: ‘We have a specific and wonderful campaign to help The Rainbow Centre in 2022 – 2023 and that is to raise sufficient funds for a Rotary Rainbow Roundabout for them.

President of the Rotary Club of Fareham, Pam Marsden and Lesley Charlton.

‘The current playground is not really suitable for children of all abilities and we want to provide a roundabout that is accessible to all including those in wheelchairs.’

The swimmers were supported by members of the club from the beachside throughout their route, which involved swimming and crossing sand bars taking them a total of 45 minutes.

On arrival at the Wheel House, the Rotary’s beachfront facility which supports charities and community groups, one of the team had prepared rainbow cakes to revive the tired swimmers.

The event was a ‘fun’ way to kickstart a year of fundraising for the Rotary Club, with various upcoming events planned to support The Rainbow Centre, and the club’s international charity, Global Sight Solutions.

If you are interested in becoming a member of the Rotary Club of Fareham, contact [email protected] for more details.

Fareham Rotary Club support Rainbow Solent dippers’ swimming challenge raising money for local children's roundabout