Members and friends of Rotary Club Estoi Palace International met to officially open their new office in the heart of Estoi last Saturday.
Located on the street directly behind the church, the new facility is owned by the parish and was renovated specifically for this project.
On the ground floor is a charity book shop run by Dirk Bleicken, the proceeds from which are donated to the Estoi Casa do Povo.
In order to provide a rent-free space for the book shop, the building needed to be officially leased to a registered charitable association. That’s where Rotary came into the picture.
The Club agreed to be the official tenant in the historical building, using the first floor space for committee meetings and the like.
The inauguration was a festive occasion with dignitaries from the Faro Câmara and Estoi Freguesia, together with Rotarians from several local clubs.
“We are very pleased to have a physical presence in the Estoi community,” says Estoi Rotary President Claire Larson. “I think it’s important that the local citizens get to know us and see us as a part of the community. The club has been active with several projects with the Food Bank, Casa do Povo and public schools.”
Successful book drive
Meanwhile, the Rotary Clubs of Almancil, Estoi Palace and Loulé have reported on the “terrific” public response to their recent request for donations of foreign language books for the local school libraries.
More than 3,200 books were deposited at various locations in the area; the vast majority were in English but there were also books in German, Dutch, French, Spanish, Swedish and Finnish. Following an exhaustive cataloguing procedure, the books were offered to local librarians from public schools in Almancil, Loulé, Estoi, Quarteira and Boliqueime.
The remaining books will be donated to the Loulé Public Library following an agreement on the protocol with the municipal authority.
Almancil Rotary Club President, Volker Biebesheimer, said: “The children will now have the opportunity to practice the reading skills they have learned in school and they will also learn about the different cultures portrayed in the books.”
