The Rotary Club of Helderberg takes its name from the famous mountain pictured above.  It overlooks our hometown of Somerset West and our neighbouring towns of Strand, Gordon's Bay, Lwandle and Macassar.  Together, in one of the most scenic parts of South Africa, we form the Helderberg constituency of the greater Cape Town metropole.  Helderberg has a total population of 120 000 and lies fifty kilometres east of Cape Town.
Our club was chartered on 14th April 1983 with 32 Rotarians, 7 of who are still members.  We have a membership of 30 (June 2003) and this is twenty lower than three years ago - almost exclusively due to young active members resigning because they cannot meet the attendance requirements.  Helderberg has been a very active club since inception; in the community; in the District; in fellowship. Our public relations activities and club bulletin are as old as the club is.
During our first five years we....
-rescued a local kloof of silwerboom trees from alien vegetation and eventually had it declared a Natural Heritage Site in 1992.
-started a fund-raising barbecue and refreshment garden at the Somerset West craft market, which is still a major source of project income - and of good fellowship.
-established a bursary with donations from the local farming community, which supports agricultural students at Stellenbosch University.
D uring the next five years we....

-entered into a second-hand clothes shop fund-raising project (the Bargain Box) with other local service clubs and it is still going strong.
-started an Interact Club at Parel Vallei High School.
-leased a derelict building from the municipality at a nominal rental, renovated it at a cost of R135 000, and created the Lyndhurst Community Centre, housing Drug Abuse, Child Welfare and Patch (abused children protection).
Since then we....
-have started an annual fund-raising Glen Miller Evening on the historic Vergelegen farm, which draws crowds from near and far.
-inaugurated an annual Careers Expo in conjunction with the Strand Club, which attracts over 70 exhibitors and 4000 pupils from schools throughout the Western Cape.
-started another fund-raiser - a swish annual Spring Ball, complete with wine auction.
-built a cr�che in Nomzamo (Lwandle). This was a 'green-field' project and we received donations from Safmarine and NBS to assist in building the cr�che. We equipped the project and provided staff training by a matching grant with clubs in UK and US.
In the Rotary year 2001-2002 we gave a computer room to the Lyndoch Primary School in the Winelands District. This was done through a matching grant initiated by the Brandywine Hundred Rotary Club in Wilmington, USA and a donation from Dell Computer (Pty.) Ltd.
-we built a cr�che in Nomzamo, which was funded by a Dutch Ladies Club. It is called the Nobuntu Day-Care Centre.
-we built an extension for the Camelot Home for the aged.
On the International front we have hosted 14 exchange students and sent out 10,  and two years ago we started participating in the short-term programme.  We have been involved in GSE, Ambassadorial Scholars and Friendship Exchange. In September 2000 PP Dick Solms lead a GSE team to District 1230 in Scotland.
In the Rotary year 2002-2003 we gave two foetal monitors to the HH Hospital, thanks to a Matching Grant from th Rotary Club of Ballarat, Australia.
We are working on a sports field for the Raithby Primary School.
The club celebrated it's 20th anniversary in May 2003. DG Peter Vurgarellis was in attendance. The sports field at Raithby Primary School was formally handed over to the school early 2005. A joint cocktail party, with the Gordon's Bay Rotary Club, was held on the 23rd of February 2005 to celebrate Rotary International's 100th birthday. Over 200 guests attended. Current projects include the Rotary Centennial Project (done jointly with the other Rotary Clubs in the Helderberg Basin) and the Bizweni Project for handicapped children.

Past Presidents of the Rotary Club of Helderberg

1983-1984 John de Bruin,1984-1985 Niall Welch, 1985-1986 Peter Hodge

1986-1987 Bill Ewen, 1987-1988 Garry Sloane,1988-1989 Jack Gardner

1989-1990 Kit du Plessis,1990-1991 Peter Rode, 1991-1992 Dave Barnes

1992-1993 Andre Boonzaier, 1993-1994 Chris Marshall, 1994-1995 Harry Berning

1995-1996 Neville Davey,1996-1997 Peter Humphreys, 1997-1998 Brian van der Grijp

1998-1999 Keith Viljoen, 1999-2000 Dick Solms, 2000-2001 John McNaught Davis

2001-2002 Winfried L�ffler, 2002-2003 7-2 Buster Tinsley, 2002-2003 3-6 Winfried L�ffler

2003-2004 Alan Blues, 2004-2005 Tim Bembridge, 2005-2006 Hannes van Tonder

2006-2007 Alberto Casciati, 2007-2008 Ron Vader