A new Rotary club built around music and the arts has been formed in ​Derbyshire.

Paul and Jayne Hopkins had previously been members of Long Eaton Rotary Club ​but decided they wanted to branch out to do something new, and so chartered ​Sawley Rotary Club.

And one of their first projects in the lead up to chartering was to organise a ​poetry competition with RAF cadets.

Jayne explained: “Paul and I saw a gap in the market for a Rotary club based ​around music and the arts. Sawley Rotary Club focuses on friendship and fund-​raising through fun and entertainment.

“We want to give everybody in the club a rich and rewarding experience, and to ​make it inclusive for all.”

The pair organised an information evening and managed to charter the club with ​20 members in May. The new club is thriving and attracting a younger crowd, ​admitted Jayne. “We are promoting joining Rotary as ‘letting the sun shine in your ​life’,” she added.

Jayne and Paul come from an entertainment background, with Paul a ​professional singer and Jayne an event manager. “We understand the power of ​music and social activity to inspire people and give them purpose,” added Jayne.

“I fell in love with Rotary 20 years ago and I really enjoy bringing it into people’s ​lives for the first time. I love watching their journey and seeing them benefit ​emotionally. It is so rewarding.”

Forming a new Rotary club was a challenge, but Jayne and Paul took to local radio ​and social media advertising to promote the new venture.

In the lead up the chartering, the couple sponsored a poetry competition for RAF ​Air Cadets under the Rotary banner, which resulted in an awards ceremony in ​Swadlincote.

Cadet Ali from 126 Derby Squadron won the event, and the plan is to run the ​poetry competition with Sawley Rotary Club.

“The idea for the poetry competition is something I have always wanted to do.

“When I was a teenager, I used poetry as a form of release and escape, it was ​really cathartic. I remember coming from a lovely family and a happy school life, ​but still felt alone with my feelings and worries. No-one seemed to understand ​me, and poetry was my release.

“I ended up having some pieces published and then ran my own business selling ​poetry in my early twenties.

“I believe that poetry is a good way for teenagers to express themselves.”

Jayne said the competition wasn’t based on academic ability but instead offered ​an opportunity for the youngsters to be creative and enjoy writing. “Poetry is ​subjective – there is no right or wrong.”

Jayne had previously run poetry competitions in Derbyshire schoosl with the RAF ​cadets often winning. That was when she liaised with Squadron Leader Alyn ​Thompson to organise a poetry competition across four Derbyshire squadrons in ​the south and East Midland wing covering Long Eaton, Ilkeston, Derby and ​Swadlincote.

“The cadets all said how much they enjoyed taking a break, sitting down and ​using their minds. It was a nice break away from the physical side of being a ​cadet,” added Jayne, who presented prizes to the winner and runners-up, which ​included Amazon vouchers, as well as certificates and stickers to everyone who ​entered.