First Press Release

Claire has created our first Press release as follows, and suggests few changes are made before contacting local papers. This should be a model for others to use.


PRESS RELEASE - FOR WEEK BEGINNING 24 Jan 2011.


An adventurous Wiltshire resident is packing her bags ready for the trip of a lifetime.

Jenny Simmonds, who works for English Heritage in Swindon will be travelling to Sri Lanka at the end of this month with Rotary to learn more about the country and her own vocation.

Miss Simmonds, aged 26, works for the charity as a Records Management Assistant, and will be travelling alongside three other women who are also being sponsored by Rotary Clubs on their Group Study Exchange programme, along with a team leader who will be over-seeing the trip.

She said: "I was told about the Rotary Club Group Study Exchange programme through a family friend, who encouraged me to apply as he knew I had a Geography degree and a core interest in travel, languages and environmental matters.

"The interview process felt quite rigorous, and friends were surprised at the commitment that had to be given before invitations to take part were made. I felt that if I was not lucky enough to be awarded a place, the research that I put together on Sri Lanka and Rotary in preparation would not be wasted time; the topics were of interest to me, and the pre-work did pay off in the end."

The exchange is designed to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for young business and professional people to learn something about how their own vocation works in another country. Through it, Rotary hopes that new practices can be observed, shared solutions could be found, greater awareness and understanding of how the world works can increase empathy and tolerance and benefit the peoples of the world.

Miss Simmonds, who lives in Malmesbury, will be travelling with group members whose jobs involve working within the health service and in the media. They will be travelling around the country and staying with Rotary members, along with having tea with the High Commissioner, meeting Mayors and also giving presentations to many Rotary Clubs in Sri Lanka about the jobs they do and the areas of the country they live.

She said: "When we are out in Sri Lanka I am particularly interested in finding out about how their government departments operate; especially those working within the historic environment, in order to compare my experiences working for English Heritage in the UK. My main interest lies in forestry and environmental management, and I am especially excited about our planned visit to the Sri Lankan Department of Forestry. "

John Mills, GSE team leader and also member of the Rotary Club Of Thornbury said they were all looking forward to the trip.

"I am proud and delighted to be leading the GSE team to Sri Lanka. I'm excited about the prospect of making new friends, gaining new understandings of another culture, and being able to explore possibilities for providing help in some way to Sri Lankan communities that may be suffering at the moment from the dreadful floods that have recently affected the country.

Miss Simmonds, who is being sponsored by the Rotary Cluib of Swindon Old Town added: "I am truly overawed at having been chosen for this trip; I've never travelled outside of Europe before and can't wait to jet off to a foreign land to learn about new cultures and customs, meet and work with different people and of course enjoy the sunshine away from home. "

The team will be reguarly updating their blog pages on http://.d1100gse2011.blogspot.com/, along with their twitter account @SLDiaries, Facebook page called The Sri Lankan Diaries and also hope to make videos of their experiences along the way.

NOTE TO EDITORS:

For more information about the exchange, please ring/email Jenny or John on XXXXX