Giovanni`s 90th Birthday Charity Walks
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Giovanni Fontebasso, a long-standing Rotarian and a member of Cranleigh Rotary, celebrated his 90th birthday in May.
To mark the occasion, he volunteered to walk from Cranleigh Leisure Centre car park and along Cranleigh High Street to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and the Children’s Air Ambulance.
Starting on 9 July, Giovanni walked daily, except on 10 July, and he finished the series of walks on 18 July.
At the time of writing he has raised over £2,500 for these two wonderful organisations.
Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) is one of the world’s leading children's hospitals, with nearly 250,000 outpatient visits and 45,000 inpatient visits every year. Most of the children cared for are referred from other hospitals throughout the UK and overseas. There are 63 different clinical specialities at GOSH - the UK's widest range of specialist health services for children on one site.
The Children’s Air Ambulance began in 2012. After a lot of hard work, dedication and passion, it began to transfer specialist paediatric teams to treat seriously ill children. This national service is the first and only dedicated helicopter transfer service for critically ill children – a flying intensive care unit.
To support Giovanni's fundraising campaign, you can make a donation by sending a cheque payable to ROTARY CLUB OF CRANLEIGH, c/o Twin Peaks, The Common, Cranleigh, GU6 8SE or, from 1 July, you can donate through JUST GIVING on www.justgiving.com/campaign/giovanniwalk2021.
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Giovanni was born in a small village in the north east of Italy and arrived in England in 1960. For nearly all his working life he worked in hospitality as a kitchen supervisor and chef. His skills also provided him with the opportunity to teach Italian and cookery.
In Surrey, he was Head of Catering Services at Charterhouse School, then he became Catering Manager at Cranleigh School in 1971.
In 2011, his 80th birthday year, he decided to retire but continued to teach Italian GCSE at several schools in Surrey and West Sussex. He was a leading supporter of the annual Rotary Young Chef competition, and was President of Cranleigh Rotary in 2007-8.