Below are some stories from Clubs across our District, stories of fund raising, community engagement and friendship.
Read more to see stories from Bega, Gerringong, Leeton, Moruya, Pambula and Woden.
Club Stories
Rotary Club of Bega 
Held over 2 days at Easter the Book Fair was a great success. The support of Rotarians and family and Friends was fantastic and we were able to make over $9,000. Saturday was very busy with a quieter trade on the Sunday. It has been over a year since our last Book Fair which is always our major fund raiser of the year. Normally there would be 2 Bookfairs during the year but with Covid lockdowns and social distancing we have been forced to cancel on a few occasions in the last year or two. Unfortunately this will be the last Book Fair for a while as the redevelopment of the Showground buildings has begun and the Pavillion will be unavailable until works are completed. Many thanks to Charlie and John who were the organisers of the event.
Rotary Club of Gerringong 
Sandra led us in the Toast to the Rotary Club of Kiama this morning. While Kiama is our nearest Rotary Club they are in a different District. But that has not stopped us from making many friends in the club and joining them in projects over the years—the biggest one being the PNG project—supplying needed goods to a school and hospital and also sending members to help with building repairs. Our latest joint project is the Mental Health Program. Kiama celebrates its platinum anniversary this year. 70 years of service to the community. They are celebrating in May by recognising others through a “Spirit of Community Award”.
Rotary Club of Leeton 
Celebrating the rice harvest, local industry and our unique community spirit at the SunRice Festival Street Parade. One of the highlights of the Leeton SunRice Festival; the Street Parade is consistently attended by more than 5,000 people. The parade showcases the very best of the Leeton community in a vast array of colours, floats, costumes, vehicles, hot-air balloons and more! The Club is enjoying the opportunity to be out and about after all the restrictions of the past two years and provided marshals for the event.
Rotary Club of Moruya 
Rob Pollock: Surfboat across Bass Strait
This great adventure, involving six surf clubs from Queens- land and NSW, was over two years in the planning. Its success established a world first. Two sweeps and eight rowers supplied the crew. Jack Pattison as ski paddler kept pace with them and they were supported by a commercial catamaran (which they paid for) which carried equipment, communications gear, medical supplies, water and food. They set off from Port Albert on 24th January, island hopping across the Strait: Hogan Island, Deal Island, (where an unexpected visit from HMAS Supply gave generous help) Killiecrankie on Flinders Island, Trouser Point, Clarke Island. Day eight brought them to their destination at Musslerow Bay. The surfboat was donated to Port Sorrell SLSC. $128,000 was raised for their charity of choice—the Clown Doctors of the Humour Foundation, whose mission is to support children in hospital—Drs VeryMuch and Honeybee.
Rotary Club of Pambula 
The weather gods smiled down on us for our Charity Golf Day last weekend .... it was a magnificent day and participating golfers seemed to really enjoy themselves. Thank you to all our volunteers who helped to make the Charity Golf Day such a success ... particularly Daryl who worked tirelessly to secure sponsors and sell raffle tickets. Some of the funds raised will be going toward buying 2 portable oxygen concentrators for our local palliative care team. Helen Limbach kindly came along to the presentation and shared her experience of how helpful it was to have a portable Oxygen concentrator available when she was caring for her husband Don before he passed away last year. These machines will make a huge difference to people across the Bega Valley in their time of need.
Rotary Club of Woden
Five Peaks Challenge - It was a great event with 193 participants. Weather was perfect for riding – 7 to 20 degrees, some cloud, very light winds and no rain. The volunteers around the course reported thanks and encouragement for their assistance from participants about the event. Thanks to all the volunteers who organised and managed the event and assisted at the start, on the course and at the finish. Nothing happens without a lot of work by the volunteers. All profits from the event go to our selected charities: MyHome in Canberra to assist them in providing affordable housing for people who have enduring mental illnesses and Rotary Australian Health for mental health research.
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