Welcome to the Rotary Club of Shellharbour City
We are a small but active Club and have a lot of fun together while fund-raising to support a range of local, national and international causes, with an emphasis on supporting local charities in the Shellharbour LGA, as well as young people. We are also a friendly and welcoming group and have fun socially as well as when volunteering.
We would love to hear from you if you're interested in joining us!
It's 7.30 a.m. on the last Thursday in November, and 150 prime Christmas trees had been delivered to the Cec Glenholmes Oval for the Club's Annual Christmas Tree fundraiser. As eager customers strolled around the site, looking at the different shapes and sizes of trees before deciding on 'the one', comments were made like: “These trees look great, so much nicer than trees down the road, and so much more affordable.” It was a great couple of days and a very successful fundraiser, as all trees and stands were sold. Proceeds will go to worthy local causes, and the Club is grateful for the enthusiastic support of Shellharbour City residents (and the even more enthusiastic support of the many kids who came along!)
Shellharbour City's new Finnish Exchange student
It was with great pleasure that Club President Peter Rixon and his wife Collette, accompanied by Youth Director Larry How and wife Yvonne travelled to Sydney International Airport at the end of July to welcome Amanda Ekland, who the Club has sponsored as an Exchange student for 2023 - 2024. Amanda hails from Finland, and while she was tired after a 30 hour journey, was delighted and excited to be finally in Sydney, en-route to Shellharbour, where she will board for a period with a local family in Barrack Heights.
The circle is complete with Amanda spending time with the Difazios as host family, as Arlo Difazio was sponsored by Shellharbour Rotary to go on exchange to Finland just before Covid hit in 2019. Arlo has described that experience as life-changing, and Amanda has already had the opportunity to visit some local sights in the Illawarra, commencing a year that will also be rich and fulfilling.
The photos at left show Amanda attending her first Club meeting in August, when she gave us a short presentation on Finland: its history, culture, cuisine and leisure pursuits. After this, Youth Director Larry presented her with her name badge, and President Peter called her up to the front of the meeting to formally welcome her, encouraging all Club members and visitors to come up also to shake her hand.
Amanda is the only Rotary Exchange student in the Illawarra, so efforts will be made to get her involved in activities with other students being hosted by Sydney Clubs.
Amanda has already had one (very memorable) Australian cultural experience: she travelled up to Sydney with Club member Tracey Wicks (a one-eyed Brisbane Broncos fan) to see the 2023 NRL Grand Final at Accor Stadium. The Broncos lost to the Panthers by only 2 points in a high scoring and nail-biting match, which left Amanda enthusing about the size of the crowd, the atmosphere in the stadium and the excitement of the game, which she said has no parallel in Finland.
