There’s no doubt about Rotarians – they really are people of action. Rotary’s ‘can do’ spirit has been centre stage recently as clubs and districts have responded to widespread flooding in New South Wales and Queensland and the recent volcanic eruption in Tonga.

This ‘can do’ spirit has also been evident in the funding provided by Rotary’s Foundation. In the past week, The Rotary Foundation has approved 5 Disaster Response Grants to assist with flood recovery and humanitarian relief in our region. The grants have been provided to the following districts:

• D9560 – Central and Northern Queensland: $12,000 USD  (For animal feed)

• 9620 Greater Brisbane: $25,000 USD  (For flood recovery and humanitarian relief)

• 9640 Gold Coast and Norther Rivers, NSW: $25,000 USD (For flood recovery and humanitarian relief)

• 9685 North and Western Sydney: $25,000 USD  (For flood recovery and humanitarian relief)

• 9920 Auckland and the Pacific: $25,000 USD (Tonga – for education needs for 10 primary schools in Tonga to help in the aftermath of the volcano eradication)

According to Mark Anderson, Senior Coordinator with The Rotary Foundation in the RI Sydney office, the grant allocations are unparalleled for our Zone. “We have never had so many disaster response grants approved by the Trustees in one week for this Zone. I think it’s an outstanding reflection of Rotarians acting quickly and being seen as people of action in their communities” he said.

The grants are also a wonderful reflection of the generosity of Rotary’s many donors and a powerful reminder of the importance of giving. It is also particularly pleasing to know that the impact of those donations will be felt by people and communities in our region.  

Photo:with permission from IPDG Andy Rajapakse

Jessie Harman is a Director o Rotary International