Prior to the commencing the Awards ceremony, Simon Cubitt outlined the Club’s extensive involvement in the local, national and international programmes of Rotary and in particular:
International The Club makes financial contributions to the activities of Rotary International, Two (2) key projects are:
- Polio Plus This is Rotary’s thirty (30) year war to eradicate polio worldwide which in recent years has been supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The remaining cases of polio occur in Pakistan with as few as twenty (20) in 2016. It is hoped that by 2020, the eradication will be complete.
- Shelterbox This is a self contained unit, containing tent accommodation, medical supplies and water purification equipment, which can be deployed to countries devastated by natural and man made disasters. for use by the displaced population until reconstruction can commence.
National In Australia, the Club provides funding to the activities of Rotary such as:
- Australian Rotary Health (ARH) the focus of which is mental health research, general health research; and scholarships to assist indigenous students undertake tertiary medical studies, and studies in rural medicine and nursing,
- Rotary Oceania Medical Aid for Children (ROMAC) which provides medical aid to children in the Oceania region who are suffering life threatening medical conditions, either from birth abnormalities or accidents. They are generally brought to Australia to undergo complex medical treatment by specialist surgeons. In 2016 the Willetton Senior High School (WSHS) Interact Club, raised substantial funds for ROMAC.
Local At a local level, the Club is proud of its association with WSHS and being able to engage with it in delivering to its students, what it believes are beneficial and worthwhile Rotary programs including the following:
- Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE)-This program sees a young school leaver travel to another country for a year, to experience its culture and way of life and to live with Rotary families and attend school. At the same time, this club takes into its care, a young inbound student, to experience the Australian way of life. Our club's current outbound is ex WSHS student James Dow in Spain and our inbound student, attending WSHS is Cole Chiara from Hawaii who attends WSHS as a year 11 student; and our next outbound is 2017 WSHS leaver, Aashka Bhavsar who will spend a year in Belgium.
- Rotary Youth Program of Enrichment (RYPEN) This program is conducted twice a year in May and September and is a weekend live in program, held at Serpentine Camping Centre, for fourteen (14) to seventeen (17) year olds. to develop leadership skills and self confidence. This year twelve (12) WSHS students attended the May course and five (5) the September course both with extremely positive feedback.
- National Youth Science Forum (NYSF) This a week long residential forum held at universities in Brisbane and Canberra for the brightest year eleven (11) science minds in Australia to develop their science skills. This year we are sponsoring year eleven (11) WSHS student Josephine Santoso, to attend the Australian National University in Canberra in January 2018.
- ConocoPhillips Science Experience (CPSE) is held at the metropolitan universities over the summer break to excite year 9 and 10 students who have an interest in science, maths, engineering and technology. Fifteen (15) WSHS students will be sponsored to attend this year and will have the chance to perform experiments in laboratories, meet and hear senior lecturers, attend site visits and walk around and experience university campuses.
- Leeuwin Ocean Adventure We are sponsoring year eleven (11) student Bianca Stevenson on the adventure. She s undertaking her Gold Duke of Edinburgh award. Without the sponsorship this trip from Bunbury to Perth in December 2017 would not have been possible.
- Four Way Test Speech Contest. WSHS Year 10 student, Mihan De Silva, was a participant in a recent club round of this contest and in a brilliant performance, triumphed against strong opposition from six (6) students from Applecross Senior High School and All Saints College. The speeches must must incorporate the four (4) principles of Rotary, IS IT THE TRUTH; IS IT FAIR TO ALL CONCERNED; WILL IT BUILD GOODWILL AND BETTER FRIENDSHIPS; and WILL IT BE BENEFICIAL TO ALL CONCERNED. Mihan won the received a cash prize and has progressed to a Zone final and then, hopefully, to the District final in March next year.
- Rotary WA Driver Education (RWADE) is a driver education course for year ten (10) students, who are about to obtain their learner's permit and commence the task of obtaining a driver's license. It consists of six (6) half hour modules, hazards distractions and risks; safety measures and ratings to look for in buying a car; good maintenance and stopping distances; Plan B if a driver or passenger in a car; a WA Police presentation on the consequences of road rule breaches and unsafe driving by young drivers; and the dramatic effect of a catastrophic traffic accident by a young man who survived an accident. The whole of the WSHS year ten (10) cohort from will undertake the course on December 5 and 6.
- Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) Is a residential camp for eighteen (18) to twenty eight (28) year olds to develop their leadership skills, including the fundamentals of leadership, ethics, problem solving, building self confidence and self esteem and how to be a good community and global citizen. The club is sponsoring three (3) young persons to attend the January 2018 camp, two (2) of whom are WSHS alumni with one of the facilitators, Rachel Wong, having been previously sponsored by the Club.