OCTOBER IS ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT MONTH
Rotary supports investments in people to create measurable and enduring economic improvement in their lives and communities.
The Rotary Foundation enables Rotarians to invest in people by creating sustainable, measurable, and long-term economic improvements in their communities and livelihoods by:
1. Building the capacity of entrepreneurs, community leaders, local organisations, and community networks to support economic development in impoverished communities;
2. Developing opportunities for productive work;
3. Reducing poverty in under-served communities;
4. Supporting studies for career-minded professionals related to economic and community development.
President's Report
Welcome back to this edition of the Springword after a week off with the public holiday last week. It is nice to be able to give our editor Marilyn a break from time to time – she certainly deserves it.
As I have recently reported to the Club’s Board, we continue to be extremely busy with our community events. We had a Bunnings BBQ two weeks in a row to allow us to reschedule in the Norman Lindsay Wine and Jazz Festival on the 18th. This is always a fabulous day where we get to enjoy each other’s company, hear some great jazz and raise funds to go towards our worthwhile projects. I remain indebted to the members and friends of the Club who continue to commit to service. The foundation of Rotary is one of SERVICE and it is by becoming involved in regular service (where able) that we really live the Rotary ethos.
There are still a few spots on the roster that would benefit from an extra set of hands, so if you are free on the day and feel you can help out, please contact me this week to let me know.
Also, this Sunday 12 October our Club is supporting the Men’s Mental Health event at the Springwood Sports Club. This early morning event – 7.30am to 9am will see our Club provide egg and bacon rolls to the attendees who turn up for a bit of a ‘chin wag’ whilst enjoying looking at the cars that will be there from the local Allsorts Car Club. This is a great initiative that has been organised by local, Jonathon Crisp. Our Club will be providing the egg and bacon rolls for a donation, with the funds raised on the day going to the District Governor’s Partner Project and the Rotary Men’s Health Van. Both are super worthy causes that support both mental health and men’s projects, so we feel the funds raised speak very much to the focus of the event. We welcome anyone who feels like an early morning egg and bacon breakfast and a look at some interesting cars.
We had a very successful event today in the car park of the Springwood Sports Club.
The Men’s Mental Health event was organised by Jonathon Crisp of Chapman Real Estate and we were jointed by the’ Walk it off’ group, who are a free mental health community initiative designed to provide a supportive environment where men can come together, walk and talk. They are a great bunch of blokes and we’ve now made a connection with them that may lead to some future joint events – we will see.
The local Allsorts car club turned up in droves and were our customers for the day, along with a few other car and motor bike enthusiasts who were aware of the event. We served bacon and egg rolls and decided to cater for 120 and at the end of 2 hours we had sold all but 2 prepared bacon & egg rolls and had 4 cooked eggs left – so the estimated numbers were pretty good.
A suggestion was made to not charge an actual fee for an egg and bacon roll but rather ask for a donation – this was a good call and certainly raised additional funds. We took $878 and after accounting for costs which were $165, we made a profit of $713
Rachel and I made the executive decision prior to the event to donate these funds equally to The DG’s partners project and Men’s Health Rural Educational Van therefore ensuring the focus of the day being mental health received the benefit of our efforts.
An enormous thank you to Jerome Pagitz, Paul Tapuska, Sheryn, Rachel and Geoff, it was a well-oiled machine that well and truly produced the goods and hats off to Jonathon Crisp for organising. He did a great job and I think we will see this happening again next year.
Comment from DG Michele Ellery
Thank you so much for letting me know — what a fantastic initiative! Please pass on my appreciation to Jonathon Crisp and the team at Chapmans Real Estate, as well as the members of the Allsorts Car Club, for their incredible community spirit.
I’m so grateful to Springwood Rotary for supporting men’s mental health and for so generously allocating part of the proceeds to the DG Partner Project and the Rotary Men’s Rural Health Van. This kind of collaboration and local engagement truly represents Rotary at its best.
Wishing you every success for Sunday’s event — I’m sure it will make a meaningful impact and start some important conversations.
President's Report - Continued
This week our Club received a request from Norm and Cheryl Kitto to transfer to the Lower Blue Mountains Club. Norm and Cheryl have been significant contributors to our Club and in fact to a number of other Rotary Clubs over the years. I know I speak for all our members when I say a sincere thank you to them as they move their support to Lower Blue. I feel sure we will continue to enjoy their company and friendship as our Club and its members also continue to regularly work and support other Clubs throughout the Mountains and more widely.
Towards that cause, on Friday Valda, and I (alas, briefly for me) supported Lucien Keegal of the E-Club of Greater Sydney at the Seniors Expo at the Springwood Hub. We had a joint E-Club and Springwood table where we handed out lots of information about both Clubs, the D-Caf program and reignited friendships with previous supporters of our Club.
A very big thank you to Valda who spent the day at this event.
Also, on Sunday some of our members will be at the Rotary Clubs of Penrith & Nepean’s Whitewater Duck Race. This is a great event that will be well supported by many in the local community. And finally, a number of members of our Club will wind up the weekend with an evening at the Glenbrook Cinema enjoying the company of our fellow Rotarians from Lower Blue at their fund-raising film night, with a viewing of the ‘The Travellers’.
There is so much happening in our District – again so much to be proud of!
Until next week, take care….Liz
Liz Roberts
President 2025-2026
The Rotary Club of Springwood
DCAF MORNING TEA, TUESDAY 7TH OCTOBER AT KATOOMBA RSL
This event was organised by Lucian Keegal and was a thoroughly enjoyable event. A number of our Rotarians joined into what turned out to be a lot of fun. It was chaired by Pat Drummond, a local identity, singer and song writer, and a very funny man.
CELEBRATING THE 92ND BIRTHDAY OF DR GEOFFREY GLASSOCK
Geoff celebrated his 92nd birthday at the Fire Pit on Wednesday 8th October. A happy day with family and friends.
YOUTH SERVICE PORTFOLIO
1. Breakfast Club Term 4
We will be working with MYST on Tuesday mornings this term to provide the students of Springwood High with toasties, juice & cereal. Breakfast club will be running from 7:30am to 8:30/8:45am. MYST are also looking for volunteers to help prepare the sandwiches on Monday afternoons (generally starting at 1pm). If you would like to come along & help, please contact me.
2. ROTARY YOUTH LEDERSHIP AWARDS - RYLA
Applications are now open for RYLA 2026. We already have a couple of potential candidiates If you know someone aged 18-30 who is at least 1 year out of high school and you think would be a good candidate for this seven-day transformational leadership program, please pass on my details and ask them to contact me by Sun 19th October. Further information can be found on our Facebook page or the District RYLA website https://www.d9685ryla.org.au/.
Thanks,
Sheryn
Latest News
1. DATES TO LOOK FORWARD TO...
Club Board Meeting 13 th October. No General Meeting on the 13th, but non-Board members are welcome to join us while we hold our meeting.
Norman Lindsay Wine and Jazz Festival - Saturday 18th October
Next Club Meeting 20th October. Guest Speaker - Al Kellaway on ShelterBox
2. A MESSAGE TO NORM AND CHERYL FROM OUR RECENT EXCHANGE STUDENT FROM BRAZIL
Hi Norm & Cheryl,
It’s so nice to hear from you again. The return to Chile has been a bit of a whirlwind. I’ve had so many exams and academic things going on that time just flew by.
I often think about my time with you and in Australia it was such a special experience for me. How are you both doing? And how is everything going with the Rotary Club? I’d love to hear what you’ve been up to lately.
As for soccer, I’ve been trying to play whenever I can, though school has kept me really busy. 🥲
I’m not sure yet when I’ll be able to make a return trip to Australia, but it’s definitely something I’d love to do in the future. Hopefully we can catch up in person again one day!
Sending you both my best wishes,
Mati
3. WORLD POLIO DAY
Take action for World Polio Day on 24 October
For decades, Rotary members have joined forces with governments, nongovernmental organizations, and local communities to fight polio. We’ve made incredible progress, but the mission isn’t over yet.
This powerful video (available in English with automatically generated captions in additional languages) shows why our commitment is more critical than ever.
As World Polio Day approaches, a new Rotary Service in Action blog post details the challenges we face, explains how supporting polio eradication promotes peace, and offers simple ways your club can take action through fundraising, education, and advocacy.
Districts 9685 and 9675 are gearing up for the annual Polio Train Ride which will be held on World Polio Day - the 24th of October 2025. The Illawarra train ride will be held on the 23rd of October.
Where possible, donations of US$1,500 per club are being sought or whatever you are able to donate would be greatly appreciated and will make a significant impact.
Details for payments are
Club Donations : BSB 342 011 Account 523 370 001
Personal Donations: BSB 342 011 Account 663 499 001
To increase awareness about Rotary Global Polio Eradication Initiative, this year politicians are being invited to join the train ride by coming aboard at a station in their electorate and having their photo taken. See the attached list of politicians. Please feel free to follow up with your local members to see if they have received their invitation and if they are able to participate.
Action List for our Club
Commit the Club to donating $US 1,500 or whatever we can donate during October.
Encourage fellow members and others to support the campaign by
giving $1 per station
there are over 200 train and light rail stations in Sydney stations so $200 donation to show support would be amazing.
If you are not already Polio Plus Society members, this is the best way to become a member.
Invite our local members to join the train ride.
Put it in your diary: Thursday 24 October, get your Red END POLIO NOW Shirt from RDU Supplies and join the train ride to end Polio.
We need to know which clubs will be participating in the train ride, so please let us know whether you will be joining the train ride and at which station. Our Club usually meets the train with members from Lower Blue Mountains Club at Emu Plains Railway Station.
For anyone who has joined Rotary recently, one of the major projects Rotary International has committed to is to eradicate Polio through the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. We are very fortunate to have a partnership with the Bill Gates Foundation which has just been extended for another 3 years. During this time the Bill Gates Foundation will donate US$2.00 for every US$1.00 we raise. We are close to the end with polio now in two countries- Afghanistan and Pakistan, however, if we don't eradicate polio, the risk is that within 10 years there could be 200,000 cases across the world including Australia.
Timetable for Train Ride
For The Rotary Club of Springwood, the times for the train arriving and lraving Emu Plains station is as follows. You can see that there is 10 minutes for the train at Emu Plains.
5. VIC100 - GO FOR BROKE
VIC100 Penrith to Mt Victoria 100km event is being held on Sunday, 16th November with Bells Line of Road closed to all through traffic. Help us raise money and awareness for mental health and Lifeline. Every dollar we raise helps us help Lifeline.
2.Register an expression of interest by clicking on ‘Volunteer’ on the top bar.
3. Once you register an EOI you will receive an email from Be Collective.
Look out for it because I missed it not realising who they were.
4. Once you’ve done that you’re on the list to be allocated a job suitable for you.
Please join in and take part because this is something very unique and a good opportunity to put us out there in the community.
6. DISTRICT CONFERENCE 2026
Registration
Secure your spot and take advantage of early-bird pricing by registering before September 30, 2025. Some events have limited capacity, so we recommend booking early.
Join us in Newcastle to shape the future of Rotary—Together for Tomorrow.
7. DG's PARTNERS PROJECT
8. ALUMNI RECONNECT WEEK
We recieved notice about this on Thursday. Too late to do anything about it. However, it is worth investigating the ideas for anything that we can use for our own Club.
For the links referred to in the above, please use the following. Just click on each blue heading:
Success is to wake up each morning and consciously decide that today will be the best day of your life. – Ken Poirot
Believe you can and you’re halfway there. – Theodore Roosevelt
10. ROTARY INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION
Unite for good in Taipei City
Connect with Rotary members from around the world as we unite for good in Taipei City, Taiwan, for the Rotary International Convention, 13-17 June 2026.
The convention is a unique opportunity to learn, collaborate, and be inspired in a vibrant city rich in culture, iconic landmarks, and culinary delights. This transformative event is your opportunity to renew relationships made at previous conventions, create new ones, and share with likeminded changemakers the exciting work that your club is doing.
The convention is our biggest event of the year! Learn more and register today at convention.rotary.org.
We would like to acknowledge the Gundungurra and Dharug peoples past, present and emerging as the traditional owners of the land where our Club resides and pay our respects to them.
