A warm welcome back to another year of 'making a difference locally & globally'!
We have already had a busy start to the year with a working bee at our storage container and a huge weekend catering for the Victorian Pickleball Championships at Holyoake Park Tennis Centre. A huge thanks to all of the volunteers over a very hot long weekend.
Our third container for Vanuatu departed just before Christmas, carrying health and educational equipment and supplies to the tiny island of Futuna. We are continuing to gather materials to send to Port Vila and Zimbabwe plus assisting other groups in Ballarat to support the community of Ainaro in Timor Leste
We are now looking forwards to our Festival of Art, to be held over the long weekend in March and invite everyone to get involved by attending the various events and volunteering to assist - the more the merrier!
More details on these events below.
Jill
Festival of Art
Make sure the Festival of Art in Ballarat is in your diaries for the March long weekend!
Featuring hands-on activities for adults and children, this is more than an Art Show, it's a real opportunity to see and buy great artworks and also to explore your own creativity.
Kicking off on the 5th of March with Opening Night which is the first opportunity to see and purchase artworks, then the big marquee will be open throughout the long weekend.
Our Vino and Van Gogh is on Saturday night - a chance to sip, enjoy nibbles and create your own masterpiece with expert guidance.
Our first meeting for 2026 was a working bee at our storage shed to clean up, clean out and get ready for a fresh new year of #doinggood_differently.
We were so busy that we forgot to take any photos, so here are a few that AI thought we might look like!
Pickleball Championships
Over the long weekend in January we had the opportunity to see some pickleball playing up close as we catered for the Victorian Championships at Holyoake Park Tennis centre.
Everyone of a certain age will remember playing bat tennis at school and pickleball is a very similar sport, using a special ball to replace the old tennis balls and of course the championships were much more serious and well regulated.
Over the four days of the championships we had a lot of fun and offered various healthy and not so healthy options to the players and spectators.
Eatup Early Start
Deb made sure to utilise the 'captive audience' at the Pickleball Championships to make an early start on our Eatup sandwich provision for the year.
The 590 sandwiches made were frozen for delivery in the following week to local primary schools and the Year 7 & 8 students from Ballarat Grammar will commence their regular volunteer sandwich sessions after school starts.
This will enable us to provide sandwiches to all 37 schools on our roster, allowing school staff to provide a lunch to students who are without, right from the start of the year.
Educational Items Saved from Landfill
In January our members, ably led by Gary Morgan - RC Ballarat South, joined with volunteers from City of Ballarat/Friends of Ainaro, to unload furniture and other items from our Lady Help of Christians Primary School. OLHC is undergoing major renovations and had various surplus items of equipment and furniture. Rather than going to landfill, these items will have a second life as valuable resources in Zimbabwe, Timor Leste and Vanuatu.
Many thanks to Jaci Commons, Principal and other staff at OLHC for thinking of us and the communities we assist.
Another Ruby for Deb
Jill made a special presentation at our January 19 meeting. Deb's ongoing contributions to The Rotary Foundation (TRF) was recognised with a Paul Harris pin with two rubies.
The Rotary Foundation is Rotary's Charity arm and donations are tax deductible. TRF funds are used for global projects such as the fight to eradicate polio, disaster relief projects such as bushfires and floods, as well as providing funds to Districts and Clubs to use for their own projects.
We have utilised TRF funds for projects such as the all-abilities playground at Vic Park, the Community Care Centre, our overseas projects in Bali and Vanuatu as well as other local projects.
When contributions reach a total of US$1,000, a Paul Harris Fellow recognition is awarded. Further contributions are recognised with various pins and mementos.
Join Rotarians from across Victoria and South Australia to learn, share knowledge and experiences and create new networks.
This is a unique opportunity to meet Rotarians from other Districts and find out about their projects, problems and solutions.
For more information about the program, speakers and costs check the event website here.
Please support these amazing organisations who have all assisted us in some way. Without them, our reach would be smaller and projects less impactful..
Eatup Early Start
