The Alfredton Rotary Club continues to stay active and engaged, proudly upholding Rotary’s mission of ‘Service above Self’ through meaningful projects and partnerships that benefit both our local community and our global causes.
We have again been successful with our District Grant application to assist with shipping costs for the next container to Vanuatu.
July is Maternal & Child Health month. In keeping with this we have received donations of birthing kits, and neonatal supplies from Grampians Health and UFS dispensaries for Vanuatu’s babies.
July has been a very busy month seeing us support Youth and Education by sponsoring the Science & Engineering Challenge, an initiative designed to inspire young minds and build confidence in STEM fields. Thank you to the lead, Rod Stewart and Alfredton committee members Deb Robertson, Kay Jackson in collaboration with RC of Ballarat West’s Alan Barham and RC of Wendouree Breakfast members Andrew Harman & David Sanders. Thank you to Bett for sewing bottle bags and members for providing bottles of wine to assist with fund raising.
Environmental action
1. In partnership with other Ballarat Rotary Clubs our members took part in helping the Friends of the Canadian Corridor local tree planting days. Our event was held at Dozers Track, Canadian on Sunday 27th and manned by Bett, Deb, Cheryl and me. We braved the cold and misty rain to welcome over 60 volunteers and then provide a BBQ sausage lunch.
2. National Tree Planting Day - The primary school tree plantings commenced on Friday 25th at Wendouree, Lucas and Newington and despite the bitterly cold day the students enjoyed getting their hands dirty. More schools scheduled for late July and early August. Thank you to those Rotarians able to attend and participate.
3. Reducing land fill - The next container bound for Vanuatu arrived at the Community Care Centre and is already ¾ filled with donations of books, stationary, sporting equipment, tables & chairs from local schools, medical consumables from Grampians Health, furniture and equipment from a local ENT surgery, linen from Eureka Linen and beds and mobility aids from Shannon’s Bridge. Thank you to everyone for the help in sourcing the goods and assisting in packing.
4. The Community Care Centre volunteers continue to be busy with the collection of donated items, sorting and packaging. The number of outgoing goods is increasing as accommodation funding becomes available to the support agencies. Please spread the word re donation of household items and furniture.
We are in dire need of whitegoods [Fridges and washing machines].
Please spare a thought to those doing it tough during our harsh winter.
Jill
Science & Engineering Challenge Dinner
The Ballarat Golf Club was abuzz on Monday night with more than 60 Rotarians, family, friends and sponsors' representatives gathered to celebrate all things STEM and SEC.
Very ably MC'd by Jill the night was short on formality and long on cordiality. Dr Bob Thurman's take on the state of the world and science's part in it, had the crowd enthralled and then the real action started!
Chris Hendry from the University of Newcastle's SEC team challenged diners to create a rig that would slide down a fishing line trapeze while carrying an egg.
Congratulations to the team of representatives from Service Stream, Central Highlands Water and Integra for the winning contraption, thus proving that they really can put their STEM skills into practice!
The lucky dip 'wine wall' was a great hit with each bottle hidden from view in Bett's gorgeous bottle bags and the purchaser getting a completely random selection.
It was a great way to bring everyone together before the Challenge Day.
Thank you to all involved in the organisation of the night, for a wonderful evening.
2025 Science and Engineering Challenge Day Tuesday 29th July
Another successful day was held at Federation University on a cold, foggy day.
The schools in attendance were Woodman’s Hill Secondary College, Damascus College, Loreto College, Mount Clear College, Ballarat Grammar and St. Patrick’s College, all from Ballarat plus Marian College from Ararat and Maryborough Education Centre.
In total there were 199 students, 15 teachers and 22 volunteers assisting with different challenges or preparing food and drink.
What started to be wet and foggy weatherwise certainly didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of all involved and the students tackled each and every task with great enthusiasm and gusto.
It is always pleasing to see the different Rotary clubs come together and combine as one unit to make the day a success and a big thank you to all who assisted in some way, it is a treat to work with such great people.
During July we have been working on two different planting projects, within our local community.
Along with the five other Rotary Clubs we took our turn providing admin support and 'snags' for all of the volunteers at one of the Friends of the Canadian Corridor (FOCC) tree planting sites.
We also have our own planting project - providing more than 2,700 plants to eight local primary schools.
Various teams have worked to achieve this outcome, contacting schools to assess need, applying for funding, sourcing plants, liaising with schools, collecting and distributing both tree guards and plants.
The August bulletin will have an update on the planting sessions in each of the schools.
We were fortunate to receive a $3000 grant from Acciona Waubra Wind Farm to support this project, plus second hand tree-guards from the Ballarat Golf Club and new guards from the City of Ballarat Operations & Environment Team.
Thank you to each of these organisations and to Inga Hamilton, Sustainability Victoria for providing very welcome advice and practical assistance.
Vines & Vibes @ Michael Unwin Wines
Our next social event is an opportunity to relax, bring some friends and spend a lazy Sunday afternoon amongst the vines. (Not actually outside in the vineyard, but metaphorically amongst them while tucked warmly inside)
Wines will be available at bar prices.
Some members are contributing to the charcuterie/antipasto share plates. If you'd like to do that please contact Cheryl to see what's needed.
Our members have started collecting items for our third and fourth containers to be bound for Vanuatu.
Already collected items include school furniture and sporting equipment, hospital linen and scrubs, medical equipment and aids, medical supplies, birthing kits, office furniture and picture books. We are currently waiting the arrival of a 20ft container, so that we can collect more school furniture and equipment.
The 20ft container will go to Futuna Island and the 40ft container will be sent to Port Vila for distribution there.
Futuna Island is approximately 13sq km, with a population of just over 600 people. There is one primary school with 200 students, no furniture and very limited resources. The items in their container will make a very big difference in the delivery of education for the young people of Futuna.
In addition, the health and medical resources will help to fit out a new medical centre that has recently been built on the island.
Any donations to assist with container and delivery costs would be warmly welcomed.
Please email alfredtonrotary@hotmail.com or contact Jill Oliver directly.
Please support these amazing organisations who have all assisted us in some way. Without them, our reach would be smaller and projects less impactful..
