The 'Relief Fund for the Bushfire Victims and Communities' has been established as a Rotary Benevolent Fund, giving total Tax Deductibility for any donations, and also eliminating any administration fees, meaning that all the money raised will go to providing aid. 

 

In bringing the fund to the attention of market shoppers on Sunday, Rotary was able to raise over $400 for the Bushfire Appeal, through the generosity of our local community.  Many shoppers stopped for a chat and to learn more about Rotary as well as donating.  

 

 

https://donations.rawcs.com.au/19-2019-20 

 

 

 

 

On the evening of 17 October, there were some very excited people gathering at the main hall of the Springfield Central State School.  It was time for the Rotary Junior Community Awards for 2019 to be presented to the Grade 6 students who had successfully completed the Awards program during the school year.  Not only were the children excited to be receiving certificates and acknowledgement of their hard work, their parents and siblings were equally excited to be part of that success.  And not to mention the excitement and pleasure experienced by the School staff and the Rotary members who had partnered to make this all possible.

 

The Rotary Junior Community Award program is an annual program for Grade 6 students, and this year it was a great pleasure to have four students successfully complete the challenge.  Details of the Award program are provide below, but suffice it to say, the four recipients this year showed great diligence and tenacity in organising their schedule to participate in four main endeavours during the year, and maintained a detailed diary, including photos, of their participation, what they learned, and the results they achieved.  The children without doubt have a bright future ahead of them, and we hope that as they develop, we will see them participating in other Rotary youth related programs for older age groups.

 

Pictured below are photos taken at the Awards ceremony, and some examples of the student work.

 

       

 

   

 

The four successful students receiving their ward certificates from Greater Springfield Rotary President Donelle Paul

 

Examples of the students diary's 

 

            

 

The Rotary Junior Community Award has its origins as an initial project of the Rotary Club of Mitchell River Bairnsdale. After a trial period in 1997, the Award program was adopted by many other Rotary Clubs within Australia and overseas. Greater Springfield Rotary has been running the program for the past 3 years.

The Rotary Junior Community Award program engages Grade 6 students by encouraging them to become involved in their local community through a series of personal challenges in a program that requires great commitment but also huge rewards. The Award program has four main areas of endeavour to be completed over the school year – Community Service, Social Experience, Physical Recreation and Skill Development. The students with the aid of parents and teachers design a program they feel they can achieve and keep a diary of their progress. The diary is provided by Rotary as part of the program. At the end of the year the students who have stayed the course and successfully completed the four areas of endeavour, are presented with a certificate at a ceremony organised by the Rotary Club together with family, friends and supporters. The success of the program is indicated by the variety of activities the students choose to complete their Award and the confidence and effort they put in; together with of the enthusiasm and diligence of the people who are involved as supervisors, instructors, assessors, mentors and supporters.

Interestingly, and another mark of the value of the Award program, is that the completion of the Award is now been used as a qualification on young person’s resumes in preparation for their first job.

 

The Award program is non-competitive and can be achieved by children of all physical and academic abilities. To achieve the Award, children usually take part in a range of activities over a ten-week period.

Experience over the years has shown that completing the Award helps children:

To support the students through the award process, they choose a sponsor who, along with their parents, encourages them in completing their endeavours. The student organises to complete all sections of the award, finding time to fit it all into their already busy schedules. The students received support from a supervisor at the school and support from Rotary through the liaison person.

 

Anyone interested in the Award program is welcome to contact us at Greater Springfield Rotary.

The Greater Springfield community turned out in force on Sunday, 8 September to support a very successful ‘Fields of Spring High Tea and Fashion Show’ organised by our local Rotary group and raising over $4000 in support of the Domestic Violence Action Centre (DVAC).

In a new initiative, Greater Springfield Rotary organised an inaugural annual High Tea and Fashion Show Fundraiser, and on this occasion partnered with the DVAC to raise much need funds in aid of DVAC’s work in supporting victims and families in need.

 

The DVAC is a community-based organisation committed to working towards the elimination of domestic violence throughout the community, and safety of women and children is their paramount concern. In carrying out this important work, the DVAC aim to provide services that are accountable, person centred, and professional. Services include, crisis support, counselling, court support, safety planning and upgrades, information, advice and referrals, and group work for women, children and young people. Additionally, community and public education, awareness raising campaigns and training for professionals, are also important roles that they perform. 

 

During the Fields of Spring event, Dawn Osbourne, DVAC Coordinator, gave a short but very sobering talk about the nature of domestic violence and its presence within our community, and a second presentation from Kath Manby, from V M Lawers, highlighted how it is possible to break free from Domestic Violence and rebuild a new and fulfilling life.  While the work of the DVAC is extensive, the initial immediate support to victims and their children, often requires emergency accommodation and essential care packages, just to get them safely settled. Funds for this are not always available, hence the importance of the Fields of Spring fundraiser.

 

While Rotary is honoured to have organised this fundraiser, the success of the event would not have been possible without the generous support of the community in making donations, collecting pre-loved handbags, and coming along on the day.  

 

We would specifically like to thank our many sponsors, including in alphabetical order: