Southbank Rotary Club Update

Stuart and his wife Janet were visiting us from Melbourne, but when our nominated guest speaker didn't arrive, Stuart very kindly stepped in and spoke to us about his involvement with his Rotary Club - Southbank in Melbourne.  He is currently President Elect of the 27 member club which was Chartered in June 1999.  They meet on Tuesday evenings for dinner.  They have a large number of younger members with just under half of them in the age bracket of 25 - 35 with the rest spread up to the eldest of 65! 

 

They regularly meet with the other Rotary Clubs in their cluster to see if they can work together on projects.  They have also partnered up with Channel 9's A Current Affair to bring human interest stories to the public and to assist with fund raising opportunities when they can.  Stuart spoke of a young couple that they recently helped.  The couple have 2 small children and one on the way.  One of the children has cancer and is intellectually impaired.  The husband who usually drives the child to and from the hospital unfortunately died in an accident and they were not able to get to the medical help for the child anymore as a result of this unfortunate accident.  The Rotary Club and A Current Affair ran the story and set up a fundraising opportunity for a trust fund for the child.  They raised over $1 million to help the family out. 

 

They are also involved in a number of charities that assist the homeless.  John Welch, a member of his club is also the conductor for Choir of Hard Knocks which recently commenced it's Australian tour with a concert in Perth recently. 

 

They get involved in smaller projects as well as the really big ones.  They will, from time to time, team up with the other clubs in the cluster:  Docklands, Melbourne, Central and e-club Melbourne to have a joint meeting with an interesting guest speaker or to engage in a combined project.

 

Stuart has also been involved in RYLA for a long time and this year has taken on the Chair's position for his district.  He is delighted to see young people come to be involved in RYLA not just as a participant, but also come back time and again to be involved as leaders. 

 

Thank you Stuart for being willing to talk about what your Rotary Club is doing - you did a great job; particularly on such short notice.