The Rotary motto 'Service above Self' conveys the humanitarian spirit of the 1.2 million global members of Rotary International. Strong fellowship among Rotarians and meaningful community and international service projects characterise Rotary worldwide.

 

In the spirit of Rotary, the key drivers of the Rotary Club of Jerrabomberra are ‘fun, fellowship and service’. We work with local, state, national and international organisations to assist those in need through a variety of community service projects and development opportunities.

 

We may be a local club, but we are also part of a family that reaches around the world. Through our relationships with other Rotary clubs we have enhanced capacity and capability to engage in larger projects.

 

A few examples of our recent projects include:

• Building the Gazebo in the park adjacent to the community centre

• Providing timber outdoor furniture to the Jerrabomberra Public School

• Providing physical assistance to numerous ‘working bees’ in support of community groups and individual families

• Regularly sponsoring members of our younger community to attend Rotary Youth Program of Enrichment camps, Rotary Youth Leadership Award residential courses, and the National Youth Science Forum

• Sponsoring local exchange students to live and study internationally for 12 months

• Hosted international exchange students from Mexico, Belgium and Austria, for up to 12 months

• Hosted Rotary Group Study Exchange teams from New Zealand, British Columbia and Germany

• We have brought children from third world countries to Canberra for life saving/life changing operations

• We have supported the Canberra 24 hour MS Mega Swim raising funds for MS, and the Queanbeyan Relay for Life raising funds for cancer research.

• Under the Rotary Australia World Community Service program our members have participated in voluntary service programs in Thailand, Vanuatu and Tanzania, with further projects planned.

 

Funds raised are put to good use as can be seen from the following examples of recipients of our donations over the past years:

• Snowy Hydro SouthCare Rescue Helicopter

• St Benedict’s Community Centre

• Home in Queanbeyan

• Barnardos

• Jerrabomberra Public School

• PND Advisory Group, a postnatal depression support group

• An Automated External Defibrillator, installed at the Jerrabomberra shops

• Burying of a time capsule for Jerrabomberra to recognise the Club’s 10th anniversary

• Building of ramps and yard renovation for a wheel-chair bound child in Jerrabomberra

• Australian Rotary Health Research Fund

• Legacy

• Mosquito nets to malaria infested areas of PNG

• Prostate Foundation

• Rotary – Polio Plus

• Rotary – Reaching Oceania with Medical Aid for Children

• Supply of Shelter Boxes to disaster ravaged areas such as Aceh, China and Kinglake

 

Most importantly in all that we do, we have fun doing it, and enjoy the fellowship and community spirit that comes from giving something back and placing service above self. We mix business with social activities and enjoy high quality speakers at our meetings and interesting vocational visits within our community.

 

REALITY: The Rotary Club of Jerrabomberra has members from many walks of life, nursing, consulting, engineering, teaching, accounting, defence, public affairs, administration, transport, building, to name just a few. The common bond between members is a desire to help others and have fun doing it.

 

REALITY: Rotary has no restrictions on age other than being over 18. We are always looking for new members; the younger the better.

 

REALITY: Rotary is a modern organisation and welcomes both male and female members. The Rotary Club of Jerrabomberra currently has about 30 members with close to equal representation of male and females.

 

REALITY: The Rotary Club of Jerrabomberra has several married couples among its membership. Members children are welcome to most Rotary functions.

 

REALITY: The Rotary Club of Jerrabomberra has regular dinner meetings, participates in many community and fundraising activities and has frequent social activities. Underlying all activities is strong fellowship amongst the Rotarians and their families and a fun loving approach to getting things done.

 

REALITY: Individual Rotary clubs meet at different times to best suit their membership. In Jerrabomberra we are a dinner club, with meetings on Thursday between 6.30 and 8.45pm. We are a very informal club with 'official' Rotary business usually only occupying about 45 minutes; the remainder of the meeting is allocated to guest speakers and/or presentations on a topic of interest to members. We might also have a ‘vocational visit’ to a place of work and discover what others do within our community. Or we may visit another club, or invite another club to join us. An optional meal is usually available at our meetings.

 

REALITY: Guests are always welcome at our meetings, and attending as a guest is a good way to discover the realities of Rotary and confirm it is something you want to get involved in.

 

REALITY: Many people say they are too busy to join Rotary due to the required time commitment. In reality this is probably not the case. Jerra Rotary meets fortnightly, and while it benefits members to attend as often as they can, we understand it’s not always possible to attend every meeting. Moreover participation in the clubs service projects and programs is very flexible, your involvement and participation is always welcome.

 

REALITY: The Rotary Club of Jerrabomberra would welcome your involvement however great or small. This can be an alternative to full membership for people who wish to assist in the community but feel they are not able to commit fully to Rotary at this time.

 

REALITY: It’s not all work and no play. Several of our members have travelled to the northern hills of Thailand and helped build facilities at a training centre for children. A group of 10 members and partners visited a Rotary club in New Zealand and were home hosted, a great saving on accommodation costs. Several members have visited Vanuatu to help extend the hospital Emergency Department and also renovate a school building for the local children. We hope to visit other counties in the future to continue our international community work. Our club also led a group of Rotarians to Tanzania to the School of St Jude where we spent two weeks helping the school with building projects and working with the children.

 

More samples of Jerra Rotary Projects:

• Trip to Tonga to provide water and sanitation facilities at a local school.

• Team to enhance the teaching facilities and refurbishment of school classrooms at Lapaha School, Tonga.

• Hosted inbound exchange student Hannah Gilles from Germany.

• Sponsored outbound exchange student to the USA

• Hosted ROMAC patient Fitzpatrick Unga from Solomon Islands during critical medical attention at Canberra Hospital.

• Sponsored students to RYLA

• Sponsored students to RYPEN

• Sponsored students to NYSF

• Members undertook rehabilitation of the Jerrabomberra lakeside fitness trail.

• Junior’s on Watch – a school based good citizenship recognition award

• Tree planting Jerrabomberra.

• Provided financial assistance to a wide range of local, international and Rotary activities.

• Support to Karabar Housing Cooperative including a new bathroom for an elderly resident.

• Assistance in the planning and construction of split-level dwellings and new affordable housing.

• Hosted inbound exchange student from Japan.

• Provision of four park benches at sports ovals and recreation areas within the Jerra community.

• Funding and installation of Jerra Creek, Waterfall Park recreation playground equipment.

• Secured funding to enable construction of an adult change table facility to be constructed in Braidwood.