The Great Duck Race has grown steadily over the years, evolving into one of the club’s most visible and community-driven fundraisers.

What began as a straightforward fundraising event has continued to diversify, intentionally bringing together a broader cross-section of the community each year. While the event is known for its fun and family-friendly atmosphere, its purpose is serious. The primary focus is supporting domestic violence services, prevention education and youth-focused initiatives within our local community.

The aim has always been to strike the right balance — putting the fun into fundraising, while also raising awareness and increasing the real impact we can have close to home. The Duck Race provides funding to local domestic violence charities doing essential front-line work, while also creating space for community groups, volunteers, businesses and service organisations to come together for a shared cause.

This event is very much about giving back to the community we serve. It connects people in a positive, visible way and directs funds where they are most urgently needed.

Behind the scenes, the Great Duck Race is a significant undertaking. It is resource-heavy, logistics-intensive and requires careful planning well in advance. Preparation begins around ten months prior to event delivery, with major focus areas including water safety, risk management, permits, stakeholder coordination and volunteer management. It is a large-scale event that simply cannot happen without the commitment of active volunteers and members within the club.

The club also acknowledges the essential support of local Councillors for Divisions 13 and 14, Gail O’Neill and Josh Martin, whose ongoing assistance and advocacy have been critical to delivering the event safely and successfully.

Over the past four years, the Great Duck Race has raised more than $100,000 for local causes. The effort is substantial, but the outcomes — in funding, awareness and community connection — have made every year of planning and delivery worthwhile.

 

For more than a decade, the Rotary Club has worked quietly but consistently to improve lives across Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea and Fiji.

Items that are often written off locally as surplus or waste are put back into service through Rotary. Hospital beds, mobility aids, medical equipment and crutches that would otherwise end up in scrap are restored and repurposed for communities where access to basic healthcare equipment is limited.

The same approach applies to education. Schools regularly dispose of desks, chairs and classroom furniture after set timeframes. Rotary has helped redirect this furniture to schools overseas so children can sit at a desk and participate fully in their education. Over the years, this support has reached multiple generations of students.

Beyond furniture, the club has facilitated the supply of filing cabinets, reconditioned laptops and computer equipment, and surplus school books from libraries. Clothing is not accepted — containers are packed deliberately with items requested by recipient communities and matched to demonstrated need.

Sport and recreation have also played an important role. Through collaborations with community members and supporters, Rotary has shipped equipment such as soccer balls, cricket bats and balls, goal nets, tennis racquets and badminton sets — items that are often unavailable or unaffordable locally but make a meaningful difference to health, wellbeing and social connection.

Over the past ten years, the club has helped pack, fund and send more than 14 shipping containers. With transport costs averaging at least $15,000 per container, this represents a significant commitment supported through sustained fundraising and grant applications.

The impact is practical, targeted and long-term — driven by need, not excess, and grounded in partnership with the communities receiving support.

 

LEARN MORE >

Giving back to the community sits at the heart of what we do. Service Above Self is more than a motto — it guides how we show up, locally and practically, wherever help is needed.

Where possible, the club supports organisations and individuals who are doing it tough. We have worked with local primary schools to assist with environmental sustainability projects, including building garden beds for vegetable patches used in education programs that teach children how to grow food and understand sustainable practices.

We’ve also lent a hand closer to home. Members have supported veterans’ groups, including Burleigh Bowls Club and Currumbin RSL, with practical jobs such as garden work and fencing when an extra set of hands was needed. We’ve assisted the Country Women’s Association with painting and general maintenance jobs. We’re not professional tradespeople, but when something needs doing and we can help, we step in.

Alongside hands-on support, the club provides direct assistance and donations to individuals and families in the community facing hardship, offering practical help at moments when it matters most.

More recently, members have begun spending time with people on the Gold Coast who have experienced homelessness and are now housed, but are struggling to adjust to life off the streets. Sometimes that support is as simple as meeting for a coffee, listening, and being present. These moments may seem small, but they can mean a great deal to someone feeling disconnected or overwhelmed.

Kindness underpins all of this. Whether through physical work, financial support or simply giving time and attention, the aim is the same — to be there for the community we live in and serve, and to do what we can, when we can, with genuine care.

 

LEARN MORE >

 

Since 2012, the Rotary Club of Burleigh Heads has operated a long-running Mobility Scooter Program designed to support people who are physically impaired to remain active, independent and connected within the community.

 

We currently manage a fleet of 30 mobility scooters, which are allocated to worthy recipients who would otherwise have limited ability to leave their homes. For many participants, the program enables everyday independence — getting to the shops, meeting friends for coffee, attending appointments, or simply being out and about without relying on others.

The service is offered at a minimal annual cost of $270, which covers insurance and registration of the scooter. Rotary members also assist with coordination and ongoing oversight of the program as part of our community service commitment.

Scooter placements are subject to availability. While we cannot guarantee immediate allocation, we maintain a waiting list and will do what we can to prioritise urgent cases as scooters become available or can be sourced.

If you would like to apply for a mobility scooter, please complete the application form below and submit it today.

LEARN MORE >