Camp Getaway – a unique District-wide asset
Type: Story
Published: Feb 18, 2021
By Ken MaxfieldOpened in 1948, Camp Getaway was an initiative of Rotary Bendigo in response to the need for a youth camp in the region. Today, the camp is a wonderful respite that caters for people of all abilities and mobility. It is a meeting place for support groups, and offers those who need it most a sanctuary away from their daily struggles. Whilst disability and related support groups have priority for booking dates, Camp Getaway welcomes bookings for family groups, church groups, clubs, special functions, business meetings and recreational groups.Situated at Axedale, twenty kilometres east of Bendigo, the camp has myriad activities available, as well as fantastic tourist attractions within close proximity. It can accommodate up to 72 campers in three cabins each containing two twin bedrooms with ensuite; and two dormitories, each with 28-30 beds. Other main buildings include recreation and dining halls/lounge catering for up to 80-90 diners. M
Chris Finley :: Member in focus
Type: Story
Published: Jul 31, 2022
Posted by Assistant Governor, Anne Frueh At the Rotary Club of Balwyn changeover in June, Chris Finely was completely surprised to be recognised with a Paul Harris Fellow. His citation included:six hour shifts on duty at the Camberwell Sunday Marketdedicated mentor for one for our indigenous tertiary scholars throughout the scholar’s undergraduate degreevolunteering at Rotary Inner Melbourne Relief Network and the Box Hill Mini Steam Railcollecting food from Second Bitevolunteering at Alzheimer’s Australiadoes the Great Cycle Challenge for kid’s cancer research each yearif that is not enough, he disappears in his caravan for a couple weeks from time to time to volunteer with Blaze aidThis is a Rotarian who last year felt he should offer his resignation because he attended very few meetings. His offer was of course immediately rejected. Chris is “doing Rotary”.
Year 11 - 12 Scholarship Claim-Based Grants
Type: Site Page Story
Published: Aug 19, 2022
District and Global Grants Overview Stewardship What is Sustainability
Paying it forward for child survivors of abuse
Type: Story
Published: Feb 03, 2024
Through a Centennial Grant from Rotary Balwyn, and with the assistance of Rotary Essendon and Rotary Leeton Central, a haven for child survivors of abuse and violence has been created in the Philippines. The Tala Camp and Eco-Retreat is expected to benefit at least 500 children every year and will provide a safe place for children and young people to heal, recover, and learn to dream again. Tala means star in the local language. Project Rainbow, implemented by local children’s rights organization Bahay Tuluyan, has converted a simple farmhouse into a beautiful camp and retreat venue for children and youth in the Philippines. Located in the picturesque area of Lipa, Batangas, the retreat venue is surrounded by coconut and coffee trees providing a serene natural environment for healing. The house and farmland were donated to Bahay Tuluyan by a local man who had himself survived and overcome childhood trauma. After spending much of his childh
Water Project for Karen Refugees
Type: Story
Published: Dec 18, 2020
Original notes by Katrina Flinn, Rotary HawthornKaren is an ethnic group from Burma (Myanmar), with many fleeing Myanmar due to religious and ethnic persecution by the government. A total of 140,000 refugees from Myanmar are living in camps in Thailand, and some have been there for as long as 20 years. Due to overcrowding, clean water is a real issue.Rotary Hawthorn’s SkyHydrant project will fund the purchase and installation of a filter to provide clean drinking water to one of the Karen refugee camps.Noel Halford, Rotary Hawthorn Club Service Director 2018-19 heard about the work of Rotary Nhill in attracting Karen refugees to their town situated close to the South Australian border, and how the refugees have successfully integrated into the Nhill community. Noel initially arranged for a Rotary Nhill representative to address Rotary Hawthorn, which then resulted in Hawthorn organising a weekend in Nhill during April 2019. A friendship commenced betwe
Blindness Prevention in India
Type: Story
Published: Jun 06, 2021
By Past District Governor Julie Mason AMIt is always delightful to welcome new members to Wyndham Rotary – new members bring new project ideas. And so it was that we found out about an opportunity to make a difference in India.The new project was to prevent avoidable blindness across all age groups, with beneficiaries located in remote villages in India that had no access to primary or tertiary eye care. This project motivated Wyndham Rotary for the first time to apply for an International Grant from The Rotary Foundation. The project’s objective was achieved by working with the Koshika Foundation who organised eye-screening camps in the villages of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Haryana. People in these villages do not have eye care centres to diagnose blindness caused by cataracts. Once this screening occurred people were taken for life-changing surgery.The Planning Committee from Wyndham Rotary was active in securing funds from local businesses and a
Need Financial support for your project?
Type: Story
Published: Aug 27, 2023
Balwyn Centenary Grants, Round 1, donated $119,000 to 5 Rotary clubs to get their very-worthy projects underway. Round 2 closes on 30th September so act now. Applications are available at: balwynrotary.org.au/centenary-grants The latest round of Balwyn Centenary Grants has just been announced. This round saw a total of $119,000 awarded to five projects in four countries. Prior to this round a total of $252,744 has been awarded to ten projects – so the total contribution to date has now reached $371,744 after two years of operation. The Balwyn Centenary Grants program was started in 2021 with the objective of delivering one million dollars of Grants to Australian Rotary clubs over a 5-year period.The five successful projects were:Uganda Repair & restoration of dilapidated classroomsBangladesh Community based vision care & blindness prevention programCambodia Build 20 washrooms for disabled children in Siem Reap
Latest Rotary Balwyn Centenary Grants Announced
Type: Story
Published: Jun 29, 2023
Posted by Kevin Walsh on Jun 29, 2023 The Rotary Balwyn Centenary Grants program (https://balwynrotary.org.au/centenary-grants/) was started in 2021 with the objective of delivering one million dollars of grants to Australian Rotary clubs over a 5-year period. The latest round of grants saw a total of $119,000 awarded to five projects in four countries – Uganda, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Nepal. Rotary’s theme for the 2022-2023 year was ‘Imagine Rotary’ and it was very easy to imagine the difference that these projects could make. Grants were awarded to: Rotary Canberra: $50,000 for repair and restorations of dilapidated classrooms in the greater Masaka region of Uganda. This will transform these structures into safe, effective and secure learning/teaching spaces and provide toilet facilities for students and staff. Many primary schools in rural Uganda