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Introduction
The Rotary Club of Canterbury has been serving our local & international communities since 1987. We have an active social and project program. Our members love being part of our Club and enjoy participating in all our activities. You are invited to come along to:
Once you get to know us, you might like to become a Rotary Friend or even to join the 1.4 million Rotarians as a club member. We will make you feel very welcome.
 
If you would like to have a chat about the Club please call our Membership Director Steve Clarke on 0411556561 or send an email to him at steve.clarke@canterburyrotary.org  
Your Garden Our Future Event
 
 
CREATING A RIPPLE ABOUT POLLINATORS AND GARDENS
 
Rotarians for Bees staged a fundraiser event at Box Hill GC in April which provided a pot-pourri of speakers, stories and projects.
 
One of  the highlights of the event was the presence of four school children  Jacob Niven, Emily Padman, Sophia Tehranitash and Ezekiel Raebel. They are from Parkmore Primary School in Forest Hill and were accompanied by parents Michelle and Jacob Niven and Box Hill Central Environment director John Erlington and his wife Ruth.
 
The students represent the BEAP  (Bee Education and Protection) Team which has been selected to represent Australia at the International Future Problem Solving event in the US in June. They spoke with Costa about the beginnings of their school pollinator project and with great joy about the upcoming trip to America
 
It was fantastic for all in the audience to see such enthusiasm from our junior citizens about pollinators and caring for the environment.
 
Many thanks to John McCaskill and all who contributed to the organisation of the very successful event and the audience who supported the event, the auctions, raffle and other fundraising activities.
Sustainability Festival 
 

Club members and friends participated in the free, family-friendly Boroondara Sustainability Festival which promoted small steps you can take to reduce your environmental footprint at home, work or school.

There were  experts to chat with about:

  • urban biodiversity
  • sustainable transport
  • waste reduction, recycling and the circular economy
  • water and energy saving
  • going all electric.

This event was held alongside the Boroondara Farmer's Market.

The photo below show some of the activities that the Club was involved with.

 
 
 
 
 
Philippines Mission 2024
 
 
image
 
Nikki Olds, Angelica Tranquilino, Olli Staffieri and Melissa Innella, who have just completed their studies at Latrobe University participated in the 2024  Philippines Eye and Ear Mission, gave a presentation  on the recent medical mission at a Club meeting in November. They spoke about the experience, take aways and observations from going on the mission
 
Needless to say, the mission itself is an (pardon the pun) eye opener for any who attend and especially for the students who do not get a chance to observe their type of studies and work in such a different environment. 
 
It is hard to describe in words what the girls presented so this is a link to their video on You Tube which they put together and presented and spoke to at the meeting.
 
St Jude's School
 
 
The Club was fortunate to have David Dobney speak recently as an ambassador for the School of St Jude's in Tanzania in East Africa.
 
The school was opened in 2002 by Australian women Gemma Sisia with the aim to provide free, quality education to students from disadvantaged backgrounds in Tanzania.
 
Today St Jude's  includes three schools, 1800 students, around 350 staff and a tertiary program with over 300 graduates.
 
Rotary and more broadly Rotary International have contributed significantly to the growth and success of the school and it is an example of what can be achieved by a vision, commitment  and an aim to assist those who are disadvantaged.
 
If you would like to read more about the story and success of the School of St Jude's please go to www.schoolofstjude.org and also please consider supporting the school financially by following the links on the website.
 
Federation Square and RICON 23 FORaMEAL Events
 
What an effort from the FORaMEAL team and those members who provided their support during the Federation Square Big Difference packing event on 27 May and at RICON23 packing event. Doug and Nora were the organisers of these events alongside the team at District 9800 including Lili Teichmann and Janet Hay. Needless to say, this is a Canterbury program and we did ourselves proud!
 
Special mention to those who underwent Supervisor training and assisted the crowd during these events - thank you.
 
100,000 meals packed at Fed Square during the Big Difference - the event went so well that it had to finish at 2.30pm when the supplies ran out!
 
During this time the team were at the House of Friendship where they packed 30,000 meals on Saturday (same time as Fed Square!!), 15,000 on Monday, 15,000 on Tuesday and another 10,000 on Wednesday.
 
Total packing for the event was 170,000 meals - a magnificent effort and credit to all the Rotarians, Friends of Rotarians and members of the public who participated.
District 9800 Environment Sustainability Award
 
Congratulations to Canterbury RC on being one of the two winners for the District 9800 Environmental Sustainability Awards.
 
Special  acknowledgement to the Club members and friends who have worked throughout the year on the environmental projects and activities.
 
Assisting Ukrainians
 
 
 
The Rotary Club of Canterbury responded to the call for supplies by Ukrainians suffering under war conditions. During the week ending 2 October the Club sent 10,000 nutrition meals packed in easy-to-use pouches. Each pack contains lentils, rice, oats and a vitamin sachet of essential nutrients. The Club also responded to a request for underwear for the soldiers working in difficult and remote conditions.
 
We are so grateful to be able to assist in this situation. It is so hard to know what to do when people across the globe are struggling. Well done to the entire FORaMEAL team and everyone who donated or contributed to this work.
 
Rotary Safe Families
 
Dorothy Gilmour at a Club meeting recently discussed a grim issue - abuse. Whilst it  is a dire situation for many Dorothy did not want us to be linger on this and she offered us hope that we can do something about it. Dorothy was keen to point out that abuse is not limited to a specific demographic and happens to all kinds of people in different environments. Abuse represents an exercise of power over a targeted victim making the person feel insecure and can be physical, mental, subliminal etc.
 
Rotary Safe Families was established 3 years ago by Dorothy Gilmour, a member of the Rotary Club of Melbourne, with the aim of the primary prevention of abuse.
 
The strategy adopted is the simplified by the identification of the three R's:
 
1. Recognise the signs of abuse
2. Raise concerns safely with the victim
3. Refer the victim to the appropriate support
 
She passionately emphasised the view that being a passive bystander is not an option. She also asked some interesting questions of the members of The Rotary Club of Canterbury:-
 
1. When have you last discussed abuse?
 
2. Why is abuse such a taboo subject?
 
What Rotary Safe Families advocates for is not money simply to seek champions amongst Rotary clubs across Australia who will spread the word and support others.
 
Dorothy posed the question to the members whether they were aware of two signs that someone is being abused
 
The first one is visible and involves a hand signal which indicates a cry for help – you place your thumb across your palm and close your fingers over it
 
The second one is and may involve situations where someone in a bar is feeling threatened, they can approach the bartender and ask " Is Angela here?" Bartenders are taught this as a sign of distress
 
The organisation maintains an up-to-date website which provides ample resource materials including videos about issues of abuse. There is a link to a you tube video below
 
 
The website for Rotary Safe Families is :
 
 
It goes without saying that Rotary does not condone abuse.
Rotary for Bees

The Club over the past months has been working with other Rotary Clubs and a group called Rotary for Bees (R4B's) has been established. This new group is working with the Environmental Sustainability Rotarian Action Group (ESRAG), an international rotary body, to do all they can to ensure the sustainability of bees.
 
Please follow this link page/rotarians-for-bees  on our website to see more details about the group and also links to many useful references and websites. Please find the Rotarian for Bees Website at https://rotariansforbees.org   and you can also find more details on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/395777217740428
 
 
Click to download our Rotary Promo MP3

 

Upcoming Events
Quick Links
Come Along
2 Rochester Road, Canterbury Vic AUSTRALIA (MAP)

Every Monday - Dinner meeting 6:00pm for 6:30pm
Our Next Meeting
 
Our next gathering is on Monday 28 April at our new venue CNC 2 Kendall St Canterbury. Our presenter is Lili Ann Kriegler discussing her new book Lifelong Vitality - Twelve pathways to Ageing Youthfully