Carey Events
We again finished off the FORaMEAL 2025 year at the Carey Grammar, Yarra Yarra Boat Sheds.
On November 20, 27 and December 3, 250 students packed 66,310 meals for distribution in early 2026 to Somaliland and other places.
We had our generous club volunteers and also volunteers to supervise and assist from RC Melbourne and Port Phillip – Yidan XI and Marg Hamilton, Rotaractors – Tahlia Vosnakis, Liam Howard, Carina Calcango and Viraj Patel and 2 students from John Monash Science School, Bell and Olivia.
In summary, - July to December 2026
There were 9 packing events and 2 setups prior to the event were held. 667 Students from 7 schools and 33 RC Melbourne and Melbourne University Rotaract packed 177,020 meals.
100,000 meals were distributed to Food Bank, Victoria and 50,400 to Ukraine. Unfortunately, our large shipment of meals to the Philippines never reached the needy following the recent earthquake and typhoons. A new approach is being examined and tested. .
It is interesting to note that for the six months, 45 Volunteers contributed 125 event attendances – 225 hours for setup and 165 hrs pack up, 2640 hrs of supervision and management of packing at the 9 events plus travel time. (Totalling 3030+ hrs generously volunteered). In addition, there is time for product and supplies ordering, break up of raw materials to manageable weights, packing and unpacking truck, storage and distribution management, cleaning kits, planning and general administration. An incredible effort by everyone.
Thanks, from Doug, Val, Jill and Nora are again extended to all who have volunteered and assisted and supported our valued project throughout the six months. We just couldn’t achieve our outcomes without you all. Looking forward to your ongoing support for 2026. We have many events booked already. The first one is with RC Camberwell in early March.