Our Rotary Club is proud to be a member of DIK Inc the major sponsor of Donations In Kind West Footscray. The members of this group pay the rent and contribute the majority of the $50,000pa operating costs. The Store which is wholly run by volunteers is one of Rotary’s great success stories. It recycles quality donated goods and gives them to people in genuine need for free.
The results over the past 15 years are spectacular:
| $2,700,000
$3,830,000 $43,500,000 $50,030,000 26,700m3 1,500% 455 |
raised to pay for store and shipping costs
the value of the volunteering allocated as Overseas Aid of top quality material given to people overseas who deserve our help the combined total of Overseas Aid of goods recycled, much of which would have ended up as landfill return on investment $2.7 million in freight: $43.5 million shipped containers shipped |
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Thank you to the Volunteers
What will we achieve in the next 15 years? The Store supports four Victorian Districts and has the capacity to do more. Each year more is shipped. The current and potential supply of donations is vast and at times DIK has to reject excellent material because it lack shipping funds. DIK can significantly increase output if it receives more funding.DIK needs more support from the people who have reusable goods to donate.
Schools The “Better Recycling Option” encourages them to donate the cost they would incur disposing of their waste. If DIK received this it could double our output.
Business waste problems and associated disposal costs can be turned into positive PR opportunities with a little imagination and help from Rotary Clubs. Example; Surplus computers can become the core of a computer training centre in a developing country “proudly sponsored by XYZ Company”.
Community attitudes need to be changed. People are very positive about recycling and giving reusable material to people in need. We all need to focus attention on the choice of paying for landfill or using the money to ship the goods to help others.
We need to encourage Government to think about this area and examine the benefits of supporting volunteers recycling reusable material and giving it to deserving people in developing countries. We could help more people if the focus was on outcomes as well as dollars and more consideration given to using suitable recycled material as an alternative. The future is in our hands.
For more information www.rotarydik.org or contact Gerry Cross, Laurie Fisher or Bob Glindemann
Email: dik.vic.rotary@gmail.com
