Pittwater Online News

 The Rotary Club of Pittwater

Community Service
International Goodwill
Fellowship

For decades we have seen notices in Public Parks informing us that this square of green, its trees and its maintenance have been provided by the local Rotary Club. On these boards is the legend ‘Is it the Truth, Is it FAIR to all concerned,  Will it build GOODWILL and FRIENDSHIPS, Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned? Standing there, in a spot of peaceful seclusion it is easy to answer ‘Yes, yes, yes, yes.’ but you also ask yourself ‘Who are these people?’ and ‘What is ‘Rotary’?’

To conclude our first month of Profiling local Organisations we very happy to investigate the Rotary Club of Pittwater;

What is Rotary?

Rotary is a worldwide organisation of more than 1.2 million business, professional, and community leaders. Members of Rotary clubs provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world.

It all began when Chicago lawyer Paul Harris got together a group of his business friends in 1905, their meetings “rotating” amongst their offices.  It was initially a networking opportunity, which later expanded to include charitable works.Before long the good works became the main purpose of the young Rotary club.

Rotary Means Service, Business/Vocational Interaction & Fellowship. Clubs are non-political and nonreligious. As signified by the motto Service Above Self, Rotary’s main objective is service

• in the community
• in the workplace
• throughout the world

Business/Vocational Interaction: Rotary provides opportunities for Rotary members and business people to meet informally, discuss business, trade useful information and promote themselves amongst other professionals from a variety of disciplines.

This networking activity promotes useful and reliable business contacts, and the use of the services of Rotary members and supporters by other members and business contacts - in other words, Rotary members helping other members and supporters in the business community.

Fellowship
Rotary isn't just about service and community activity. Friendship and fellowship are important too. We have a wide range of social activities to ensure that club membership is an enjoyable and rewarding experience.

Please tell us about your works and contribution to Community here and elsewhere.

OUR CONTRIBUTION TO COMMUNITY
Since its inception in 1960, the Rotary Club of Pittwater has contributed more than $800,000 to our local community, including support for the following organisations:
•The ING Centre for Conductive Education (at The Cerebral Palsy Alliance)
•The Palliative Care Centre Cottage at Mona Vale Hospital is now our largest community project. The aim is to extend and modernize the centre, working together with HammondCare, Palliative Care Partners, and Supporters.  
•Local Primary and High Schools
•Westmead Children’s Hospital
•Cure Cancer Australia
•We support parents who have children with Cerebral Palsy through our Life Education Fund.
•Our club supports the Rotary Youth Driver Awareness (RYDA) program, a defensive driving course for year 11 students.
•Local Surf Clubs
•Annually our club sponsors a candidate for the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA), a personal development training program for young adults.

The Northern Beaches Spring Concert is our premier annual community and fundraising event, supported by sponsorships and donations from more than 50 local and national organisations. Annually the club helps to organise the Australia Day Breakfast at Newport Beach. Tree of Joy at Centro Warriewood shopping centre; Christmas gifts given by the community are directed to local residents who may not receive a greeting or gift for the festive season.

As part of our Vocational Service activities we present the annual Pride of Workmanship awards to employees of local businesses who have demonstrated exemplary pride and service in carrying out their work commitments. Our members assist the Salvation Army locally in its annual Red Shield appeal. We work together with the Council, local business, clubs and churches to organise and run the annual Pittwater Carols in the Park, held in mid-December in Village Park, Mona Vale to which some 2000 people come.

PITTWATER ROTARY IN THE WIDER COMMUNITY
With over 34,000 clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas, Rotary is able to reach out to national governments worldwide to generate crucial financial and technical support for polio eradication. Since 1995, the advocacy efforts of Rotary and its partners have helped raise more than $8 billion from donor governments.

After 25 years of hard work, Rotary and its partners are on the brink of eradicating this tenacious disease, but a strong push is needed now to root it out once and for all. It is a window of opportunity of historic proportions.

Rotary is now raising an additional $US200 million to match $US355 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as part of its PolioPlus program. These funds will enable immunization campaigns in developing countries where polio continues to infect and paralyze children, robbing them of their futures and compounding the hardships faced by their families. Pittwater Rotary provides practical and financial support for the Rotary PolioPlus and other international programs, including:
•Providing clean water and medical assistance to Australia’s island neighbours(at Oecusse in East Timor. See http://www.ozgreen.org/)
•Sponsoring a child from Papua New Guinea to come to Australia for advanced life-saving surgery.
•Supporting Rotary-sponsored international student exchange programs for local high school students who spend a year studying in schools overseas. In turn, overseas students visit Australia for a year, attending local schools. This promotes international understanding.
•Purchasing ShelterBoxes, which include supplying temporary shelter and survival equipment for people in areas struck by natural disaster.

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