“Economic and Community Development” sounds like some BIG thing, something that one would expect the Federal Treasurer or the UN to tackle. Lots of big speeches, platitudes, committees, enquiries. How could a little Rotary club like ours possibly get involved, not to mention make a difference? Or could we?
In the “good ol’ days”, Community Service was a directorship all of its own (see the old logo from the last millennium on the right - things were less complicated then...). Most of us would have travelled our great country and have stopped at a Rotary Park somewhere beyond the Black Stump, with a Bar-be-que area, ubiquitous in country towns. Look closer to home: when the Gold Coast Botanical Gardens was established, local Rotary clubs were very active in planting trees and shrubs. At Cascade Gardens, there is a Kokoda Memorial, established by the Broadwater-Southport club, and Hope Island has constructed an Armistice Memorial. In Coomera, they have a monthly book sale where the locals can obtain very inexpensive reading material, DVDs etc. Keep looking – there are a lot more.Our club’s Wheelchairs project is as much a community service project as it is an international service project. Our volunteers enjoy the twice-weekly companionship of their fellow workers, whilst they are “doing good”. Our club supports a number of local projects, such as Angel Flight (last year’s District Governor’s personal project) and this year, the major beneficiaries of our Golf Day are Pancare Aid and the Police Citizen’s Youth Club.
Yes, a small club CAN make a difference. As a member of one of the most trusted organisations in the world, YOU and I can make a difference, by participating in events, by promoting Rotary.