Keilor Rotary Club celebrated 100 years of Rotary in Australia by donating in excess of $100,000 to worthy projects.
In 1985 the Club established the Rotary Club of Keilor Community Trust with some of the monies it raised at the Melbourne Airport Open Day. That Open Weekend was a major community event attracting some thousands of visitors - and the Club’s profits from the weekend also funded several projects in the immediate following years. One of those projects was, funding for the purchase of a rehabilitation centre for people who have received brain damage.
This year, in the 100th year of Rotary in Australia, the Club decided to distribute in excess of $100,000 of the Trust’s funds in recognition of that Centenary. Read ON
$15,000 to McAuley Community Services for Women to establish a children’s playroom. The charity provides accommodation, support and advocacy for women and their children who have experienced family violence and homelessness.
$20,000 to the Give Every Child a Future, a joint Rotary, UNICEF project to give three life-saving vaccines to 100,000 children across nine Pacific Island countries and establish a sustainable vaccination program for the future. This is now underway, signature Centenary International Project was initiated by the four city Centenary Clubs in Australia and New Zealand – Melbourne, Sydney, Auckland and Wellington.
$20,000 to Western Chances for scholarships for students in the Brimbank Local Government area who are experiencing financial difficulties in realising their educational goals. Western Chances was established in 2003 and supports each scholarship recipient on their educational journey for as long as they remain eligible. Scholarships provide funding for small items that have a big impact: things like textbooks, laptops and internet access, maths calculators and MYKI cards. In addition to scholarship support, Western Chances facilitates a range of excellent and potentially life-changing opportunities via our education, business and community partners.All applicants must demonstrate that they are talented, motivated and require financial assistance and be enrolled at a government secondary school, TAFE, university or community service organisation.
$10,000 to Concern Australia for Hand Brake Turn for an educational development project. Hand Brake Turn is finding that many students currently attending its courses in Dandenong and Braybrook are experiencing difficulties with literacy and numeracy. The project is designed to address these skill shortfalls.
Hand Brake Turn assists at risk young people between 15-21 years to transition into education and employment pathways through a 5 week training program offering three days per week of technical skills practice and life skill development.
- Technical skills include automotive care skills, OH&S, industry knowledge, computer skills, finance, numeracy and literacy skills, and language.
- Life skills include self reflection, goal setting, managing expectations, creative expression, self confidence, social and communication skills.
$10,000 for a RAWCS project for Tonga Dental (a Ballarat West Rotary Club project) to assist with the provision of dental care to the people of Tonga.
$20,000 to Foodbank Victoria to purchase a ride on floor sweeper for its warehouse in Yarraville, Victoria. The ride on sweeper will allow Foodbank to improve the cleaning process, making it a more effective and efficient process. This will also reduce the time spent on cleaning, freeing up valuable resources and volunteer time to focus on their core activity of food distribution.
$20,000 remains and is earmarked for a cancer project.