Another Bunnings BBQ

Volunteering at the fun run

Exchanging club banners

Community tree planting

Some of our happy members

Golf Day 2021

WERRIBEE ROTARY TAKES OVER FIT4USE STORE

Our club is excited to announce that we have taken over the Fit4Use store in Werribee. It was set up 5 years ago by the Rotary Club of Flemington/Kensington but they have asked us to take over.

Fit4Use is a second-hand store which has become a very popular shop for those looking for quality pre-loved items at cheap prices. It has been, and will continue to be, operated by a dedicated group of volunteers. We hope to keep growing the business and raise funds for local community projects and causes.

Pictured above is our President Graham Roper accepting the keys from President Lesley McCarthy from Flemington/Kensington Rotary.

BABY BEANIES DELIVERED TO LOCAL HOSPITAL

Over 600 very colourful baby beanies, knitted by one of our Friends of Rotary, have been donated to the local Werribee Mercy Hospital's maternity ward. Helen Shaw, the sister of one of our members, has dedicated her time over the past 12 months to knit at least two beanies every day. Each beanie includes a small message "KNITTED WITH LOVE. PLEASE TAKE ME HOME". It also asks the parent of each baby to take a snapshot of their new-born wearing the beanie and then send the photo to us for publication on our social media sites. In this way, we can proudly show the world some of the good work we are doing for our community.

Three hundred babies are born each month in this fast-growing municipality. So this first batch of beanies will only last for about 2 months. We'll have to ask Helen to knit faster to keep up with the demand.

The hospital was delighted with the delivery and expressed their sincere gratitude for the wonderful gesture.

Pictured above left to right - President Graham Roper, Past President Ian Hovey, Micki Hovey, the mother of a newly-born baby and a maternity nurse.

CLUB HOSTS YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH FORUM

Werribee Rotary, in conjunction with Beyond Blue, recently conducted a very successful Youth Mental Health Forum.

150 people were in attendance including the Under 18 teams from Hoppers Crossing and Werribee Districts Football Clubs in addition to students from MacKillop College. The two football teams subsequently competed in a football game playing for the Beyond Blue Cup.

The basic purpose of the forum was to tell the young people in the room that, if they are experiencing feelings of anxiety or depression, there is support and all they need to do is reach out.

There were a couple of excellent speakers including:

Todd Morgan from Outside The Locker Room, an organisation which provides mental health education and welfare support to sporting clubs, schools and the workplace.
Tom Downie who played AFL football with the GWS Giants between 2012 and 2016. He told the audience about the downward spiral of inadequacy he experienced as a footballer during this time. It reached breaking point when, in 2017, he stood before his teammates and officials to tell them of his decision to retire due to mental health problems.

After he left GWS, Tom sought help from Beyond Blue. As part of his rehabilitation, he now speaks very openly about his challenges at public forums. His message is simple – if you are not OK, speak to someone about your problems, whether it’s your parents, a friend, a doctor or a professional counsellor.

Werribee Rotary was proud to be involved in this project and hopes that it will help young people in the community to come to terms with an issue that is too often ignored.

The photo above show the captains of the two football teams displaying the Beyond Blue Cup.

CLUB VISITS WERN

Club members and partners paid a special visit to Rotary's WERN warehouse. WERN stands for Western Emergency Relief Network. It has been in operation for 7 years and is a joint project between 13 Rotary clubs in the western region of Melbourne to support families in desperate need of essential household items.

WERN obtains second hand furniture, whitegoods, blankets, pillows, and household goods which are then made available to needy families at no cost. There are a wide range of people who access the services including people from broken marriages, victims of domestic violence, fires and emergency events or others who have fallen on hard times.

Currently about 55 support agencies such as church groups, aid agencies and social work groups pay a fee to be a member of WERN which allows them to bring 'clients' into WERN and select goods. The WERN member Rotary Clubs can also refer people in need to the system.

Over the past twelve months WERN has provided support to around 900 families.

WERN operates on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays each week, but is looking to open Mondays, and later Fridays. They are always seeking support from volunteers to undertake light duties, handyman duties, and general warehouse tasks.

GOLF DAY PROCEEDS PRESENTED TO VERY SPECIAL KIDS

Club members and partners recently visited the premises of Very Special Kids where President Graham Roper presented a cheque for $22,000 to the founder of the paediatric palliative care facility, Sister Margaret Noone and its CEO, Michael Wasley. The funds provided were the net proceeds of a very successful Rotary golf day. This is the second successive year that the club has directed the funds to Very Special Kids.

Michael and Sister Margaret expressed their sincere gratitude for the contribution which will be used to ensure that children and young people with life-limiting conditions and their families are provided with the best support possible.

ANNUAL GOLF DAY RAISES FUNDS FOR VERY SPECIAL KIDS

The 2022 Werribee Rotary Golf Day proved to be a another successful event which has raised $22,000 for Very Special Kids.

On a cool but fine morning, a full capacity of 132 players arrived at the Werribee Park Golf Course and were treated to a bacon and egg breakfast.

At 8am the teams ventured out on to the course and commenced their game from their designated holes.

All teams returned to the restaurant at 1pm. After lunch was served, the audience heard from Trevor Booth who is father of Harrison who was born with only 5-10% effective use of his kidneys and has been receiving support from Very Special Kids for the past 10+ years. We heard that Trevor donated one of his kidneys to save Harrison's life.

This annual event doesn't happen without a lot of help from many volunteers. There were many Rotarians and Friends of Rotary who willingly assisted in making it another special day.

Plans are already underway for the 2023 Werribee Rotary Golf Day.

Click here to see photos of the day.

LIFTING THE LID TO SUPPORT MENTAL HEALTH RESEARCH

Being in lockdown and having to meet virtually doesn't stop members of our club getting into the spirit of supporting a good cause. On this occasion, we donned various forms of headwear during a recent meeting to acknowledge the good work being done by Australian Rotary Health on mental health research. The campaign is called Lift the Lid on Mental Illness and, on October 12, they have their annual Hat Day which is designed to promote the importance of the campaign and to raise funds for on-going research.

CLUB RECEIVES CITATION

At a recent Zoom meeting, the 2019-20 District Governor, Grant Hocking, presented a Rotary Citation and Platinum Distinction award to our club.

Grant mentioned that, in completing the information required for a Rotary Citation, he was reminded of the wide variety of activities in which Werribee Rotary has been involved to "connect the world". In response to Grant's presentation, Past President Brian Ahmed said, during his 12 months as President, the club was very active in initiating and supporting many local and international projects. Brian said he was proud to accept the award on behalf of the club.