Pictured above is Professor Vasso Apostolopoulos (right) from the medical research centre at Victoria University accepting a cheque for $25,000 from President Ian Hovey (left). Also pictured is Narges Dargahi who is a research scientist on Professor Vasso's team. The amount of the cheque is the net proceeds from the club's very successful annual golf day.

In her speech, Professor Vasso expressed her profound gratitude for our contribution to help find cures for cancer. She explained that some of the funds will be specifically directed to research into the identification of “marks” in the body which are precursors to the formation of cancer cells. So far, her experiments are being conducted on mice but, if the theory is proven, it will be a major breakthrough in detecting cancer before it actually starts. This would then lead to the design of relevant vaccines to eradicate the disease at its infancy.

Our club has been proud to have donated significant funds to the cause. As a way of thanking the club, Professor Vasso will return on a regular basis to deliver a series of health-related talks which will include cancer, diabetes, MS and dementia.

It was a cool but mild morning that greeted the full field of 128 golfers when they arrived at 7am for the 2023 Werribee Rotary Charity Golf Day. After registration and a breakfast consisting of a bacon and egg roll, they were ready to hit off in groups of four from their designated tee.

Having completed their 18 holes four hours later, the weary golfers returned to the clubhouse for lunch. There were many stories of great, and not-so-great, shots. After the scores were tallied up, it was the team of Werribee Sand and Soil that won the day. It was their second win in 3 years.

This annual event is designed to raise funds for worthy causes, specifically in our local area. This year, the recipient was the medical research centre at the Werribee Campus of Victoria University. For many years, they have been undertaking research into many debilitating diseases including breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, multiple sclerosis and diabetes to name a few. They have already been successful in developing a number of vaccines and drugs under the direction of Vice-Chancellor Professor Vasso Apostolopoulos.

During her presentation at the lunch, Professor Vasso explained, in general terms, some of the incredible work that her team is tackling. The audience was spell bound. She also praised the efforts of our club in running such a fantastic event. She said our generous contribution to the cause of medical research will go a long way to discovering new solutions to some very complex medical challenges.

Here's a happy snap of some of our hard working Rotarians and partners preparing for a big day of cooking and serving bacon and egg rolls at the Wyndham Council's Australia Day breakfast event.

The fantastic group of 12 combined together like a well-oiled machine to deliver very tasty rolls.

We were also joined by Rotarians from other clubs in the cluster including Wyndham, Laverton Point Cook and Wyndham Harbour. It highlights the fact that our clubs can work together in harmony to achieve great results.

The morning started sluggishly and we thought it was going to be a flop. But gradually the crowd descended upon us and we were kept on our toes until the event closed at midday. In the end, we made a modest profit which will be shared between each club. But the combination of teamwork and camaraderie between everyone involved far outweighed any small amount of money that was made. This event could become a permanent fixture for the cluster in the future.