Peter O'Brien was chairperson at this week's club meeting at Cilantro. Charles and Karin attended via Zoom. Guests included James Grant, and Jean. Special birthday greetings for Linda O'Brien who celebrates her birthday today.
GUEST SPEAKER - Trish Carr - Rotary Club of Box Hill Burwood
Trish was invited to talk about their club's very successful Community Grants program that commenced in 2003 - an initiative of club member - PDG David Tolstrup. Their club runs an Op Shop in Canterbury Road, Blackburn South, that opened in 2002 and is run by volunteers - it recently celebrated the milestone of having raised $1 Million since opening. The Community Grants program provides an avenue for local community groups to access some of the funds raised to run their own programs.
The program is designed for small community groups within the vicinity of the City of Whitehorse. It is advertised on their club's Facebook page, Instagram and Linked In, and together with email campaigns and advertising on community notice boards and newsletters, the club invites community groups to apply for grants of up to $3,000. Applications are received online and must meet the required criteria and undergo a strict selection process. Successful grant recipients must attend a public Community Grant event and outline what the grant will be used for before receiving the funds. Additionally, Rotary must be acknowledged as part of the grant, and recipients are invited back to the club to present on the benefits of the grant.
The club processed 8 applications in the first year of the program, however, this year they processed 25 applications. The program has proven to be very successful and is a great way for connecting with and understanding and meeting the needs of the local community.
Thank you Trish for your wonderful presentation and bringing to us, your club's brilliant program for giving back to the local community.
CLUB ANNOUNCEMENTS
The rosters for the market and next week's meeting were announced.
Peter O'Brien called for volunteers for Cilantro Open Day BBQ on Thursday 15/8 from 4-7pm.
Next week's guest speaker will represent ROMAC, and talk about the wonderful work they do.
MEETING CLOSED at 8:20am
