Alex Rotary wins "best small charity group" award
Alex Rotary has 28 friendly, community minded members and club friends aged from 28 to 83 who try and practice the Rotary motto of “Service above Self”.
Activities include.
- Organising Winter Solstice Swim with Alex Surf Club attracting 200 open water swimmers raising around $12,000 for Salty Souls Legacy programme for disadvantaged kids. Previous beneficiaries include Young Vets, White Ribbon.
- Organising the Surf Show and Shine surfboard and Kombi fun day attracting 4,000 to the coast raising funds for a 4WD and around $80,000 since beginning a few years ago. Beneficiaries include Sunshine Coast based Care Outreach for drought affected farmers, Nambour’s “The Shack”, Salty Souls Legacy and the “ The Board Meeting” Surf charity.
- Promoting personal development of young community leaders through Rotary educational and international youth exchange programs. (Mark Jamieson and Fiona Simpson are past Rotary youth exchange students).
- Developing and mentoring youth at other end of the social spectrum though the club’s “WorkLife program” and supporting local troubled kids programs such as Salty Souls Legacy.
- Creating a $100,000 “Care Garden” for the IFYS safety house at Landsborough and smaller one at Maroochydore, Kids kindergarten makeover, and helped with “Casey’s backyard”.
- Conducting “mock interviews” day at Maroochydore High School, preparing kids for that all important first job interview.
- Supporting the Australian Golfing Fellowship of Rotarians annual golf tournament on the Sunshine Coast which raised $20,000 for Wishlist and brought Rotarians from all over Australia.
- Working closely with IFYS on the “homeless” hub programme at the sportsman hub, helping clients with work preparation through the Alex Rotary WorkLife programme. The “WorkLife” program has been held in several local high schools and adopted by Rotary clubs in NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, UK and at an Alaskan Rotary club.
- Supporting community mental health awareness via the Rotary “Lift the Lid” program and annual walk at Mooloolaba Rotary Club’s event every October.
- Collecting pre-loved mobile phones for people escaping from domestic violence
- Supporting the Alex Headland Community organisation at their Annual “Christmas at Alex” Christmas Party in Buhk Park.
- Supporting the Rotary and University of the Sunshine Coast scholarship programme providing financial support for students to continue their PhD studies.
- Supplied used medical and educational equipment. and packing containers bound for Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Nauru.
- Providing financial support for plastic surgery to cleft palette and disfigured children through ROMAC (Rotary Oceania Medical Aid for Children)
- Supporting the Rescue helicopter service on the coast for 20 years, one of our members raising six figures in donations.