Club Meeting Summary 2026.09.03

AusPak Welfare Society Serving Humanity And Repurposing Equipment (SHARE)

Guest Speakers

Emma O'Connor, Community Partnerships - SecondBite

Emma O’Connor presented SecondBite's work in food rescue and distribution across Australia, highlighting their partnership with Coles and other retailers to provide food to over 1 000 charities. 

James Rouel, Program Director - Moira Food Share

James Rouel and member of the Rotary e-Club of Change Makers presented on Moira Foodshare's rural food relief efforts in northern Victoria and southern New South Wales, highlighting that 10% of Victorians experience food insecurity.

Highlights

  • Guests from Rotaract Club of Macarthur, near Campbelltown, NSW (https://portal.clubrunner.ca/18577/)
  • Rotaract e-Club of Keystone, PA, USA (https://rotaracteclub.org/)
  • Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training to be conducted by Werner Vogels on Tuesday, 22 September 2026 and Tuesday, 06 October 2026 

  • Rotary Youth Exchange Program of Enrichment (RYPEN) participants, Rendi Moke Junior and Lucy Wilkinson will be attending Camp Getaway, 161-163 Kimbolton-Axedale Rd, Axedale VIC 3551 on 04 – 06 September 2026.

  • Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE) Club sponsored participant, Lucy Wilkinson is going to Germany in 2027. Dr Helen Haines, MHR for Indi will present Lucy with an Australian flag for her exchange at 14:00 on Wednesday, 23 September 2026.

  • Rotary Zone 8 Redistricting has been approved.

  • Lucky Numbers fundraiser beginning 2026.09.12 with fund directed to AusPak Welfare Society, run by Rotary e-Club of Change Makers member, Makhdoom Bhatti.
  • Fundraising Report by Sophie Enders
  • Public Relations Report by Rachael Gadd
  • On to Conference Update by Clive Walker
  • SHARE Update by Sandi Fulcher

Introduction

The Rotary e-Club of Change Makers Club Meeting on 03 September 2026 was attended online via Zoom by 28 members and 6 guests.

President’s Report

President Clark Fletcher welcomed all those in attendance and provided the following summary:

  1. Welcomed:

    1. Guest speakers:
      1. Rotary e-Club of Change Makers member, James Rouel of Moira Food Share
      2. Emma O’Connor, Community Partnerships at Second Bite.
    2. Guests from:
      1. Rotaract Club of Macarthur, near Campbelltown, NSW (https://portal.clubrunner.ca/18577/), which has been active for a few years, with around 10 active members and 3-4 Friends of Rotaract. Meetings are conducted both in person and online using Google Meets due to Zoom's time limitations. The Rotaract Club of Macarthur focuses on local activities, including work with Hidden Homeless and women's shelters, with potential expansion into international projects after connecting with Rotaract clubs in Nepal and Turkey.
      2. Rotaract e-Club of Keystone, PA, USA (https://rotaracteclub.org/).

  2. Lucky Numbers fundraiser beginning 2026.09.12 with fund directed to AusPak Welfare Society, run by Rotary e-Club of Change Makers member, Makhdoom Bhatti. There are 21 tickets that still need to be sold.

  3. Susan Benedyka was thanked for arranging Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training conducted by Werner Vogels. There are 12 participants from the Club attending two online sessions on Tuesday, 22 September 2026 and Tuesday, 06 October 2026.

  4. Rotary Youth Exchange Program of Enrichment (RYPEN) participants, Rendi Moke Junior and Lucy Wilkinson will be attending Camp Getaway, 161-163 Kimbolton-Axedale Rd, Axedale VIC 3551 on 04 – 06 September 2026.

  5. Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE) Club sponsored participant, Lucy Wilkinson is going to Germany in 2027. Dr Helen Haines, MHR for Indi will present Lucy with an Australian flag for her exchange at 14:00 on Wednesday, 23 September 2026. Clark Fletcher indicated he will be in attendance.

  6. Rotary Zone 8 Redistricting has been approved.

  7. Membership Subscriptions Due. As at 2026.08.19:

    1. Active Membership Orders Total:                        $16 520.00

    2. Amount Owing:                                                         $5 884.16

Guest Speakers

Emma O'Connor, Community Partnerships - SecondBite

Emma O’Connor presented SecondBite's work in food rescue and distribution across Australia, highlighting their partnership with Coles and other retailers to provide food to over 1 000 charities. 

SecondBite conducts the following activities:

SecondBite supports many communities including First Nations communities through the "Meals for the Mob" program, they currently face challenges with food supply meeting increasing demand. 

SecondBite’s three core capabilities are:

SecondBite’s impact in financial year ending 2025 is shown below.

SecondBite is transitioning to source more food directly from producers rather than through supermarkets to provide fresher food to charity partners.

James Rouel, Program Director - Moira Food Share

James Rouel and member of the Rotary e-Club of Change Makers presented on Moira Foodshare's rural food relief efforts in northern Victoria and southern New South Wales, highlighting that 10% of Victorians experience food insecurity.

James detailed Moira Food Share’s expansion from serving 800-900 people monthly four years ago to 6 000 people last month across a 12 000 square kilometre area. Moira Food Share distributed 173 000 kg of food in the 2024-2025 financial year, created a $7.4 million economic impact, and received significant funding including $150 000 from Victorian state government for rural food relief. The group operates four vans and has 74 volunteers providing free food access points in rural communities, with plans to open a social supermarket in Finley.

Public Relations Report

The following items were highlighted by Rachael Gadd.

  1. Greater social media presence:

    1. Facebook.
    2. Instagram.
    3. YouTube.

    The growth in social media is dependent on the need for more content sharing.

  2. Rotary South Pacific Conference – Melbourne – 30 October 2026 – 01 November 2026, House of Friendship Space highlighting the following Club activities:

    1. Serving Humanity And Repurposing Equipment (SHARE).
    2. Teacher in a Box.
    3. Adivasi Language Dictionary and Dambana School, Sri Lanka.

Fundraising Report

Fundraising Committee Chair and Vice President, Sophie Enders highlighted the following items from the Fundraising Committee meetings:

  1. Lucky Numbers with the first draw on 12 September 2026

  2. Club Calendar

  3. Beechworth Stall on 05 December 2026.

  4. Barbecue at Bunnings, Wangaratta on 26 September 2026.

  5. Car Raffles from other Rotary clubs.

On To Conference

On to Conference Chair, Clive Walker announced arrangements for the following conferences:

  1. Rotary South Pacific Zone 8 Conference – Melbourne – 30 October 2026 – 01 November 2026.

    1. Convene for breakfast at the conference hotel, Novatel Melbourne South Wharf at 07:00 on Saturday, 31 October 2026.

  2. District 9790 Conference – Corowa – 19 – 21 March 2027.

    1. Accommodation booked at Statesman Motor Inn, 2 Edward St, Corowa NSW 2646, Australia for 6 Rotarians and family.

Serving Humanity and Repurposing Equipment (SHARE)

Sandi Fulcher highlighted the next working bees as follows:

  • SHARE Housekeeping Working Bee No.1 on 03 October 2026.

  • SHARE Housekeeping Working Bee No.2 on 10 October 2026.