🚀 Meeting Highlights

Our club continues to go from strength to strength, growing from 19 to 43 members and generating an impressive 188 enquiries through our recent social media campaign. Of these, a strong number have progressed to meeting invitations and attendance, showing real momentum in how we attract and engage new members.

We welcomed members and guests from across Australia and internationally, including participants from South Australia, Victoria, Queensland, Switzerland, and Papua New Guinea, highlighting the global reach and flexibility of our e-Club model and the strength it brings to our international projects.

🎤 Inspiring Speakers

We heard two inspiring presentations:

Makhdoom Bhatti shared his journey establishing the AusPak Welfare Society and a school in Pakistan, now supporting 95 students with free education, a powerful example of grassroots impact.
Mary Henley-Collopy reflected on her personal journey to Rotary, sharing how connection, community, and purpose led her to become involved.

🌱 Projects in Action

Strong progress continues across our key projects:

Teacher in a Box (Zimbabwe): Under review by the Roger Federer Foundation
SHARE Project (PNG): Ongoing container work, with new medical donations from Wangaratta
Rice for Cambodia: $10,000 grant application submitted and continued support for cleft palate surgery
Say No to Domestic Violence: Expanding partnerships and Peace Pole initiative
Sri Lanka Projects: Moving forward with clear next steps

Members are actively contributing skills and exploring new opportunities to deepen impact across these initiatives.

📅 What’s Coming Up

Exciting opportunities to get involved:

Beechworth Street Store – May 9 (seeking volunteers and donations)
Epic Day of Service – May 16 (register projects and contribute to global impact tracking)

With strong growth, global connection, and meaningful projects, the club continues to build energy, purpose, and impact.

📦 SHARE Shed Working Bee

A fantastic day of action at the SHARE Shed! A truck was loaded with medical supplies bound for Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and Uganda, with the help of volunteers from the Rotary Club of Maryborough.

Items that couldn’t fit will be stocktaken locally, with a second trip already planned.

Great to see growing engagement too, with Maryborough members keen to join our PNG & Fiji Zoom meetings.

We were also joined by PDG Anthony Ohlsen (D9780), with discussions underway on how to expand this impactful project across Victoria.

Working Bee in Broadford Victoria