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For the 9th edition of District 9800 March 26 Networker for 2025-2026, please click on Read More below. In this issue there is an article on A “Love Letter” to the Unite for Good Multi-District Summit
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Rotary Melbourne has been supporting the five Black Rhinos basketball teams in various ways over the past four years. They were founded in 2007 by Afri-Aus Care and have been coached by Ryan Rooney.
After welcoming members and guests, President Philip Cornish outlined a membership-focused meeting featuring: Dr Dimitrios Salampasis on Davos 2026; Past President Mary Barry on the “For a Meal” volunteering program; Patricia Matuschka reflecting on her first year of membership; and Past President Reg Smith with an update on the Melbourne Arboretum, where he serves as Board Chair.
On 25 March 26 Rotary Melbourne proudly recognise and celebrated Trevor Nink—an outstanding Rotarian whose dedication, leadership, and enduring commitment to Service Above Self have made a lasting impact on our Club, our community, and the wider Rotary world. It is with great pleasure that we elevate Trevor to Paul Harris Fellow Double Sapphire.
The Multi-District Impact Summit took place over the weekend in the Wimmera Region city of Horsham. It brought together some 400 people from Districts 9800 (ours), 9510 and 9780. Six of those present were associated with Rotary Melbourne. At the opening reception Sana Malik was presented with the District 9800 EnviroClub Award - Gold for continued achievement in enviroment and sustainability, covering the following projects The Melbourne Arboretum, Growing Futures in Timor-Leste, Carbon Social Certification, Sustainability Awards, Environment and Sustainability Lunches, World Environment Day raffle, SecondBite volunteering and 5000 Acts of Kindness indigenous seedling project.
What a terrific few days on the road for our 2026 OTC/Fellowship group, travelling from Melbourne through regional Victoria and finishing in Horsham, enjoying good company, great food and visits to some iconic historic sites along the way.
No cost No waiting ..all it needs now is publicity by you.
Attempted suicide in Australia equates to a full plane crashing every day, injuring 95% of the passengers, (mainly our healthy young women) and killing 5%. 3-5% call crisis lines, but 70-80% hint or warn friends and family. Most people freeze. MessagesHelp.Org is an Australian pilot launched by the Australian Suicide Prevention Foundation with Rotary in Sri Lanka and RC Melbourne.
Master of Ceremonies: Karen Kim
Reflection Delivered by Ruth Carlos Martinez (See transcript later in this bulletin)
As meeting chair for the day, President Philip then introduced PRIP Jennifer Jones to address the meeting on Building Peace Through Action: Her address challenged us to think boldly about our role in building peace through action.
Rotary Melbourne is holding an Evening of rewarding volunteer effort, creating food packs for FORaMEAL together on Thursday 23 April 26, 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm at RMIT Melbourne. MARK YOUR DIARIES NOW!!! ALL ARE WELCOME! Rotary Melbourne has partnered with the Rotary Club of Canterbury to host a relief-meal packing event. RMIT staff, students, and Rotarians will convene for 90 minutes to pack roughly 12,000 meals that are air dropped by the ADF to people living in temporary housing in war zones, disaster zones, and refugee camps.
For the 8th edition of District 9800 February 26 Networker for 2025-2026, please click on Read More below. In this issue there is an article on Rotary Melbourne's Sustainable Alliance Gives Life (and Water) in Philippines.
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On February 23 1905, Rotary was founded in Chicago. We asked AI what would our founders look like today and who would they be if they were founding Rotary at the same age in 2026.
This Sunday’s SecondBite collection at Prahran Market was another special experience. Robert Fisher and Trevor Nink providing hands on assistance collecting surplus food from the Market’s generous vendors for delivery to the Salvation Army at 69 Bourke Street, Melbourne.
Rotary Melbourne Honorary member Dr Alan Finkel AC was honoured on 11 February 26 with a Monash building named after him at their Clayton Campus. Monash University Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Sharon Pickering today announced the Alan Finkel Building for Technology and Design as the new name of Building 94, alongside Chancellor Megan Clark AC at an unveiling on the Clayton campus.
President Philip Cornish gives a special message of peace and goodwill following the recent events at Bondi Beach.
Help Rotary Melbourne Support The Smith Family’s Learning for Life Program in this year's Raffle
Rotary Melbourne invites members and friends to take part in a simple but powerful act of kindness -and perhaps be rewarded with a very special Christmas present for the winner, their kids/grandkids, and maybe special friends.
The Paul Harris Fellow (PHF) recognition is one of the highest honours Rotary can bestow upon a member or friend of Rotary. It is named after Rotary's founder, Paul Harris, and celebrates those who have made outstanding contributions to the ideals and work of Rotary — whether through generous financial support or through exceptional service.
Rotary members are an imaginative bunch when it comes to making a difference on World Polio Day, observed last week on 24 October. A Missouri member rides his rickshaw bicycle in parades and at different clubs’ meetings, talking with passengers about polio eradication and Rotary. Italian members collaborate with city leaders to illuminate the Leaning Tower of Pisa with red floodlights.
Rotary's World Polio Day is on October 24th, a day dedicated to raising awareness and funds for polio eradication efforts. Rotary and its partners, including health organizations, host events to highlight the progress made in fighting the disease and the urgent need for continued global commitment to eradicate it completely
Congratulations to Andrew Mahar AM, recipient of the Rotary Melbourne Vocational Service Award 2025–26. A visionary social entrepreneur, Andrew has dedicated over three decades to advancing digital inclusion, environmental sustainability, and community empowerment across Australia and Timor-Leste. His leadership in founding more than 15 social enterprises and his lifelong commitment to social justice and innovation truly embody Rotary’s ideal of Service Above Self.
Our club's International Service Committee met following last week's lunch, continuing to build on our existing and upcoming projects impacting peace, education, health, water & sanitation, and the environment, focusing especially on our South East Asian and Pacific neighbours.
President Philip was in Osaka, Japan last week visiting our Sister Club, the Rotary Club of Osaka. He attended a club meeting and also met with Osaka President, Yoshihiko Sano to extend our sister club relationship.
On 1 October 2025, the world lost Dr. Jane Goodall, pioneering primatologist, conservationist, and advocate for peace. Rotary remembers her not only for her groundbreaking work with chimpanzees but also for her keynote at the 2009 Rotary International Convention, where she urged members to make a positive daily impact. Click on Read More below for her Q&A, first published in The Rotarian, that captures her wisdom, humor, and enduring call to action.
Rotary Melbourne is backing RIMERN’s Spring Cleaning with RIMERN campaign to raise $5,000 by 30 Nov 2025.
RIMERN provides essential furniture and household goods to families starting over after crisis. Some items - like basic cleaning kits - must be purchased new to meet our quality standards.
A $50 gift sponsors a complete kit, but every dollar helps us deliver 10+ kits each week. Click read more below to change lives, one household at a time.
A patch of cement was a launchpad for a Rotarian who brought women’s soccer to Palestine. Honey Thaljieh and a handful of young women played on the makeshift pitch more than two decades ago in college in the West Bank. The effort led eventually to a national women’s team that she captained for years. Thaljieh ascended to a job at FIFA, the international soccer governing body, spreading the message that the sport is for everyone. Click Read More below to read how this soccer pioneer found Rotary.
