Community
Our community efforts continue to focus on funding and donating grocery items to charitable organisations that provide direct support for those in need. Three projects headline our current endeavours.
Beaumaris Rotary helps fund the meal service provided by Matt’s Place. This is a weekly meal service for those doing it tough, served at St Matthew’s church, in Cheltenham. This Christmas we will also be funding and helping to pack hampers for their clients who need help.
Recently Matt’s Place’s parent organisation Bayside Community Care asked for our help in sourcing non-perishable food items for their food bank. Club members responded by adding items to their regular shop, so we have been able to make a worthwhile contribution. We have also made a cash contribution which allows the folks at Bayside Community Care to bulk buy items they need.
The ongoing need to support families in need is the reason for our support of BayCISS both with cash contributions and nonperishable food collections.
Other Projects planned for 2025/26 include:
- Funding for Sandringham Hospital to assist with the purchase of equipment for their day surgery facility.
- Toy collection and packing for the Prison Fellowship Australia Christmas Angel Tree appeal.
- Packing and wrapping gift bags for Impact for Women at the Sandringham warehouse, and making deliveries on their behalf.
- Regular volunteering by members to support clients at the Sandybeach Centre in Sandringham.
- Providing management help and manpower to support the annual Concourse Car Show and the Christmas festival held at the Beaumaris Concourse.
Youth
On 4 December, the “Beaumaris Rotary Award” was presented to Judah Searle. The citation read “The Beaumaris Rotary Award recognises a student who demonstrates outstanding citizenship, commitment to service and a genuine desire to make a positive impact in the community. This award celebrates a young person who embodies the values of leadership, integrity and compassion, and who contributes meaningfully both within the school and beyond.”
We are also keen supporters of Team Sports 4 All. The aim of this charity is relatively simple: no child should miss out on the opportunity to play team sport. For the boys and girls that TS4A helps, sport can be a ray of hope – a circuit breaker for them and their families. Kids learn positive social behaviours – teamwork, respect for coaches and officials, self-discipline, and the rewards of hard work.
Beaumaris Rotary supports the Southern Autistic School by operating a BBQ at the annual Family Open Day.
Last year we participated in the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards program. Beaumaris Rotary sponsored two young people (Yani Ryan and Robert Woodward) to attend this intensive leadership experience organised by Rotary clubs and districts. The participants learnt to develop their skills as a leader while having fun and making connections. This year we are sponsoring a RYLA program leader.
Since 2015 our Club has been a supporter of Australia’s first nations people. Our major commitment has been to the Melbourne Indigenous Transition School. In addition to obtaining Rotary District Grants, we have organised multi club funding, allowing us to extend our support.
International
International Service is one of Rotary’s Avenues of Service, which form the foundation of Club activity. Issues such as literacy, hunger, malaria, disease and access to clean water affect us all. Through International Service, Rotarians lead the way in needy communities to find solutions to these global concerns.
For many years the Rotary Club of Beaumaris has supported these areas of international focus with activities on the Indonesian island of Sabu (see Sabu Island Story).
Beaumaris Rotary contributes funds and donates items for new mothers, babies, and toddlers to The Highlands Foundation. This organisation aims to take simple and practical steps to strengthen the existing healthcare facilities in Papua New Guinea with the aim of decreasing the infant and maternal mortality and morbidity rates. There are many challenges to obtaining health care in PNG. The rugged terrain causes difficulty with communication and distribution of medical supplies between villages. The many rural villages scattered throughout the countryside and a low commitment to healthcare contributes to the high mortality and morbidity rates in PNG, amongst the highest in the world.
The country has an infant mortality rate of 35.9 per 1,000 (Australia 2.8 per 1,000) and a maternal mortality rate of 215 per 100,000 (Australia 5 per 100,000). The Highlands Foundation was our President’s chosen charity for 2023/2024 and we now regularly assist with sorting and packing goods for shipment.
There are no medical facilities in most of these villages. Midwives/nurses visiting them go prepared for anything with birthing kits to perform deliveries as they go, provide expertise and guidance to mothers, essential maternal care for newborns.
In 2025/26 we will be looking at ways to support Yimba Uganda. This organisation is a Uganda based non-government organisation that equips Ugandan youth with sustainable income generating skills through vocational training and education. Yimba Uganda was founded in 2013 by Emmanuel Kusasira Edwin, in partnership with Anne-Marie Reddan. Yimba Uganda was previously supported by the Rotary Club of Cheltenham whose members have now joined the Rotary Club of Beaumaris.
Beaumaris Rotary continues to support Monash medical students who volunteer in Nepal, funding essential medical supplies for clinics in remote Himalayan villages. In December 2024, 16 students returned to Bhakanje, near Mt. Everest, to run a 4-day free health camp.
They treated over 300 patients, aged 3 to 90, many of whom walked hours to attend. This year, the team raised $13,258—well above their $10,000 goal—thanks to Rotary Clubs, family, friends, and fundraising events. Most funds went toward medications and supplies, with some reserved for long-term goals.
A new initiative in 2024 was the introduction of dental hygiene education, including a workshop and distribution of supplies, which was warmly received by the community. The team is also exploring the inclusion of physiotherapy and pharmacy students in future missions.
Looking ahead, they aim to support patient transport for surgical procedures and reduce barriers to specialist care. Team Nepal extends heartfelt thanks to all supporters for helping improve healthcare access in Bhakanje.
Click here for TeamMED Nepal 2025 Achievement Report.