ROTARY Club of Maffra is holding a meet and greet at Duart Homestead on August 13 to welcome people to Rotary and its values and projects.
Rotary is an organisation that promotes peace, fights diseases such as polio and malaria, provides basics such as clean water and education to communities that need it, and supports projects in local communities.
Rotary Club of Maffra facilitates the Maffra Community Market, Maffra Australia Day Celebration and the annual Mardi Gras, which was such a success this year.
Less well known is the support it gives to various community groups such as Maffra Secondary College, with an annual scholarship for a Year 11 student and funding for various programs such as Fit 2 Drive. Regular donations also go to the Maffra Municipal Band and Maffra Neighbourhood House. Various Rotary programs are also supported, both nationally and internationally, such as Disaster Aid Australia and Polio Plus.
Rotary Club of Maffra secretary, Claire Cochrane, said the meet and greet a great opportunity for those who want to be more involved in the community and are looking for friendship and fellowship.
“Rotary is moving into the future, actively encouraging participation from all walks of life. Equity, diversity and inclusion is important to Rotary and Rotarians all over the world,” she said.
“If you are community minded, share Rotary’s values of service, integrity and fellowship, or have a project in mind that Rotary could become involved in, the Rotary Club of Maffra would like you to consider joining them.
“The club welcomes visitors and new members from any sphere of life who share their goals. Dinner meetings are fortnightly at Duart Homestead and are casual and friendly, with guest speakers at each meeting. There are no rigid attendance rules and the evenings are fun, with lots of laughter.”
The Rotary Club of Maffra is looking to increase their membership, allowing the club to better service Maffra and District by delivering programs relevant to the community. Ms Cochrane said the club would like to find out how it can best be involved in communities such as Stratford, Heyfield and Briagolong, as well as Maffra.
“For example there have been Rotary meetings recently in Heyfield and Briagolong, with a donation to support the Heyfield Wetlands in their project to build outside toilets,” Ms Cochrane said.
“The club is looking to grow and engage more people who are proactive and community minded. Without more members it may not be possible to continue our many programs.
“Fellowship is also a very important concept of Rotary so come along to the meet and greet on Sunday, August 13 from 2.30pm to 4pm for some fellowship and to see what Rotary is about and where it might lead you.”
