Bellingen Rotary combines with Bunnings to help local girl.
 
In mid March 2010, the Rotary Club of Bellingen, in collaboration with Bunnings Coffs Harbour, erected shade sails and playground equipment at the home of Violet Hogbin in Kalang.  Several of the Rotary club members, with excellent assistance from some local gents, supplied the manpower and expertise, while Bunnings very kindly supplied the materials free of charge as part of their ongoing contribution to community projects.
This project was in response to the plight of the six year old, who was badly scalded last year in a domestic accident and has to keep out of the sun.
 
Pictured is Violet enjoying the swing set under her newly shaded play area.

 

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Mental Health Forum - 25th August 2009 

SUCCESSFUL MENTAL HEALTH FORUM

 An impressive group of local professionals in the field of Mental Health addressed the community forum sponsored by Rotary which was held last Tuesday. Keynote Speaker, Annmaree Wilson, a Clinical Psychologist, spoke on Depression, Anxiety and the Role of the Clinical Psychologist.
 
She was supported by Yvonne Quadros who had interesting experiences to share after many years as a devoted carer, and Dave Duffy, a social worker specializing in youth welfare, who represented a program called Mental Health First Aid
 
After the keynote addresses, representatives of many community support groups spoke briefly on their services. These included Gai Stern, a Grief Counsellor, Catherine Campbell from Miindala, Lloyd Palmer and Rowan Lunney from Headspace, Josh Gorman from the Bellingen Mentor Group, Trish Coneybeare from the Commonwealth Respite and Carelink Centre, Dr Gull Herzberg, well known GP and supporter of youth, Billy Hill from the Men’s Group, Ben Whittaker from CHESS, Kath Lindsay from Lifeline, and Tony Crowe, a Holistic Counsellor.
 
 In the second part of the meeting those attending joined the speakers and Rotarians for supper, during which the professionals were available for personal consultation. Three other groups, Bellingen Community Transport, Bellingen Youth and Seaboard Services and Beyond Blue had tables along with the other groups from which information brochures were given out. Many of the sixty plus participants commented on the relaxed and friendly atmosphere of this session.
 
The forum was an initiative of the Rotary Club of Bellingen, assisted by Bellingen Neighbourhood Centre, in collaboration with Australian Rotary Health. and the Commonwealth Department of Health and the Ageing..
 
Picture Two Keynote Speakers, Yvonne Quadros (left) and Annmaree Wilson (right) with Bellingen Rotary Club President, John Conway.
 

 

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Rotary Youth Exchange Program (YEP)

The Rotary Club of Bellingen sends Australian students on the Rotary Exchange Program to such places as Austria, Denmark, France, Belgium, Germany, Japan, Mexico and South America. The Club also hosts a number of inbounder Youth Exchange participants from overseas, in particular from Europe/Scandinavia. The students, inbounders and outbounders, record their YEP experiences (supposedly monthly) by way of a "Yepper" report. 

Past and Present Yeppers   

   

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CHIA Project in Vietnam

Our club supports and donates to the Children’s Hope In Action project in Hoi An province of Central Vietnam, run by Australian Robyn Morley. The Project aims to provide health and disability, educational and social support to the children of poor families to help more children remain with their families and not have to suffer the additional trauma of institutional care.

Children’s Hope In Action homepage 

   

 Past Projects

Rotary Pride In Workmanship Awards

The Club endeavours to run a Pride of Workmanship Award program in the local area about every two years. In April 2007, the then Vocational Services Director Deena Presser organised an awards night for local businesses to commend members of their staff. [more]

Mynah Bird Traps for Council

Club member Pete Bennetts coordinated a small group of members to construct a number of Mynah Bird Traps for the Bellingen Shire Council to combat the Mynah Bird pest problem in this area. These traps were to be "loaned out" by BSC to landowners, but there has been no feedback to the Club from this exercise. Hver, feedback from locals who obtained one of these traps direct from the Club suggest that they are very effective.

Baby Kits for Tanna (Vanuatu)

In early 2007, the Club’s then International Services Director Carole Young organised the collection of kits for the RAWCS (Rotary Australia World Community Service) Baby Kits project for Vanuatu. Pregnant women in Vanuatu often arrive at hospital with nothing, or do not attend hospital at all. The kits are intended to encourage mums-to-be to come to the hospital and rural dispensaries for the birth and thus lower the connected infant mortality rate.

Spectacles for the Third World

In January 2006, the Club’s then International Services Director Carole Young organised and executed the collection of used spectacles and lenses for delivery to third world countries such as Nepal. The glasses are then measured and gauged for distribution to people needing optical enhancements in these countries. 1500 spectacles and 1000 pairs of lenses were collected.

"Grow Your Business In Bellingen" Workshop

In May 2006, the Club’s then Vocational Services Director, John Conway, organised a series of seminars/workshops on business planning, cultivation and growth strategies. Sam Silverthorne, a local businessman, presented the workshops. Subsequent workshops, planned for 2007-08 and 2008-09, did not eventuate. However, similar workshops were conducted under the "Greening Your Business" banner, associated with the rotary-sponsored Bellingen Renewable Energy Fair.