My fellow Rotarians and friends of Rotary,

The Rotary Club of Strathfield seeks opportunities to better engage with the public. Our partnerships and community engagement programmes are devised with two different approaches. Firstly, we have annual programmes such as graffiti removal programmes, youth awards, vocational service awards, BBQs at local festivals and functions, and so on. Secondly, we have ad-hoc programs where our club members rise to the occasion, addressing emergency relief programs or making use of local community engagements available to make our presence felt. We have initiatives like assisting local food banks, running social media campaigns to raise awareness about mental health concerns or simply advertising with banners, manning a local information booth to promote Rotary and its mission of helping humanity with a strong sense of fellowship.

Our Rotary Club always looks for innovative approaches in collaborating with community members and agencies on long-term sustainable projects to address the needs. We do lots of work with organisations and groups to give back to the community, such as food for the homeless, cleaning around the local suburbs, assisting in educating children with special-needs, volunteering and assisting in organising events and more. Additionally, we also find the needs of the community, what's in people's minds, what they are concerned about, and the best methods to connect with people in the community.

Last week we had a great opportunity to partner with the Strathfield Council and be a part of the "Homebush Street Festival 2140". This helped us to connect with people and to invite them to be involved with Rotary.

"Letting various individuals in the community know who we are (the Rotary Club of Strathfield) and what we're doing. A lot of people are interested in giving back to the community and they may be perfect members of our club," said Past President Rod McDougall, the main organiser of our Rotary Information Centre at the "Homebush Street Festival 2140".  During the last weekend of Rotary's participation in the Homebush Street Festival, we had seven inquiries about joining Rotary and nearly $1000 in ticket sales, proving Rod's remark.

Under Rod's leadership, we also had the following Rotary members to run our booth around the clock even though the weather was not good. We are grateful to our fellow Rotarians, Steven Argyris, Bradley Ayres, Jan Barrett, Paolo Giammarco, Usha Garg, Roger Vince, Nella Hall, Athena and Arie Pappas, Peter van der Sleesen, and Chris Virgona for volunteering their time and talent at such short notice.

We are also running a raffle throughout this street festival for three weekends. The money we raise will go towards local social service projects. Once again, Chris Virgona of Richardson & Wrench Strathfield (a leading real estate agent in Strathfield) is generously sponsoring the raffle prizes, which include a smart TV, a smart phone, and a smart watch.

The magic of Rotary is that it allows ordinary people to achieve extraordinary things. For over one hundred years, ordinary people around the world have been enjoying Rotary because the power of one unites with the power of many to bring about exceptional change in the world. We, the Strathfield Rotarians, are developing a working model of the whole community approach in responding to the community needs as well as strengthening communities through engagement and participation in local projects and activities.

"Lifes most persistent and urgent question is, WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR OTHERS?"

           Martin Luther King, Jr

Rotary Service to You