Stories

Relief Appeal - Nepal Earthquake

2024 Fundraising - $10,000 Super Lottery

Say NO to Domestic Violence and YES to Respectful Relationships

Over the next six weeks, Rotary Clubs around Australia will be campaigning to "Say No to Domestic Violence and Yes to Respectful Relationships", culminating in a day of action on December 1, 2023.

Rotary Northbridge club members will be seen promoting awareness at both the Castlecrag Fair on Oct 22, and at the Mary's House Walk on Oct 29. Come and say hi, and please ask how you can help!

If you need help, call 1800 RESPECT, or 1800 737 732, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

2023 Fundraising - Afternoon at the Movies

Come join us for a fun evening, for Rotary causes, at Roseville Cinema.
Oct 15th from 4.00pm. Further detail at
https://events.humanitix.com/northbridge-rotary-cinema-night

2023 Fundraising - Comedy for a Cause

On 3 August 2023, Rotary Northbridge hosted its annual Comedy for a Cause night at Northbridge Golf Club

SOLD OUT for the second year in succession

Dinner was available early for those interested, and 120 guests were then treated to a riotous evening.

Our thanks go to the staff and management at Northbridge Golf Club, and of course to Gary Eck, Sean Woodland, Peter Meisel and Mat Wakefield for the laughs!

2023 International Project - Kathmandu, Nepal

In November 2022, Rajendra Gautam, a Past President of the Rotary Club of Kathmandu presented to our Club on various Rotary projects underway in his home country.

Following a proposal from our International Committee, in early 2023, the Rotary Northbridge Board approved a donation of $A5000 for the supply and installation of medical equipment to the Dudhkoshi Community Hospital in Solukhumbu. This donation, combined with donations from the Rotary Clubs of Kathmandu, Balwyn, and Albury has facilitated the establishment of a fully equipped Operating Theatre Unit, supporting a regional population of over 22,000, in one of the world's poorest countries.

Northbridge Rotary is proud to again been able to support our friends in Nepal with this important project.

Update - 2023 Mothers' Day Raffle Winners

Thank you to all of the Northridge community who supported great causes by purchasing tickets in our 2023 Northbridge Rotary Mothers' Day Raffle,
Also thank you to our wonderful supporters and sponsors!

Winners are announced below.

If you are one of the lucky ones, our team will be in touch shortly or you can reach us at publicrelations@northbridgerotary.com.au ...
... and to all of the Mothers out there, we wish you a great day next Sunday.

Community Partner - Sailability Middle Harbour

Sailability Middle Harbour aims to give people with disabilities the opportunity to discover first hand the wonderful experience of sailing.

We sail from the main pontoon at Middle Harbour Yacht Club on the second and last Sunday morning of each month throughout the year in purpose built Hansa 303 sailing boats each with a volunteer skipper and a (disabled) sailor.

Sailability Middle Harbour (SMH) is one of 23 Sailibility branches in NSW under the Sailability NSW not for profit organisation. SMH was started in 2004 by the combined efforts of the Rotary Clubs of North Sydney and Northbridge and the support of MHYC. The fleet commenced as only three boats donated by members of the two Rotary Clubs and has since grown to 6 boats thanks to many generous donations and support including:

The Rotary Club of Northbridge

The Rotary Club of North Sydney

The Sir James Hardy Lodge

Middle Harbour Yacht Club

Andrew McLean

The McNally Family

See the Sailability Middle Harbour website for more details.

Community Engagement - Rotary Bookstall

Posted by Peter Russell on Jun 01, 2022

Thanks to Northbridge Plaza management, the Northbridge Rotary Club bookstall continues at Northbridge Plaza on the third Sunday of every month from 9am to 5pm.

The Club is selling a range of adult fiction at $4 each plus childrens’ books at $2 each; all in mint condition and sales continue grow each month.

Books can be purchased with cash or via credit card. As always, all of the money raised from these sales goes to a range of worthy causes.

2022 Fundraising - Fireworks Return a Huge Success

Posted by Peter Russell on May 13, 2022

Many would have seen the North Shore skyline light up with the Northbridge Rotary Club’s annual community fireworks on the evening of 7 May. And what a spectacular afternoon and evening of fun, food and entertainment it was.

Well done to all those involved.

The event, attended by some 4,000 people, raised close to $50,000 which the Northbridge Rotary Club will use to support a range of worthy charities and causes.

Our special thanks to Willoughby City Council and to Northbridge Plaza for what is now our 30^th year of joint partnership with them for this event. Northbridge Rotary Club President, John Gidney, is photographed presenting a plaque to the Plaza management commemorating this achievement.

Update - Rotary Fireworks Raffle 2022 Winners

Posted by Alan Hession on May 11, 2022

Thankyou to everyone who bought tickets in our fireworks raffle.

Winning ticket numbers are as follows;

1. Ticket 0313 Major Prize: Taronga Western Plains Zoo, Overnight stay in Zoo Lodge for a family

of 2 adults & 2 children. Including the family entry pass to the Zoo.

2. Ticket 0568 1 night stay at the InterContinental Hotel Double Bay.

3. Ticket 1891 Scenic World Blue Mountains Family Pass 2 adults & 2 children.

4. Ticket 1523 Taronga Zoo Sydney Family Pass 2 adults & 2 children.

5. Ticket 1563 Back Vintage Wine

6. Ticket 1508 Hamper of mixed goods from Northbridge Plaza Shops.

2021 International Project - Flores, Indonesia

Posted by Peter Russell on Nov 23, 2021

In 2021 the Northbridge Rotary Club donated $3,000 to the Nusa Tenggara Association (NTA), an Australian-based NGO which has been assisting poor farming communities in parts of eastern Indonesia. The money was allocated to women from 6 different weaving groups with the opportunity to earn a better income by producing diverse products with hand woven cloth on the eastern Indonesian island of Flores, one of more than 550 Islands of the Nusa Tenggara Province.

Flores is one of the poorest provinces in Indonesia, with an average income of less than a fifth of the national average. Twenty-seven percent of the population earns less than a dollar per day, malnutrition and stunted growth there are common and primary school enrolment remains low in this Covid-affected area.

The NTA, through its peak partner NTA Indonesia, is supported by over 250 people in Australia and other countries and is governed by an elected Board. It draws on small networks of people committed to working voluntarily on fund-raising, monitoring, liaising with project participants and sharing technical expertise. It is accredited by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and is a member of the Australian Council for International Development. This ensures it has systems and measures in place which meet Australian standards, including in the areas of fraud control, accountability to donors and child protection

Members of the Flores Island community sewing group pose with their new heavy-duty machines.

Luke Keighery

Director International Service

Rotary Club of Northbridge

2021 Fundraising - Northbridge Golf Day

Posted by Robert Farrar on May 10, 2021

Thank You Northbridge for your Generous Support

Posted by Kevin Tattrie on Feb 15, 2021

Below are photos of the new erected Northbridge Plaza signage for the Northbridge Rotary Club.

Thank you Northbridge community for your continued generous support all these years.

Love and Joy at Christmas

Posted by Peter Russell on Jan 16, 2021

The Covid-19 pandemic made fundraising and giving extremely difficult this year, but in the end Christmas won through.

After much hard work, Northbridge Rotary Club’s Sally O’Neill, her fundraising team and her army of Club ticket-sellers, pulled off a fundraising coup with their Christmas Raffle conducted during the course of December at Northbridge Plaza.

Thanks to the generosity of the Northbridge Plaza management – including its security team, local Northbridge and other businesses and shoppers attending the Plaza, the Rotary Club raised over $8,000. That money will be used for local and regional projects, particularly focussing on those recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 22 raffle prizes were drawn at the Plaza by Northbridge Rotary Club President, Kevin Tattrie, on Sunday 20 December, as the photograph below shows.

Congratulations to the following list of lucky prize-winners:

The Rotary club is now motivated to make its Christmas Raffle an annual event, together with its Tree of Joy which, as can be seen from the photograph below, produced a windfall of toys and other gifts for children who would otherwise go without this Christmas. Now, thanks to the Club’s Eleanor Chevor and her team, they too will experience the true joy of what this Season of Giving is all about.

Northbridge Rotary Community Food Drive 2020

Posted by Peter Russell

Saturday 26 September shone a bright light over Northbridge. From first light they came bearing gifts of love – by car and on foot, trailing children, dogs and each other. The blue uniformed brigade of Northbridge Rotary was there to meet them – about 40 in all, bright eyed and Covid safe. From early morning the first shift was beginning to receive and unload a continuous flow of non-perishable food supplies, making sure the donors went away with a smile. Northbridge Rotary’s Community Food Drive was in full swing.

By mid-morning, the alcoves and stairs of St. Marks Anglican Church Memorial Hall in Malacoota Road were bulging with rows of food boxes and packed shopping bags. The pace ebbed and flowed as people trailed in and out. When the two charity collection vans from Taldumande Youth Services and StreetWork had departed fully laden late that afternoon, there was still a supply of food remaining and Oz Harvest obliged with a collection of the remaining donations the following morning.

In all, it is estimated the Northbridge and North Shore community contributed to over a tonne of non-perishable food supplies that filled over 100 boxes and 50 shopping bags – enough for 2,400 meals or sufficient to feed a needy family of four for 18 months.

Liz de Rome, Taldumande’s Grants, Community and Volunteers Officer summed the impact of this event up perfectly:

“I wanted to share that as we dropped off bags and boxes of food to our young people, they were so grateful for their generous parcel. This morning, one young girl nearly cried (and me) as she couldn’t believe her luck. She wasn’t sure how she was going to make ends meet this week. The generosity of the community and Northbridge Rotarians has helped fill the pantries of our young people and they’re so grateful.”

The final comment belongs to the Northbridge Rotary event organiser, Eleanor Chevor: “What a day!”

Rotary and its GPEI Partners Celebrate Eradication of Wild Polio in Africa

The World Health Organization (WHO) on 25 August announced that transmission of the wild poliovirus has officially been stopped in all 47 countries of its African region. This is a historic and vital step toward global eradication of polio, which is Rotary’s top priority.

After decades of hard won gains in the region, Rotary and its partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) — WHO, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Gavi, the vaccine alliance — are proclaiming the milestone an achievement in public health. They offer it as proof that strong commitment, coordination, and perseverance can rid the world of polio.

Rotary Ladies

Posted on Aug 04, 2019

32 years of fireworks at Northbridge.
You bring the family. We’ll bring the fun.

Posted on Mar 26, 2019

Saturday May 11 will celebrate the annual community fireworks event organised by the Rotary Club of Northbridge.

Over the past 32 years, community support and attendance at this event has grown to more than 4000 and funds raised will go toward helping local disadvantaged youth and people at risk.

Gates open at the Northbridge Oval, Sailors Bay Road, at 4pm with live music provided by Northbridge and Cammeray Public Schools and Willoughby Girls High School.

There will be rides and other entertainment for the children, including face-painting; hot food from the Rotary BBQ, ice creams, fairy floss, cold drinks and coffee will be available. The highlight of the evening will be a spectacular fireworks display at 7 pm.

MC for the occasion is voice over artiste Jake Downs whose father John Downs, a previous President of the Rotary Club, was the first MC 32 years ago!

We wish to extend an invitation to all families to come along; support a great cause, and enjoy a great night out! Bring a picnic basket and a rug and enjoy the fantastic community atmosphere.

Entry: Adults $15, Children (5-15 years) $5, Families (2 adults & 2 children) $35.

Credit card facilities will be available at the gate and food area.

For more information please contact Karin Eurell on 0412 468 884,

Email: publicrelations@northbridgerotary.com.au

Website: www.northbridgerotary.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NorthbridgeRotaryClub/

Community - Cyclone Debbie Assistance Final Report

Posted by Karin Eurell on Mar 22, 2019

Funds raised by Northbridge Rotary via a bucket appeal at Northbridge Plaza have been put to good use as reported below.

During Tropical Cyclone Debbie in 2017, the Sarina Range in Queensland experienced a massive landslide that effectively cut off 16 families (30 students) from the school campus. Education Queensland quickly established accommodation for the isolated students. However, suddenly and rather traumatically, the 30 students and their families had to adjust to changed life circumstances, grief and loss, separation from their previous school community and increased cost of living to travel extended distances to access shops, doctors, workplaces and other social supports such as scouts, sporting activities and dance.

This project, funded by the Northbridge Rotary Club totalling $3255, provided support for children’s skill development (swimming classes) and social interaction with peers at Inter school athletic activities. These monies paid for bus services to transport children between schools, then on to the swim classes and their athletics carnival. Without this grant the school, P&C and students would have been financially disadvantaged and unable to provide the access and learning opportunities that were offered to the students at the temporary accommodation.

The Rotary Club of Sarina and the Swayneville State School students, parents, teachers and community are thankful to the Northbridge Rotary Club and Townsville District 9550 Disaster Management grants that facilitated the social, and emotional well-being of these school children, alleviated a potentially onerous financial burden on the P&C and parents who were already financially disadvantaged. Your financial and club support has provided joy, growth, opportunities, personal development, pride, skill and water safety in all the children of the Swayneville State School Campus. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Dianne Barnett

Secretary, Rotary Club Sarina, Qld

Youth - Rotary Helps Local Youth Leadership Development

Posted by Karin Eurell on Mar 22, 2019

The Rotary Club of Northbridge is building on their long-standing support of youth with expanding support across 6 different youth specific, leadership and experience focus programs. The outcomes of these programs continue to motivate the club to build on these programs with increased support.

Among these programs are high school leadership, science, engineering and experience programs. One of these programs is RYPEN (Rotary Youth Program of Enrichment) aimed at year 9 & 10 who want to build their confidence and self-esteem. RYPEN provides young people the opportunity to build leadership potential, encourages them to explore their ideas in problem solving, team activities, and experiences that will assist them in forming their own values. RYPEN is about building confidence and developing skills to cope in a range of situations. The Rotary club of Northbridge has doubled it’s support of this amazing program from sponsoring 4 awardees each of the last 2 years to 8 awardees this 18/19 year. Follow this link https://rotarydistrict9685.org.au/page/rypen for more information about RYPEN.

The ‘Grolman Challenge" - Blood Donors Save Lives

Posted by Robert Coote on Mar 09, 2019

End Polio - Getting Closer

Posted by Karin Eurell on Feb 06, 2019

Rotary International and its partners have made enormous progress in the past 30 years, don't you think? We can and we will #endpolio