At the recent celebration of 50 years of service to the community of Fairy Meadow, president Jenny Godin outlined some of the achievements of this very busy and active Rotary Club who with a small number of members are always willing to participate in a wide range of projects and events.
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Along with participating in joint events with the other Northern Illawarra clubs, the Rotary Club of Fairy Meadow is committed to the following events:
Razzamatazz, an annual event, held at Woonona Bulli RSL club that provides magical entertainment to children and their families. It is a great day and we, as well as, the children and families enjoy the performances. The event is always a great success, this year is no exception. With so many families attending, the back of the auditorium needed to be opened to accommodate the crowds for each session. This project allows our club to raise substantial funds as well as achieve a successful outcome for the local community. These funds are generously donated to local and international communities.
Another major project is involvement with Fairy Meadow Demonstration School in assisting and providing play equipment to the children with disabilities and a sensory garden. The project is underway, and the area has been cleared with some smaller trees pruned and the area levelled. Some of the play equipment has also been purchased to the delight of the children. The Club was successful in obtaining a District grant from Rotary Foundation to support the work.
It is ironic that in preparing the Club’s history, leafing through old bulletins and news articles of the club, it was discovered that the first project of the club was the planting of trees at this school to beautify the grounds. This work was carried out on Saturday, April 20, 1968, approximate six months after the club's Charter night on December 1, 1967. The trees, some 28 in all, were supplied by Wollongong City Council. This project attracted a great roll-up of members and all work was completed by lunchtime. The trees were planted on the western and southern boundaries of the school. The article was written some five years later and all trees planted were thriving.
Another ongoing project is the Imagination Library SCARF project, where refugee children aged from birth to age six receive an age appropriate book each month. One of the aims of this project is to inspire a love a reading for the children, and to support the local refugee families.
December is a very busy month for the Club with barbecues at Bunnings and Woolworths, Fairy Meadow, plus, in Social Inclusion Week, the club will seize the opportunity to support the volunteers of the Disability Trust by providing a special morning tea at Edmund Rice College on Saturday, December 2.
For some years now, in the first week of December, representatives of the Club are invited to attend the end-of-year Presentation Day of three local schools, Fairy Meadow Demonstration School, Pleasant Heights Primary and Mount Ousley Primary, where the Club presents a Citizenship Award at each.
The Club is also supporting the Salvation Army and Disability Trust for their Santa Fest on December 10.
President Jenny personally thanked each of the members for the dedication and passion.