Local organisation: Fairy Meadow Rotary Club

A strong family involvement in Rotary, led Fairy Meadow Rotary Club past president and current new generations director Kerrie Guillaume to join the local club herself 20 years ago.

Kerrie, who is also assistant governor of South Illawarra and the District Interact chair, has loved seeing how projects have brought school students through to business owners together within the Fairy Meadow community.

She said it was particularly heartening to see during times when locals most needed extra support.

When was the Fairy Meadow Rotary Club formed?

The club was chartered on 2nd October 1967 and charter night was 1st December 1967. Then the first community service project was in April 1968, which was the planting of 28 trees supplied by Wollongong Council in the gardens at Fairy Meadow Demonstration School.

A recently completed project of ours was to refurbish the Peace Garden at Fairy Meadow Demonstration School. This was a Rotary Australia Centenary Project requiring the donation of a Peace Pole and three benches and plants (pictured).

Each year on the UN International Day of Peace in September, a celebration assembly near the pole will be held with Rotarians in attendance. The Pole has the wording “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in four different languages chosen by the students at the school. One of which is Dharawal, our local Indigenous language.

We have also donated Peace Poles to Towradgi and Cringila public schools.

Why did you decide to join Rotary?

I have been a Rotarian for 20 years; my father was in Rotary from when I was 5 years old. My husband and sister are also Rotarians. The Rotary family means a great deal to me and through the Rotary network we can respond to national and international disasters in a timely and effective way.

For example, drought and bushfire relief was given directly to the towns and more recently during COVID, providing support to local families.

At the Fairy Meadow Rotary Club, we really are like family.

What are some of your key projects you’ve worked on?

There are so many projects we're part of. Some of those include:

Life Education

A recently deceased club member Ken Bishop was nominated by Ted Noffs to initiate Life Education in the Illawarra and he became the chairman. This led to a project supported by the club to supply a van to the Life Education program and our club has supported this annually for the past 40 years.

Young People

New Generations is an avenue of Service we have supported since charter. This includes numerous youth exchanges to or from countries such as USA, Finland, Germany, Brazil, Austria and France since 1971.

The:

• Rotary Youth Program of Enrichment for 14-16 years (RYPEN),
• Rotary Youth Leadership Award for 19-24 years (RYLA) and
• Model United Nations Assembly (MUNA)

have seen many young people develop leadership skills and confidence to enhance their life skills.

SCARF (Strategic Community Assistance to Refugee Families)

We have supported SCARF since its early years and now have a Memorandum of Understanding which supports individuals and families.

Dolly Parton Imagination Library

An age-related book is posted every month to children 0-5 years. We support this program through both an Illawarra Clubs project and through 25 SCARF families.

Rotaract

A service club for over 18s. We have sponsored the Illawarra Rotaract Club which is a community-based club with vibrant members committed to Making a Difference locally and internationally.

Living Classrooms

We have been involved with multiple schools for the last five years. The Living Classroom Program supports seven schools and is a classroom in the garden. During the COVID 19 lockdown, schools planted up to 400 seedlings in their vegetable gardens and created videos to help their students who were learning remotely grow winter crops in their own backyards.

Indigenous Scholars through Australian Rotary Health

Supports Indigenous University students throughout their course and we also connect with them personally in the years they are studying.

Fairy Meadow Business Network

Unfortunately, the lockdowns have slowed this process, but the plan is to establish a network and connect businesses through activities, promotions and projects.

What do you have planned for the Fairy Meadow Rotary Club in the coming year?

We’re going to do a Mental Health Challenge in October (2021). It’s called Lift the Lid through the Australian Rotary Health. We’re going to promote it through Fairy Meadow and the Rotaracts will promote it too. We’re going to try and do a calendar of challenges. For example, do meditation today, have a virtual cup of coffee with someone, create a healthy meal, and things like that.

You can learn more about Lift The Lid on Mental Illness on our Facebook page and Instagram account.

Why is the club so important to the local Fairy Meadow community?

Looking at Fairy Meadow, it’s developing into a nice little village. It has a village feel about it.

Getting involved with more of the businesses, as we have in the last year especially when we did our online raffle, has been wonderful. It’s a great promotion for Fairy Meadow, showing there’s a two-way communication between a community club and businesses. It’s fitting, considering the club was founded by a group of businesses in Fairy Meadow.

Why would you encourage others to be part of the club?

Fairy Meadow Rotary Club members joined to give back and make a difference. Service Above Self is Rotary International’s motto. It also promotes personal development, leadership skills, public speaking, project planning and working in a team environment.

There are 1.2 million members, 35,000 clubs in over 200 countries and territories worldwide. Our District 9675 has 59 clubs from Sydney to Kiama.

The networking is efficient and sustainable. For example, we recently were asked to assist a Girls Home in Northern India to acquire two laptops and a printer for home schooling by a local Illawarra group. Through a local Rotary Club contact near the school, we were able to achieve a successful outcome.

Polio Plus was started by an Australian in 1982 to eradicate Polio worldwide. The vaccination program is supported by the Australian Government, Bill Gates Foundation and the World Health Organisation and Rotarians worldwide. The recent cases were one in Pakistan and one in Afghanistan. It has been eradicated in India and Africa as well as the rest of the world.  It's an enormous achievement to see Polio eradicated in my lifetime.

Lastly, The Rotary Foundation (our charity) is the most transparent in the world and many of our supporters are confident that 100% of funds we raise goes directly to the cause.

Learn more about becoming a member of the Rotary Club of Fairy Meadow.

Are you ready to discuss buying, selling or leasing a home in the Fairy Meadow or surrounding suburbs? Contact Joanne on (02) 4285 7400.

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