Nepal Flood Relief Concert with Rosa Matos and David Kram
All Hand on at DIK!
Christmas Hamper Appeal
Bereavement Notices
RIMERN Newsletter
Gallery
NEXT MEETING
Rotary Central Melbourne meets at the RACV Club on the first and third Tuesdays of each month, at the Theatrette, Chancery Level, commencing at 7:40am.
District Governor Graeme Hope drew on Rotary International President Olayinka Babalola’s challenge to share with others how we have been inspired by Rotary and the actions we have taken. He also encouraged us to think about what we are going to do differently this year, how we measure the change and the importance of creating a buzz of activity.
DG priorities are:
Members have a good club experience
Connecting with the next generation, and look to sponsor Rotaract clubs
Grow membership
Support and leverage the Rotary Foundation
Key dates from the DG:
Multidistrict conference 16-18 April 2027 in Warrnambool
Rotary South Pacific Conference 30 October - 1 November 2026 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre
Rotary Foundation Bequest Dinner, 11 March 2027, Hawthorn Arts Centre, with keynote by Past Rotary International President Jennifer Jones
President’s announcements:
The fifth Tuesday social event held at Carbine Bar was a huge success with around 42 people attending. The next 5th Tuesday event is 30th March 2027.
President has emailed club members about another social event specifically for partners of new members to get to know each other, Saturday 10 October. Please RSVP asap.
Dennis joined Rotary in 1980, and is a Trustee of The Rotary Foundation from 2023 to 2027 and is also vice chair of Rotary Foundation Australia. He has previously served as Endowment/Major Gifts Adviser and as a vice chair and promotions director of the Host Organization Committee for the 2023 Rotary International Convention in Melbourne. In D9800 Dennis was District Governor in 2012-13 and has been District Foundation Chair and twice District Council on Legislation Representative. He has also served as District Secretary, Vice-Governor and Finance Committee Chair (twice), and many other district and club roles. He is honoured to be a recipient of The Rotary Foundation Distinguished Service Award and the Royce Abbey Award.
Dennis Shore is a chartered chemical engineer with degrees from the University of New South Wales and completed postgraduate courses at Stanford University Graduate School of Business and INSEAD (France). After a career in paper manufacturing culminating in international business development and management in the USA, Europe, and Asia, he established his own consulting business. These days Rotary is his main focus.
Dennis has been married to Lynda for many years and they are proud parents to 2 wonderful adult daughters and grandparents to four treasured grandchildren.
It was great to have 3 “first timers” as part of our Club’s volunteering team at DIK on Tuesday 22 September 2026, they being Kamy Arakala and Phil Sexton ( both of whom were shortly to be inducted as RCM Members), and our grandson Jake Maher on School Holidays. All in all, we had 12 representatives including 7 Members and 2 Partners. The sparks were flying from time to time as many varied tasks were tackled and completed, much to the pleasure of DIK Manager, Colleen D’Offay. Thankyou to all of our volunteers. Our 4th and final date at DIK for this year will be the morning of Tuesday 8 December 2026……..lock it in!!!!
The RCM Community Service Committee is pleased to launch the 2026 Christmas Hamper Appeal. A two-page flyer is attached which provides the relevant information relating to the two charities that we will be supporting; Steps Outreach (Steps) and Uniting Asylum Seeker Project (UASP); the list of contents for each organisation’s hamper bag and the date of the Christmas lunch at the Savoy on Little Collins Hotel.
Who you shop for is your choice. UASP bags should have a green ribbon/tag attached to distinguish them from Steps Outreach bags, which should have a red ribbon/tag. Please advise Rebecca John how many of which bags you will be shopping for so that we can keep a record of the number and location of hampers to be collected. (Email is choneng51@gmail.com)
For those who would like a hamper bag/s provided, some will be made available at the club meetings on Tuesday 20th October & 10thNovember. They will also be available at the Bunnings BBQ’s at Collingwood on Saturday17th and 31st October and Port Melbourne on Sunday 15th November. Alternatively, you can provide your own bags. Please remember to use a green ribbon/tag for Uniting ASP and red for Steps Outreach and let Rebecca know.
The Community Service Committee will again assist those who would like to participate but are unable to shop. In this case a donation of $55 per bag should be made to the RCM bank account. Please note the transaction as ‘Hampers and your surname’. We need to keep track of deposits, so please let Rebecca know by 20thNovember 2026 if you are planning to use this method and how many of which hamper bags (Steps/UASP) that you would like purchased.
The RCM banking details are:
BSB: 033000 (Westpac)
Account number: 791085
Please note that the collection of hampers purchased by you will need to be delivered to; collected by or dropped off to one of the Community Service Committee members (Frank, Peter, Roger, Tom, Maureen, David Jones or Neville). We will sort the bags into Steps and Uniting ASP and arrangements will be made to deliver them to the appropriate organisation. Steps and UASP will be attending the RCM Christmas lunch, (yes a lunch), which will be held on Tuesday 15th December 2026, at The Savoy on Little Collins Hotel, (Corner of Little Collins and Spencer Streets, Melbourne). Further details to follow separately.
If you have any questions please contact Neville on 0417 387216 or email nrjohn55@gmail.com.
It is with great sadness that we advise of the passing of Past President, George Mackey. George joined Rotary Central Melbourne in May 2012 after moving from Queensland. He had also been a member of the RC of Port Macquarie. George’s vocational classification was 'Information technology”. His Rotary biography includes recognition as a Paul Harris Fellow on four occasions; a member of the District 9800 Paul Harris Society. George was President of Rotary Central Melbourne - Sunrise in 2015-2016 and it was his efforts that saw the dropping of the word ‘Sunrise’ from our title. (He was bothered about too many outsiders referring to our club as the ‘Sunshine Club’). in his time at Central Melbourne George was Youth Service Chair, Membership Chair and champion of projects such as Recyled Sound (re-purposed hearing aids); involved in efforts to re-establish Rotary in Docklands and as served as an advisor to South Sudanese Health Matters Inc during its start-up phase. One of George’s highlights was in 2016-2017 when he oversaw an increase in club membership of fourteen members, many of whom remain at RCM. After a period of covid forced lockdowns and online meetings, George decided that the online format suited his lifestyle and he transferred to the Rotary E-Club of Melbourne in September 2021. George’s wife Julie also sadly pre-deceased George around two years ago. They are survived by their son Cameron. We remember George as an intelligent, witty and fun to be around guy with a heart as big as himself. To use words that he was often heard to say - ’Thank you brother’ and Rest In Peace.
PDG Peter Shepheard advises that his father Neil passed away on 4 October, peacefully in sleep, surrounded by family and friends.
We survived another freezing winter in our breezy warehouse, and Spring has us shipping out ever more homewares to excited new homemakers!
In this issue, welcome Rotary Heidelberg — our 23rd member Club! We also welcome two new referral agencies, Vacro and ACSO, and share how our Aboriginal Homemakers Program is making a difference for First Nations families.
Peek inside more of our clients’ stylish homes and meet some of the fabulous volunteers who help make it all happen.
As demand continues, a huge thank you to our volunteers, generous donors, Rotary Clubs and agency partners.
Until next time, keep spreading the word and helping us turn houses into homes!
