On Saturday, 18 November 2023, the Sundowners were pleased to host the International Fellowship of Flying Rotarians (Australian Section) at a dinner to mark their visit to Canberra.
The IFFR are a group of Rotarians dedicated to promoting Rotary and aviation as an opportunity for fellowship and service and they certainly demonstrated their capacity to do this during the dinner.
We were privileged to have the 2024 ACT Young Australian of the Year, Caitlin Figueiredo, as our guest speaker where she detailed her considerable attempts to give young people a say in politics. It was inspiring to hear from Caitlin firsthand and it made us appreciate the talent that we have in our own backyard.
Special recognition must be given to one of our own – Lynne Duckham OAM – who was responsible for organising the IFFR visit.
Our birthing kit packing weekend over 29 and 30 April was a resounding success across many spectrums. We had over 100 people join us for 2 hour packing sessions across the weekend, including Rotarians, local politicians, staff from our primary event sponsors - Keane Consulting, RCD Consulting and The Coaching Alliance Group - friends, family and also some who joined us on spec after seeing the event in print and social media advertising. The organising team ran a very well organised event, with great focus on keeping the production lines running.
There is still time to register for our birthing kit packing event next weekend - 29 and 30 April at Legacy House, Geils St, Deakin. There are 2 two and a half hour sessions each day, at 9.30am and 1pm. 
As we do every year, a small number of Sundowners joined the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association Canberra in a Clean Up Australia Day activity at the top of Mount Ainslie. The Amaroo Scout Group also joined the clean up. Those involved found it very satisfying to make a positive difference to the environment in one small area of Canberra. 
ember 2022, members of the Sundowners have signed on with the Vinnies Night Patrol to provide food, hot drinks and other support to Canberra's homeless on the fourth Wednesday evening of each month. Our members have found this to be a very satisfying activity that can make a real difference in many ways. While a basic meal and hot or cold drink meet the physical needs of our 'companions', the Night Patrol team also provide sleeping bags, clothing and shoes, and most importantly, companionship and a chat. 
It was great to see the culmination of about a month's planning and shopping come together with ten members and friends packing 80 Christmas hampers brim full of goodies and the following day (10th December), with six members and friends delivering the hampers to residents at Oaks Estate. It was very satisfying to hear the thankful comments of many of the residents.
There is nothing like a Rotary Conference for bringing great people and great ideas together. For Canberra Rotarians there have been two substantial conferences over the last two weekends.
Our recent community service planning session had a real vibe and provided an opportunity for members to have a say and to shape this critical area of Rotary service. Discussions focussed on the next 12 months, with a couple of longer term options for consideration. The outcomes will be discussed at our next club meeting so that other members' ideas can also be incorporated. Some of the activities with strong support from the meeting include:
It was great to look back at the wonderful year that the club had in 21-22 under President Sam Saunders. Sam had a tremendously productive year as President, and even found time to give birth to Millie early on in the year. 
What a great service activity on 28th May, painting BBQ tables, fencing and seating in a communal area between buildings at Oaks Estate. This supports work by Ben and the Vinnies Canberra/Goulburn Community Inclusion Program (
The Canberra Sundowners held our birthing kit packing event on Sunday the 15th of May. This is the fourth year the club has supported this great cause, with each year being bigger and better than the last. 
It's not all hard work volunteering in Rotary. We like to have a lot of fun in meetings and social events as well. Our social event for April was tasting French wine and produce and learning about French wines and wine regions at French Flair in Manuka.
As in past years we joined Ahmed & friends from @Ahmadiyahmuslimcommunity at their Clean Up Australia Day event, held on 6th March. The Ahmadi's ethos is around peace: "Love all, hate none" which seems timeless. 
ra Sundowners finally got to formally celebrate our recent chartering as a Rotary Club with over 80 Rotarians, family and friends. It was a wonderful evening, with great memories of our path to chartering, some amazing silent auction items and raffle prizes and much more. 
The Sundowners launched our second street library last weekend - this one in Tea Gardens in Gungahlin. It was the culmination of a great deal of effort by a number of people, including our resident artist extraordinaire - Ash, who created a marvellous forest landscape on all sides of the library. 
Our first meeting for 2022 was a busy affair. With a hybrid face-to-face and online meeting format, we had 20 members and friends in attendance. 
Dickson, ACT 2602
Australia