Our city is a beautiful one but there are many people in our community doing it tough.

The Vinnies Canberra/Goulburn Night Patrol is an opportunity to share a bite to eat, a refreshment and a conversation. 

We joined the Rotary Club of Jerrabomberra on Wednesday evening 26 March to do just that, supporting about 30 people at stops across Canberra and Queanbeyan. 

We staff a Night Patrol van once a month. Interested in joining us? Please get in touch.

 

Rotary plays a key role in spreading the word of peace across the globe. That’s why some of our members were honoured to support the Aussie Peace Walk over the last weekend of March. 

The Peace Walk brings together participants from across the globe to walk various trails around Canberra while spreading messages of peace, unity and support for different communities. 

While some of us volunteered, providing support to participants at different points during their walk, a few of us took on the challenge of the longer walks across both days.  

From the torrential rain of Saturday to the clear skies of Sunday, we enjoyed the opportunity to come together with friends from across the world to show solidarity with peace efforts both in Australia and abroad.

 

On Sunday 23 March we enjoyed an incredibly moving afternoon at the Canberra Rotary Peace Bell where five new Peace Poles were unveiled, inscribed with the messages of peace in 34 languages.

Peace Poles are internationally recognised symbols of hope which bear the message, ‘May Peace Prevail on Earth’, in different languages on each of its sides.

We had the honour of donating one of the Peace Poles (No. 506) in association with the Canberra Multicultural Community Forum (CMCF) Inc. The pole recognises messages of peace in seven Asian languages. They are Tamil, Lao, Khmer, Tagalog, Burmese, Thai and Malay.

The new poles will form part of a constellation of Peace Poles in Lennox Gardens to spread the message of peace and hope for future generations.

Our fellow Rotarians from throughout Canberra were also on hand to unveil the four other poles:

 

Next time you are in Lennox Gardens, make sure you snap a picture of the poles and send it through to us. It will be your own way of spreading the word of peace.

 

We spent Saturday 22 March at the Rotary District 9705 learning and development day as we look towards the 2025-26 Rotary year. 

We were inspired by a variety of workshops covering innovative ideas to develop clubs, build membership, support young people and care for our environment.

 

There are so many incredible community service projects being undertaken by Rotarians right across Canberra and beyond.

It was such a thought-provoking day and each of us walked away with different ideas on how we can make an even greater impact in our community.

It also allowed us to reflect on the Rotary International President’s message to ‘Unite for Good’. We are looking forward to collaborating with other clubs to help make positive change.

 

On Tuesday 18 March we swapped our usual meeting for a combined club catch-up to hear from Rotary District 9705 Governor Rob Uhl.

 

DG Rob laid down a simple, yet effective foundation for Rotary clubs to make positive change in their communities.

She set us the goal of engaging with our community and collaborating with partners to change lives. By applying this standard, we will further our reach across the broader Canberra region.

We also took the opportunity to discuss our shared community service priorities with our friends from the Rotary Club of Tuggeranong and Woden Daybreak Rotary Club.

 

Another BIG thank you to everyone who supported our 2025 Trivia Night. 

Together, we have raised almost $10,000 for the purchase and packing of Birthing Kit Foundation Australia birthing kits, to help women with limited access to medical facilities give birth safely. You can find out more about the event here. 

Don’t forget to mark Saturday 17 May in your diaries for our birthing kit packing day. Keep an eye on our website and social media channels for more details. We’d love to see you there!