Club of the Week: Tauranga Rotary Club making a difference in a challenging world

The Tauranga Rotary club is renowned for its efforts in helping to touch the lives of hundreds of people at home and around the world.

President Sheena Spittles said Tauranga Rotary's number one priority was to provide support both at home and internationally with aim of making a significant difference to the lives of other people, particularly the less fortunate.

Its signature fundraiser is the annual Easter weekend book sale, which this year raised $70,000 thanks to a loyal team of volunteers, she said.

Proceeds from these fundraisers were distributed to a myriad of groups such as Hospice, Salvation Army, Canteen, the foodbank, and Habitat for Humanity.

The local club has been running for 73 years and Spittles said being a Rotarian connected people with hundreds of diverse groups who all shared the same drive to give back to the community across the globe.

Rotary International had 1.2 million members worldwide engaged in a wide variety of humanitarian projects, she said.

That included Rotary's signature project supporting the "End Polio Now" immunisation programme in Pacific, which has helped to protect millions of people from the paralytic and sometimes deadly disease.

Local Rotarians get to travel around the world to help with the immunisation programme and help support disaster relief, such as when cyclones strike the Pacific Islands.

Spittles said Rotary had six key focus areas interest - peace and conflict resolution, maternal and child health, water and sanitation, education and literacy, disease eradication and community development.

Rotary brings together a global network of volunteers from more than 200 countries who dedicate their time to tackle some of the world's humanitarian challenges, she said.

Each year the club adopts a theme, which this year was making a difference, she said.

At home, Tauranga Rotary has also provided books and dictionaries to Merivale and Greerton Village Schools and helped with reading programmes and community gardens.

Recently, members helped build about 500 rat trap boxes for Predator Free Tauranga and also helped to lay bait traps around K Valley.

Spittles said in partnership with Priority One, Tauranga Rotary also helped organise the Canteen Career Expo at ASB Arena each August attended by more than 5000 students.

Spittles said the club's 30 members of Tauranga Rotary were aged between 40 and 92-years-old, but the organisation was always looking for passionate new members with "energy".

"We meet each Wednesday evening to enjoy each other's company over a meal before dealing with the Rotary business of making a difference," she said.

Spittles said Tauranga Rotary was a "relaxed, friendly group" of like-minded people who share the same goals and believe that everyone has a skill or talent others can use.

Our motto is "come as you are and do what you can, when you can", she said.

If you want to be part of a friendly group of like-minded people, email eatcooper@slingshot.co.nz.