Rotary work in our community

The Rotary Club of Timaru


fundraising
Our Hot Dog and Chips caravan can be seen out and about around South Canterbury. We're regulars at Alpine Energy Stadium when there's a rugby match on, and we have delicious hot dogs, shoestring chips and a variety of soft drinks for sale at the Winchester Swop Meet, the Fairlie A&P Show, the Rose Festival and the Rock & Hop. Our members volunteer their time as cooks and sales staff, and McCains generously donate the shoestring fries. All the profits from the hot dog caravan are distributed to local charities.
dictionaries
Club members, with the support of the RJ & CF Moyes Trust, provide a free illustrated dictionary to all Year 4 students in South Canterbury schools. These dictionaries become the personal property of the student, and is theirs to keep and use as they progress with their learning.
books for babies
The Club gifts a first book for babies to the parents of every baby born in South Cantrbury to remind the parents of the importance of reading, and to encourage them to share the book with their child.
shelter boxes
We raise funds to help where emergencies leave people struggling to find shelter and food for their families. Rotary ShelterBoxes are delivered on site in a matter of days and provide the basic necessities for shelter and daily living for a family of up to 10. Our community support has enabled us to provide several ShelterBoxes - can you imagine what that means to a family who have lost their home and all their belongings? Students from Timaru Christian School chose to purchase and donate a ShelterBox with the funds they raised from their weekly sausage sizzle.
support
South Canterbury has many wonderful organisations working to provide learning opportunities for young people, and helping people who face challenges in their lives. We help out where we can, sometimes with financial support, and sometimes with equipment such as the laptop presented to the Cancer Society, a wheelchair to MS South Canterbury, a tunnel house for Gleniti School's school garden, Coagucheck machines presented to Heart Kids South Canterbury, shelving and furniture presented to the Cancer Society when they upgraded their premises, and help with setting up the Enliven Day Centre rooms at the Gardens.
Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA)
RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Award) is a week-long leadership development programme for 20-28 year olds hosted and sponsored by Rotary Clubs in Rotary District 9980 (clubs in the lower South Island, from the Rangitata south). The club invites applications from interested young people and selects one or more to sponsor to attend the programme. For more details click here to visit the RLYA information page on the Rotary District 9980 website.
Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE)
A Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE) presents a very special opportunity for students between the ages of 15 and 18 to visit another country and live with families in local communities, experiencing everyday life. RYE students are hosted overseas by a Rotary club for 1 year. During that time they live with 3 or 4 host families, each for a few months. Local Rotary Clubs provide both a support network and a social network with a club that is based around your local community. RYE is a unique opportunity to experience a country as a local and get to know its people, its culture, and lifestyle. It is a much more valuable and meaningful experience than just seeing a country as a tourist. You will be helping bring the world closer together, creating cultural understanding, making life long friendships and connections globally. For more details click here to visit the RYE information page on the Rotary District 9980 website.