Service Clubs

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light) (15:35): Today, I would like to talk about a group of volunteers in our community, not only in my electorate but also right across the state. These are the volunteers who belong to some sort of service club in their local community. This year, the Association of Community Service Organisations, under the leadership of Kath Gribble from the Barossa Valley, will be celebrating Service Club Week between 9 and 15 October.

During that week, there will be a number of events to promote the activities of service clubs across the state, including the Premier's Awards presentation luncheon, where a number of awards are given for outstanding service by people involved in service clubs. This year, the association is promoting service clubs by asking people to join a service club and make a difference. Certainly, service club members and the clubs themselves make a difference to individual communities, certainly in my own. I should state at the outset that I am a member of the Lions Club of Gawler.

In the remaining time, I would like to cover the service clubs in my community. I am very fortunate that my community is enriched by the activities of service clubs, and there are quite a few of them. In no particular order, I would like to acknowledge the Kiwanis Club of Gawler, a service club which carries out a number of projects to raise funds to assist the community, particularly through serving the children of the world. The Gawler club sponsors the Terrific Kids program amongst others.

Their sister organisation in the electorate, the Kiwanis Club of Roseworthy-Hewett, which was chartered in 2011, exists to serve children. This year, the club's major project was providing shoeboxes filled with items, such as toys, for the Samaritan's Purse organisation. Another service club is the Freemasons. The Lodge of Fidelity No. 5 is in my electorate. They raise funds to do two major things: one is to support homes for the aged, and the second one, which I have a lot of interest in, supports the Freemasons Foundation Centre for Men's Health at the University of Adelaide. The University of Adelaide undertakes quite a bit of research through funds provided by the Freemasons centre.

The Lions Club of Angle Vale is the daughter club of the Lions Club of Paralowie. It was chartered in 2014. Since it was chartered, they have provided services such as vision and health screening, building parks, awarding scholarships and so forth. My own club, the Lions Club of Gawler, is involved in many activities, including assisting Gawler Care and Share, the Gawler Hospital cancer unit, the Gawler Cancer Council and many others. They raise most of their funds through the weekend market.

The Country Women's Association of Gawler contributes to the community by assisting at local events, such as the Christmas carols in Pioneer Park, Australia and ANZAC Day breakfasts, as well as organising the International Women's Day Breakfast. Their sister organisation, which is a new CWA group in Gawler, is called the Bottlebrush Ladies. Essentially, it is a country women's association, but it is a night-time group, rather than a daytime group. By having evening meetings, it enables women who work or who have other commitments during the day to participate in community work.

The Rotary Club of Gawler Light participates in numerous local projects, including Carols by Candlelight, the Christmas display at APEX Park, providing literacy grants and supporting Rotary Readers and local charities. The Rotary Club of Gawler, the older of the two Rotary clubs, was chartered in 1954. Over that time, they have raised over $1 million to contribute to community projects. The Apex Club of Gawler is a community organisation with a strong focus on raising funds through catering. The club routinely travels to various outback venues to cater for events, but all those moneys are channelled into community projects.

The VIEW Club of Gawler is a community service organisation, affiliated with The Smith Family, helping disadvantaged children throughout Australia. VIEW stands for Voice, Interests and Education of Women, and they provide a valuable service in raising funds to support young adults and young children with their education through The Smith Family. They do some really great work.

Last, but not least, is the Zonta Club of Gawler. The Zonta Club of Gawler was chartered in 1993. Its members work together in order to advance the status of women through service and advocacy. They also undertake activities in terms of the International Day of Women. As we can see, the service clubs in our community do really enrich the lives of many.