Glenelg Rotary Club

Mr PATTERSON (Morphett) (16:01): Recently, I attended the Glenelg Rotary Club's changeover dinner at one of the fantastic clubs in Morphett, the Glenelg Golf Club. The night was an opportunity for the now past president, Sarah Walsh, to reflect on the many achievements and successes of the Glenelg Rotary Club over the last 12 months. Sarah outlined how she was guided in her year as president by basing the club's goals on Rotary's three strategic priorities: to support and strengthen the club, service above self and enhance their public image by being recognised in the community. She certainly did that.

Starting last July, the club supported the Foodbank food drive, with club members volunteering a total of 45 hours and encouraging the public to donate food to redistribute to welfare agencies and charities. In total, they raised over $1,700. The club also has an international focus, and Sarah, alongside Peter Heysen and Bill Walsh, wanted to have the club support some projects where the club could be actively involved as well as raise funds.

One of these projects that the club was involved in was called the Hands On Project. In September, the club assembled 10 artificial hands in the Bayside Shopping Village in Glenelg over three days. This gave the club an opportunity to actively engage the general public. On one of the days, I got involved in assembling one of the hands. It certainly was a rewarding experience knowing that the prosthetic hand that I was assembling would help children who had been victims of landmines in Cambodia, Laos and Sri Lanka. Each one of those packs cost $500 and Glenelg Rotary raised enough funds for a box of 10 hands. Volunteers then fly over each year to fit these prosthetic hands.

In April, Sarah also participated in The Shoe That Grows campaign, which is based on a shoe design that expands over five years so that as a child grows, so can the shoe. Living without shoes can lead to disease that comes directly from the ground into the feet. The club was able to raise enough money to send 50 pairs of these shoes over to a school in Kenya.

There is no doubt that a highlight for the Glenelg Rotary Club has become the Cold Plunge, which is held in August at the beautiful Glenelg Beach. Let me say that although it certainly still looks beautiful in August, the water temperature itself is very icy. The morning itself is a great spectacle, with over 100 people entering the water to raise money for a good cause.

Amongst those many brave swimmers last year were myself, the now member for Colton and also the federal education minister, Simon Birmingham. The member for Colton certainly wasted no time in going underwater, although when he surfaced you may say that you could hear a squeal coming from him. I think I managed to stay underwater just a little bit longer than him, but the best person to judge that may well be the member for Black, who was also present on the day, although he certainly had a good viewing point from the comfort of the beach, sipping on a coffee and wearing a jumper.

The Cold Plunge itself raised over $16,000. This enabled the club to contribute significant amounts to the wonderful Mary's Kitchen, which is run every Tuesday night to help feed the homeless at St Andrew's church on Jetty Road, Glenelg. The club also held a barbecue fundraiser once a month at the Glenelg Coles. Wayne Sachs and the many club volunteers would be there rain or shine. This and similar fundraising efforts allow the club to donate to many worthwhile groups, including donating a defibrillator to the Glenelg Community Centre.

The club is also involved in many worthwhile youth projects. David Binks initiated a five-day youth sailing experience, where they sponsored a student, Alicia Magill, to sail on the One and All, leaving Port Adelaide on a five-day trip to Port Lincoln. David is a past president and, at the changeover dinner, not only received an award for 50 years of service but also accepted the best new generation project on behalf of the club for the successful Rotary sailing experience. Congratulations to Sarah Walsh and the entire Glenelg Rotary club on an enjoyable year. I wish incoming president, Rosie Erasmus, a successful year, and I look forward to the upcoming Cold Plunge in a couple of weeks on Sunday 5 August.