The Rotary Club of Mildura Deakin was chartered in 1994 with the aim of providing a unique experience compared to other clubs in the Sunraysia region and more traditional Rotary clubs.
From its inception, the club welcomed women as members, which was a significant departure from the challenges often faced in gaining acceptance into Rotary at the time. For most of its history, women have made up at least 50% of the membership.
To better accommodate members’ availability, the Rotary Club of Mildura Deakin intentionally avoided time-consuming traditional evening meetings. Initially, meetings were held at lunchtime and later transitioned to breakfast meetings. This schedule allowed meetings to be kept concise and focused on important matters related to causes and fundraising, rather than on procedural and ceremonial activities.
The Rotary Club of Mildura Deakin has consistently supported initiatives that enhance leadership within our community, with a particular emphasis on helping the youth of our region achieve their full potential.
This support has included:
* Long-term involvement with the Northern Mallee Leaders program, an initiative designed to provide practical skills for emerging leaders.
* Active participation and support for Rotary youth programs such as the Rotary Youth Program of Enrichment, Rotary Youth Leadership Awards, and the Rotary Youth Science Forum.
* Development of our own Youth Leadership program, “The Voyage of Discovery,” which ran for several years with enthusiastic support from a couple of members involved in delivering leadership training.
* Sponsorship of over 20 local students to complete long-term international youth exchange experiences (and hosting a similar number of students from all over the world to spend a year in Mildura, learning about our region and culture).
Notwithstanding this commitment to leadership and youth, many other significant initiatives have been supported by the Club.
Most recently the Club contributed $50,000 toward the building of the Dr Julie Zrna Centre, an accommodation facility associated with the radiation therapy centre now operating at Mildura Private Hospital. A range of international projects have also been supported across the Asia Pacific region and more broadly, usually as a result of direct involvement or commitment by a member or associate. These projects have included support for fresh water wells in Cambodia, empowering women in Uganda by providing education and funding for micro-business opportunities, helping develop a medical centre in Fiji and supporting emergency relief through the Rotary Shelterbox program.
The funding for these initiatives in recent years has come from two principal sources, for which the Club is grateful for the generous support of our community and sponsors:
*The Longest Lunch, held in mid-March each year, is a celebration of great local food and wine combined with entertainment and a spectacular raffle. The Longest Lunch has become a must attend event on the local calendar, and with a limit of around 230 tickets now sell out in days.
* Rotary Giving Back Hampers which solve the Christmas gift dilemma for those hard to buy for people. These hampers, which feature locally produced artisanal products expertly packaged and presented, started life as a way of supporting local producers during Covid lockdowns when tourism visitation came to a halt and they had few outlets for their products. The hampers have become a sought after staple for businesses seeking gifts for staff and clients as well as the general public who can purchase them through our local outlet and at the Sunraysia Farmers and Makers Market in the lead up to Christmas.
The Rotary Club of Mildura Deakin is always on the lookout for new members or others interested in supporting the work we do. Anyone interested should contact secretary@rotarymilduradeakin.org, DM us through our Facebook page, or come along to one of our meetings which are on Wednesday mornings at the Langtree Cafe (upstairs), 139 Eighth St Mildura, starting at 7.30am.
