President’s Report for the 2025–26 year

It is with pleasure that I present the Annual Report for the Rotary Club of Carlton for 2025-26.

First, I thank the Club for the honor of serving as President this year. I have been strongly supported by our Rotary members and by a kind, caring Board. I sincerely appreciate the many contributions members have made throughout the year. The Rotary Club of Carlton was chartered in 1985 and has now completed 41 years of service in District 9800, supporting communities locally and around the world.

We welcomed and inducted two new members this year, Inez Indraswart and Gordon Chen, both of whom have brought new ideas to the Club.

Our Club has continued to serve the Carlton community while also contributing to overseas needs, in keeping with this year’s Rotary International theme: “Unite for Good: You can get more done when you work with others.”

This year, our total income was $43,203, enabling us to support a range of local and global groups. We contributed $4,000 to the Rotary Club of Castlemaine following bushfires in its communities, and $4,000 to drought relief in Western Victoria. Other donations supported Ronald McDonald House, RIMERN and Simonds Catholic College. Internationally, we gave $3,520 to the Afghanistan Project, $500 for Donations in Kind annual membership, and $1,000 to Rotarians Against Malaria. We also supported students in the Carlton area through scholarships and other assistance.

We provided Christmas presents for children at Ronald McDonald House, where our Club also runs a regular monthly barbecue for families and children staying there.

We have also participated in other Rotary groups focused on environmental sustainability. One group, led by Robert McGuirk, John McCaskill and Peter Berg, is developing the Rotary Environmental Garden working group’s vision for a pollinator-friendly garden in the Royal Botanic Gardens. Located near Government House, this area includes long-grass habitat tracks, nest boxes, insect hotels, dead wood stacks, a beehive and leaf piles. The garden blends indigenous and exotic flora to attract bees and other pollinators, and it also features two large, significant oak trees.

The environmental garden will focus on habitat and education, while incorporating environmental and cultural elements of this important tract of Indigenous land. The project will seek endorsement from the local Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples. I have also committed myself and the club to supporting the Wildwood Project, which will involve a small financial contribution over the coming years.

I would like to thank Professor Mile Terziovski for his outstanding work on the speakers program throughout the year. The program was interesting and informative, and I learned a great deal. I was particularly moved by the Mercy Ships speaker, and I know many members will remember the important things we all learned from many interesting speakers throughout the year.

I also want to acknowledge the wonderful work of Keith Ryall and others in our Club who give so much time and energy to RIMERN, the Rotary Inner Melbourne Emergency Relief Network. I have visited there and am amazed at the great work that is done there to assist people in need.

Another important club initiative is the Rotary Charity Bookshop in Wharf Street, Docklands. This second-hand bookshop and book recycling project is run in partnership with the Rotary Clubs of Albert Park, Fitzroy and Carlton. I would like to congratulate Janet Ferguson, Steven Hsia, Dr Aron Perenyi and all members who generously give their time to support the bookshop. It raises significant funds that our club can use in a range of valuable ways.

Our Club has made financial contributions to many community organisations, as well as to the Rotary Foundation and PolioPlus. This includes support for international activities, particularly girls’ education in rural Afghanistan. Dr Noorshah Kamawal will speak more about this tonight. I also want to thank Dr John McLean for his work on the Board as International Committee Convenor, and for working with Noorshah to secure funding for girls’ education and to prepare research articles for publication. If anyone is interested, I can provide a copy of an article about this work that was published in a UNESCO publication in late 2025. Also Dr Noorshah Kamawal will be telling us about his project entitled “Internet Based Education for Girls and Women in Provincial Afghanistan.”

I am pleased to say that we have Viraj Patel as a member of our Board and he will be telling  us more about the Rotaract Club with that we are associated with.

I have recently made contact with Cath Healy, who is the Partnership Manager at ‘Our Place’ in Carlton, which is on the site of the Carlton Learning Precinct. Our Club has contributed funds to support the excellent activities held there. It is a learning precinct which includes maternal health services, playgroups, parent support groups, three- and four-year-old kindergarten, long day care, Carlton Primary School and after-school care. It supports a wide range of cultural and language groups. On my recent visit, the children were launching a book they had created together.

I also acknowledge the ongoing work of Casey Tan, Keith Ryall, Maureen O’Dwyer, Tim Lennie, David Percival and Ian Ada and for their generous support and guidance. I also want to acknowledge my mentor, Anne Mitchell who helped me a lot when I first joined this club and also to thank Gedeon Herschberg who played the piano for us this evening.  All these people have helped me learn more about how Rotary clubs can contribute to local and global communities. They have done so much to make this club and active and inspiring Club, and I have learned a great deal from them.

Finally, I thank all Board members and Club members for their wonderful work throughout the year.

Yours in Rotary

Dr Maxine Cooper President