The Rotary Club of Berwick is a group of men and women who take action locally and globally. Each week club members work together completing projects that have a lasting impact.
Locally we support and work alongside community programs and a not for profit organisations in supporting those less fortunate. Our club is engaged in Rotary leadership and educational programs for young people.
Together as Rotarians …
  • We see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change — across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves. Driven by a desire to create opportunities, strengthen communities, and find solutions to the tough challenges that affect people
  • We bring together leaders who use their combined expertise to tackle some of the toughest challenges facing our communities.  We find a place for your expertise and passion. Whether you want to lead a project or participate in one, the Rotary Club of Berwick welcomes your involvement.
  • Many members are involved in hands-on projects in our community or in international projects in creating opportunities through sustainable educational development, clean water or disease prevention in helping to break the cycle of poverty.
The Rotary Club of Berwick is part of a global network of 1.2 million men and women - neighbours, friends, leaders, and problem-solvers who join together to make a difference in our communities. 
 
If you would like to give back to your community, get to know a new group of people and are interested in joining us, please contact us at Membership@Rotaryberwick.org
Grasmere Wetlands seat installation
Posted by Sam McCurdy:
 
On Saturday morning, a dozen Rotarians met to install three summer seats along the walking path at Grasmere Wetlands in Berwick. 
 
The seats, made of recycled plastic, completed four that our club donated in the project. The first one had already been installed on 1st April.
 
Work began in cold and misty conditions, which eventually gave way to a beautiful sunny Autumn day.
 
Learning from their experience with the first seat, the team had pre-mixed concrete delivered for the foundations and this made the job so much easier.
 
Congratulations everyone on a job well done!
2023 Presentation Balls
Posted by David Anderson:
 
On Wednesday & Thursday nights this week, the Club had the privilege of co-hosting the Berwick College Presentation Balls for the 38th time.
 
In total, 55 Debutants and their partners were presented to College Principal, Kerri Bolch, and School Council President, Phil Wightman, on Wednesday night; and to Co-President, Geoff Double, and College Principal, Kerri Bolch, on Thursday night.
 
The events were incredibly successful with over 300 guests on both nights, which really filled Cathies Lane Receptions, where the Balls were held.  
 
We were proud to have Isobel Caulfield as Master of Ceremonies on Wednesday, and Jen Marshall on Thursday. Both ladies did an absolutely spectacular job.
 
The band 'Almost Famous' kept things moving and as usual, the dance teachers, Jo Mills and Judy Blackhurst made sure the debutants and their partners showcased their talents and had a lot of fun doing so.
Debutantes show their dancing skillsEveryone joins in the fun
 
The nights were attended by a number of Rotarians who helped at the door and had a lovely evening doing so.
 
Wednesday's Rotary VolunteersThursday's Rotary Volunteers
 
It is incredibly important to also acknowledge the work of Michele & Andrew Somers in managing the ticket sales, and Isobel and Michele for arranging flowers and suit selection.
 
Overall the nights were incredibly successful and could not have been achieved without the outstanding teamwork of volunteers from the Rotary Club of Berwick.
 
Well done and thanks to all involved.
Donations in Kind delivery
Posted by David Button on Apr 29, 2023
 
 
On Saturday, 29th April, members from the Rotary Clubs of Cranbourne, Pakenham and Berwick banded together to load a full truck of school teachers' desks and chairs. The desks and chairs were loaded from Marnebek School in Cranbourne East.
 
Our contact, teacher Katherine Toth did a fantastic job sorting out good from damaged equipment before we arrived. District 9820 DIK Rep, Roger Thornton did a good job explaining what Rotary Donations in Kind (DIK) did to Katherine during the loading process. While Roger talked, the rest of the Rotary team made an efficient effort to load the truck with plenty of joking around as we all got to know each other a little better. More information about DIK can be found at https://rotarydik.org/
 
It was interesting to learn that the Education Department recommended DIK for any equipment worthy of repurposing to other schools before sending it to landfill. I think Katherine was very happy that most of what she had could be reused. There inlies the reason that Rotary Donations in Kind is so important to our Rotary projects, both local and overseas and also why the Rotary Club of Berwick are a member of Donations in Kind Inc. It is important to us that DIK are there when we need them and I have to say we use them more than most Rotarians think! 
 
A big thank you to Lloma and Gary from RC Cranbourne for their work loading the truck! Roger, Laury (DIK) and David got to unload it all at the Footscray Warehouse.
 
Rotary has many inspiring programs which give opportunities to work with many inspiring and fun people. This morning outting was no different and will make a big difference to people we will never meet in ways we will never know. Go Rotary! We are People of Action.
 
Mock Interviews at Nossal High School
Posted by Sam McCurdy:
 
The 2023 Mock Interviews were held for 204 Year 11 students at Nossal High School, on Thursday 27th and Friday 28th April.
 
The goal was to provide the students with an interview experience from which they could be given constructive feedback on their performance and the quality of their resumes and covering letters for a fictional job.
 
Interview venue
 
Twelve Rotarians from our Club, two from the RC of Narre Warren and a former Vice-Principal, Keith Butler, conducted the interviews over the two days. A few members of the Team were only available to conduct the interviews on one day.
 
Thursday's Interview TeamFriday's Interview Team
Co-ordinator - Di ScheepersPP David Button
(Photos provided by Trevor Watson)
 
The Coordinating Teacher at NHS, Marion Campagna, was well pleased with the outcomes and expressed her thanks and appreciation, on behalf of Nossal High School, for the Rotary Club of Berwick's participation in this event.
 
Our Club Coordinator, Di Scheepers, sends a big thank you to Narre Warren RC, who sent out two volunteers to assist - namely their President Tim Fisher and Ritesh Prasad. 
 
In Di's own words, "We interviewed a really great group of students with very promising futures and careers ahead."
 
Well done everyone!
 
Annual Cemetery Clean Up
Posted by Sam McCurdy:
 
On Wednesday 1st February, members and friends of the Rotary Club of Berwick completed a Working Bee at the Berwick Cemetery.
38 people engaged in various activities to clean up the cemetery.  These included:
  • Painting wrought iron grave surroundings
  • Clearing up fallen leaves
  • Pruning roses
  • Watering plants
  • Removing Christmas decorations and dead flowers from graves
Trevor and Laury at work
 
The painting crew
 
After all the hard work, participants were rewarded with a Rotary barbecue cooked by President Jack Kraan and Graham Johnstone. 
 
The cooked sausages, hamburgers, lamb chops and corn-on-the-cob were complemented with liquid refreshments provided by PP Funno, who did a great job in organising the Working Bee.
 
On a more sombre note, a minute silence was held in honour of two recently deceased Past Presidents of the Club, namely Gerald Treasure (1997-1998) and Dr Graham Tudge (2002-2003).
 
Richard Garvey thanks the  workers
 
On behalf of the Berwick & Harkaway Cemetery Trust, Richard Garvey thanked the Rotary Club of Berwick for their work and continued support over the last 58 years.
2022 'Christmas Appeal' completed
Posted by Sam McCurdy:
 
On Monday 19th December a group of Rotarians completed the final pickup of donations to the 2022 Rotary Berwick & District Benevolent Society’s successful ‘Christmas Appeal’.
 
Mark, Isobel, Laury & Sam at Berwick Market Square Shopping Centre
 
They were collected from the Berwick Market Square and Eden Rise Shopping Centres along with the collection cages, which were returned to the Rotary Shed.
 
Casey North Community Information Support Service (CNCISS) welcomed the final batch of donations as the demand for assistance from families in the local community has increased significantly this year.  The donations will be sorted into hampers for distribution to those in need, making their Christmas much happier.
 
On behalf of the Rotary Club of Berwick, we offer a  big ‘Thank you’ to those schools and Shopping Centres who participated in what was a very successful ‘Christmas Appeal’. They were:
Berwick College
Berwick Grammar School
Kambrya College
Haileybury Junior School
Nossal High School
St Margaret’s Junior and Senior School
Berwick Market Square Shopping Centre
Eden Rise Shopping Centre
 
We also express our appreciation to all those who so generously contributed donations to the ‘Appeal’.
 
My thanks to those Rotarians who assisted me in the placement of the collection cages, picking up the donations, and delivering them to CNCISS in Narre Warren.
 
Well done team!
 
'Christmas Appeal' collections progressing
Posted by Sam McCurdy on Dec 08, 2022
The collection of donations for the Rotary Berwick & District Benevolent Society’s  ‘Christmas Appeal’ is now in full swing.
 
(L to R) Russell, Sam, Trevor, Isobel, and David
 
This week saw collections from St Margaret’s Junior and Senior Schools, Berwick Grammar, and Haileybury Junior School in Berwick. The donations from Haileybury were exceptionally generous and required 6 car loads for their delivery to the Casey North Community Information Support Service (CNCISS) in Narre Warren.
 
Sam & Trevor with the Haileybury Junior School Captains
 
Next week we plan to collect donations and cages from Berwick College  and Kambrya College. 
 
The public donations made at the Shopping Centres at Eden Rise and Berwick Market Square will be collected in the week beginning on Monday 19th December.
 
A big thank you to those members who have helped me with the recent collections, namely Russell Fellows, David Anderson, Isobel Caulfield and Trevor Watson.
 
Berwick District Woodworker's Club donations
Posted by Sam McCurdy on Dec 08, 2022
Every year at Christmas, the members of Berwick District Woodworkers Club create a range of beautiful wooden toys for distribution to families in need, via several local welfare organisations. This includes a generous allocation to the Casey North Community Information Support Service (CNCISS).
 
To assist with the toy distribution, Rotarians from the Rotary Berwick & District Benevolent Society collect the toys allocated to CNCISS and deliver them to the Narre Warren centre.
 
Sam & Vanessa with a selection of the wooden toys
 
This year, Gus Dominguez and Sam McCurdy collected and delivered 4 carloads of wooden toys, which were gratefully received by the CNCISS staff.
 
The toys will make many children very happy over Christmas.
 
Thank you to the members of the Berwick District Woodworkers Club for all your creative work.  Well done!
 
Art Screen delivery – Rye Community House
 
Posted by Jane Moore on Nov 18, 2022
 
For those who don’t know, the Rotary Club of Berwick has an Art Screen Hire service!
We’re an enthusiastic and experienced group, delivering art screens across the eastern /south eastern suburbs of Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula. The team, led by Rotarian Trevor Watson, have over 18 years of art screen hire experience.
The screens are light and extremely versatile with many imaginative configurations possible to create just the right atmosphere. Oil or acrylic paintings, school artwork, tapestry or any other hanging art can be displayed.
Today we delivered 15 screens to the Rye Community House to a delighted Denise, for their art show, opening at 5.30pm on Friday 18 November running through until 3.00pm Sunday 20th. www.ryech.org
This is the 7th art screen hire event since 16 September!
All money raised is used to fund many projects both locally and internationally.
Tree Planting at Grasmere Wetlands
Posted on Sep 01, 2022
Posted by Sam McCurdy, with photos provided by Jane Moore and David Anderson:
 
At 10:30 am on Sunday 28th August, a group of approximately 35 volunteers met at Grasmere Wetlands, off Inglis Road in Berwick, to plant 1,000 trees and shrubs.  After the preceding cold and wet days, we had a beautiful sunny day for the work.
 
 
The team of volunteers was made up of members of the Rotary Club of Berwick and the community, the St Margaret School’s Interact Club, as well Vadasna Gunawardena from Nossal High School with her parents Vichi and Vichithrani.  Vadasna was volunteering as part of her Duke of Edinburgh award.
 
Simonette Charles, met us there with a Ute filled with all the equipment needed for planting the seedlings.  Simonette is an Environmental Projects Officer with the Community, Education and Engagement team at the City of Casey.  She explained the purpose of the plantings is to establish a wildlife corridor along the new Cardinia Creek re-alignment.  The trees and shrubs planted will:
  • provide protection for wildlife to safely move along the Creek,
  • provide a habitat for local birds and animals,
  • protect the Creek, which in turn provides a home for fish species, such as the threatened Dwarf Galaxies fish,
  • improve stormwater quality and
  • provide a beautiful place for local residents to enjoy.
The seedlings had already been placed on the ground by the City’s contractor, where each was to be planted.  This meant the volunteers job was to dig a hole using the implements provided, plant the seedlings, and ensure that the soil was tightly packed around the surface, to ensure that the potting mix did not dry out.
 
 
 
The volunteers split into teams of two or three, with one creating the hole and the others placing the seedling in the ground and packing the soil around the surface. Eric Boon and his wife Wendy were well prepared, using a battery driven drill to create the holes for their seedlings with minimal effort.
 
 
Although the task to plant 1,000 seedlings in 2 hours, appeared to be unattainable, the goal was achieved within 1.5 hours.  This allowed the volunteers to retire to the barbecue prepared by Trevor Watson and Jack Kraan, with liquid refreshments supplied by Funno, to reflect on a job well done.
 
 
This was a very successful community effort that was organised by Jen Marshall and Jack Kraan.  It sits comfortably within Rotary’s 7th Area of Focus, ‘Supporting the Environment. 
 
Well done to everyone involved!
 
The Four-Way Test
Extracted by Sam McCurdy from a Facebook post by DG Bill Degnan:

The Four-Way Test, was created in 1932 by Rotarian Herbert J. Taylor when he was asked to take charge of a company that was facing bankruptcy.

This 24-word test for employees to follow in their business and professional lives became the guide for sales, production, advertising, and all relations with dealers and customers, and the survival of the company is credited to this simple philosophy.

The Four-Way Test was adopted by Rotary in 1943 and has been translated into more than a hundred languages and published in thousands of ways. It is now a test used by Rotarians world-wide as a moral code for personal and business relationships, and can be applied to almost any aspect of life.

 
 
Rotary members should not use The Four-Way Test to look at others, but rather to look at themselves in considering the ramifications of a thought, statement, or action.
 
It should not be a window through which we look to judge others. It is a mirror at which we look to judge ourselves. 
 
Evan Burrell - Changemaker, gave a lot of thought to what each of the Four-Way Test questions asked of us and came up with the step-by-step process above, to give some real clarity behind these most often recited questions.
 
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Club Executives & Directors
President
Jack Kraan
Co-President
Geoff Double
Treasurer
Andrew Somers
President Elect
David Anderson
Secretary
Jane Moore
Membership and Public Image
David Anderson
Youth Protection Officer
Jeanette Blackwood
Projects and Fundraising
Jennifer Marshall
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