Celebrating Community - The Rotary Club of Waimate
When you think of Rotary, what comes to mind? Passionate people focusing on real solutions to real problems? Involvement in meaningful projects? Friendship or developing new skills?
Rotary is a service organisation which was founded in 1905 in Chicago. There are clubs worldwide making lasting change in their own communities and internationally. Members of the Rotary Club of Waimate are from a range of backgrounds and ages - some have been members for over 50 years, and prefects from Waimate High School are Honorary Members for a year.
Resolving the root causes of issues is what matters to Rotarians. Seven different areas of focus guide the work of volunteers:
● Peace and conflict resolution
● Disease prevention and treatment
● Water, sanitation and hygiene
● Maternal and child health
● Basic education and literacy
● Economic and community development
● The environment
Clubs and individuals can choose to be involved with some or all of these significant areas depending on where your interests and talents lie.
Waimate club’s focus is local first. In 2025/26, Rotary spent over $20,000 supporting Waimate youth. Since the 1950s Rotary has run speech competitions in schools in the district, which remains popular today. Funding and/or members’ time is freely given to encourage participation by Waimate District students in Hands on Science at Otago University, the William Pike Challenge, Peer support programme, attendance at national and international sports and cultural competitions, and more recently the Waimate School of Music amongst many others. The Debonaire Trust Grant for trades provides money towards tools for young people, and the club organised a fund-raising dinner for the high school’s AgHub.
Rotary Speech Competition
All photo credits: Sharyn Cain
One of numerous Rotary sausage sizzles
Out in the community, club members created the popular Big Easy event in 2017, the Pentland Trail Bide Ride made a comeback this year, and a new 24-hour farm bike challenge takes place in November. The Orienteering course in Knottingley Park is another Rotary project and members have supported the new Waimate Trail with a bridge and native plantings.
The Telephone Book produced by the Waimate club is a staple for many households, with the club also gifting large print calendars to older community members.
Community organisations fundraise from the Rotary Kiosk outside New World, and the club has an enclosed Community Trailer available for individuals or organisations to use.
Numerous local projects are supported by Waimate Rotary. Some support is financial and some is hands-on work by volunteers. Club members have assisted Lister Home since 1955 to supply Meals on Wheels, organising the roster and delivering meals, with some members having dedicated decades to this wonderful initiative. The Waimate Community Vehicle is partially sponsored by Rotary, and members volunteer their time as drivers, whilst other Rotarians are active as representatives on the board of Centrecare, the Waimate Regent Theatre Trust, and the Waimate ANZAC Committee.
They provide traffic management for the Strawberry Fare and Waimate Christmas Parade. Rotarians fund and man the sausage sizzle at Christmas in the Square each year.
Rotary Float at the Waimate Christmas Parade
Rotary volunteers at the Pentland Trail Bike Ride
Internationally the eradication of polio is an important project the Waimate club supports as a member of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). The club partners with others to support a range of schools, training, and sanitation projects in countries such as Uruguay, Nepal, Kenya, and the Pacific Islands. ShelterBox is a Rotary initiative that exists to ensure no one is without shelter after a disaster, often working in places that others don’t.
Rotary is more accessible than ever. Traditional club meetings are held weekly in Waimate, or you can choose to join an e-club, making Rotary accessible for members who have a busy schedule, limited mobility, or live in an area without an established Rotary club. There are cause-based groups - eclub of wash is an online group focusing on water and sanitation - and corporate clubs. Interact and Rotoract cater to younger people.
The Rotary Club of Waimate meets each Thursday at the Town & Country Club, 14 John Street, Waimate, at 5.30pm. First up, business is dealt with - updates on projects, welcoming guests, and the opportunity for members to tell the club about happenings or tasks they need help with. Dinner is then usually followed by an interesting speaker. There’s time for greeting old friends and making new ones. There’s also plenty of opportunities for fun and socialising with trips to various organisations and locations (fishing anyone?).
If you’d like to see what Rotary is all about, contact Secretary Carolyn Johns at https://www.waimaterotary.club/SingleEmail/ContactUs and attend a few meetings.
You might just find a new passion and a way to make a difference locally or on a wider scale.
Story by Ann Hume.