Community Service & Revenue Report
Community Service and Revenue Report 2025-2026
Please note that a summary of the financial aspects of this report is presented in the Treasurer’s Report.
COMMUNITY SERVICE
30th Australian Citizenship Ceremony
One of the highlights of the Rotary year was the 30th Australian Citizenship Ceremony, proudly hosted by the Rotary Club of West Wollongong on 6 May 2026. On this special evening, we welcomed 15 new Australian citizens as they took the Australian Citizenship Pledge and began a new chapter in their lives. The ceremony was conducted by the Lord Mayor of Wollongong,
Councillor Tania Brown, and attended by Alison Byrnes MP, Member for Cunningham, together with family members, friends and Rotarians. It was a moving occasion filled with pride, gratitude and hope for the future.
For thirty years, our club has been privileged to play a role in welcoming new citizens into the Australian family. Each ceremony reminds us of the rich cultural diversity that strengthens our community and the opportunities that come from embracing inclusion, respect and belonging. As Rotarians, we are proud to continue this tradition, helping to create a warm and memorable welcome for those who have chosen Australia as their home and Wollongong as their community.
Special thanks are extended to Marilyn Phillips, John Erickson, Phil Peckman and Eduardo Tovar, together with all club members and volunteers whose support and dedication contributed to the success of this memorable occasion.
Patrick Roberts OAM
CONVENOR
The Pride of Workmanship evening for 2025-26, again excellently organised by Jim Christensen, was another great success story with candidates from both the RSL subbranch and the RSL Auxiliary, a local butcher, a local repair shop mechanic, a building contractor and a hairdresser.
We had an excellent spread across the local community. Each year we seem to be getting better and 2026-27 is going to be an exciting event with our nominations already in the preparatory stage.
7News NSW & ACT Community Achievement Awards – Patrick Roberts
The Rotary Club of West Wollongong was proud to participate in the judging of the 2025 7News NSW & ACT Community Achievement Awards, which recognise individuals and organisations making an outstanding contribution to their communities.
Club members judged the Caption by Hyatt Connecting Communities Award, which honours groups that strengthen their communities through teamwork, leadership and service while contributing to the social, economic and environmental wellbeing of their region.
Our judging panel consisted of Michael Crowley, Rose Pope, Rita Giampieri, Annette Lavender and Patrick Roberts OAM. Approximately 100 nominations were assessed, with the committee selecting its top-ranked entries for consideration by a state-wide judging panel. Patrick Roberts OAM, as Chair of the West Wollongong judging committee, participated in the final judging process that selected SHORTRACK of Macksville as the 2025 award recipient.
These awards recognise and celebrate the remarkable individuals and organisations whose dedication, innovation and community spirit make a lasting difference across New South Wales and the ACT.
Our support of the Primary and High School Citizenship Awards and the Illawarra Excellence in VET Awards was again well received. All members who attended to present these awards remarked how gratifying it was to support conscientious and community conscious youth.
Our Friend of Rotary Di Reid was presented the Lord Mayor’s Award in recognition of a significant contribution to the community. Well-deserved Di.
REVENUE
The Charles Hotel has continued to be our most successful, regular fundraiser. Our Friday raffles were successful financially as well as being a fun social evening. However, these raffles ceased in January 2026.
The Joker Draw still continues every Thursday evening. It was extraordinary and extremely profitable that the joker was the last card to be drawn in…. Since then, there is a different format which may preclude such a profit, but the patrons of the Charles continue to support us. A huge thank you to Dennis Simpson and his teams for your efforts every week.
Our other major fundraiser of course is the Bunnings barbeques. We are very grateful that every 4th Monday, our members, Rotary Friend Tim Koppel and volunteer Kerrie Spicer have been able to give time and effort to this event. It should also be noted that Phil, Dennis and Bob commit every month to organising the purchasing, transport of gear and cleanup.
The combined Illawarra Rotary Clubs Charity Race Day was again a huge success. Plans and numbers are progressing for the next Race Day on Saturday 12th September. This year, our club members voted to run the event alone and we hope all will be able to support it in one way or another.
Collection Tins
The generosity of the public in Jim’s Tins and the donation box at each barbeque has also raised almost $700.
ROSE POPE
Director - Community Service & Revenue 2025-2026