Porirua Rotary takes on an ambitious project for their community while having a lot of fun

Every summer, musical and other performances are held at the Rotary rose garden at Aotea Lagoon to bring the community together through entertainment, but there is no protection from the weather.  Porirua Rotary recognised the need in its community for a permanent sound stage that would protect performers and their equipment while providing for more events at the Lagoon.  Project co-ordinator Don Casagranda and his team of Rotarians decided to design, raise funds and build the Aotea Lagoon Sound Stage.  They have made very good progress but still need more funding to build and complete the project and would welcome support from other Clubs.

Porirua Rotary is good at managing partnerships, such as working with the Council and others on the sound stage, with local Trusts and involving a local rugby Club in the pre-Christmas Toot for Tucker event collecting food for the local foodbank.  They are involved in lots of other activities, such as cleaning up after the weekly Porirua Market, Christmas wrapping fundraising at North City Plaza,      Dictionaries in Schools and the Healthy Heroes food programme.

Porirua Rotarian Wendy Creurer is our District Community Service Chair and also coordinates the Healthy Heroes programme, while Bronwyn Pullan has kindly agreed to help promote Cure Kids Red Nose Day which is on 18 November this year.  Rotary set up the Child Health Research Foundation which is now known as Cure Kids.

AG Lee Wilkinson, President David Stewart and DG Martin.
Photo credit: Paula Williams  

Porirua Rotarians also know how to have fun and it is important that we all enjoy Rotary both in our service and social activities.  They go out to movies, attend local theatres, hold guess who's coming to dinner evenings, 'raid' other Clubs and much more.  They even fundraise for polio by going out to dinner and, of course, the World's Greatest Meal to end polio is one activity I am encouraging Clubs to do this year (see the inside back cover of your District Directory).

It was a hats and tiaras theme when Denise and I attended their Changeover and when AG Lee Wilkinson and I visited Porirua Rotary on Wednesday evening, they told me at least eleven members and partners from their Club will be attending the District Conference in New Plymouth on the weekend of 21-23 April 2017.  We should have a great time there.

Women make up 68 percent of the membership of Porirua Rotary, while the percentage of women members across the whole District is only 23 percent.  We really do need to achieve a better gender balance across some of the other Clubs in our District by inviting more women into Rotary.