East Coast Bays Rotary held its first meeting in September 1972 with 25 members and today is part of the global community of Rotary Clubs. The Club currently has over 40 members representing a cross-section of the local community’s business and professional men and women, some self-employed, others working within large corporates.
Since we started East Coast Bays Rotary Club has raised in excess of $1.5 million for local, national and international projects and charities. One the Club’s main fundraising events being the annual Drive 4 Life golf tournament held in November at the Waitemata Golf Club. Last year marked the 16th anniversary of the event and set a new record with 140 people playing and over $35,000 raised for worthy causes. For instance $28,000 was donated to the Well Foundation to purchase two portable abdominal scanners, which will benefit all those within the Waitemata District Health Board’s catchment area.
We use our knowledge of local issues to identify areas of need, then apply our expertise and diverse perspectives to the problem.
Whilst the Club certainly has a local focus, it also reaches out to the world and has its own global charity, the Rotary Foundation, to help facilitate this. This year the Rotary Foundation celebrates its 100th birthday. One of the current larger goals of Rotary International is to eradicate polio on a global scale, and we are very close to achieving this goal.
Another strength of Rotary is its many youth programmes. Each year the Club hosts at least one international student and also sponsors an out bound student from our local schools. These are 12 month exchanges, and are life changing experiences for the participants. Other annual youth programmes include the Rotary Youth Leadership Award, Model United Nations Assembly and the Rotary Science and Technology Forum.
East Coast Bays Rotary meets every Monday at 5.30pm at the Pupuke Golf Club, 231 East Coast Road, Campbells Bay. It’s a great venue overlooking the Gulf with plenty of parking and we enjoy an excellent meal. We welcome new members, so why not come along and make some new friends. We also have many fun social events during the year, and lasting friendships are made with like-minded people