We are excited and proud to announce a partnership between District 9620 and Aromas Coffee Roasters.
You will notice that Aromas are a Gold Sponsor for the District Conference being held from May 1 to May 3 at Royal Pines. However D9620 and Aromas were both keen to extend this partnership beyond the conference, and now there is an online shop where you can buy premium coffee beans, grinds, pods and capsules as well as drinking chocolate and some teas. 10% of every order will go to The Rotary Foundation and be returned in dues course to District 9620 for project grants. Shipping is free for orders over $100.
Short word: Save the date! D9620 Interact Conference 2026, will be held on Saturday 9 May 2026, Kawana Waters State College (secondary campus), 119 Sportsman Parade, Bokarina QLD 4575 hosted by the Interact Club of Kawana Waters State College (sponsored by the Rotary Club of Mooloolaba).
Maila, a Tropical Cyclone lingered for days in the Solomon Sea causing severe damage and devastation to infrastructure and villages in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands before slowly tracking West to cross Bougainville again causing severe damage and devastation to roads, buildings and villages as it crossed the island of Bougainville. Cyclone Maila continued to slowly track west, and although decreasing in intensity, it is continuing to bring damage and devastation to isolated islands in the Milne Bay Province of PNG.
Communities need to be assisted in dealing with widespread damage to buildings and communities including bridge infrastructure and access roads.
Our aim as Rotarians and Rotary clubs is to assist individuals, families and communities who sustained damage and were victims of the cyclone. Where possible we will help with the immediate aftermath of the disasters, but we are also looking to the longer-term recovery of the communities.
Rotary Clubs in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands are currently in the planning stages for a number of projects for disaster relief. As each project matures it will be submotted as a RAWCS Rotary Australia Benevolent Society (RABS) or RAWCS Rotary Overseas Aid Fund (ROAF) project.
In anticipation of these projects, RAWCS has established a disaster appeal to fund these projects and we are seeking donations from clubs and individuals to fund the projects. Your contribution would be very much appreciated.
GIST DATE CLAIMER – DISTRICT GRANT APPLICATIONS CLOSE 31 MAY
ROTARY D9620 DISTRICT GRANT APPLICATIONS FOR 26-27 YEAR
Is your Club considering making a District Grant application for the 26-27 Grant year?
Applications are open now and the closing date is 31 May 2026.
Information regarding D9620 District Grants is available on the D9620 website. Just Google d9620 district grants and open the Foundation - District Grants page.
Please contact the District Grants Committee d9620districtgrants@gmail.com if you have any queries or would like assistance in preparing an application.
I look forward to receiving an application from your Club.
David Kearney
D9620 District Grants Sub-Committee Chairman
SUPPORTING THE ROTARY FOUNDATION MAKES DISTRICT GRANTS POSSIBLE
Because small connections can create a big impact.
Any further questions about Mirror of Hope and Tommy's visit, clubs are free to contact me, Valerie Simons, Rotary Club of Paddington, +61 458 149 028 or email valeriesimons@gmail.com.
Is your Club considering making a District Grant application for the 26-27 Grant year?
Applications are open now and the closing date is 31 May 2026.
Information regarding D9620 District Grants is available on the D9620 website. Just Google d9620 district grants and open the Foundation - District Grants page.
You need to consider the timing of your project as the 2026-27 District Grant funds are not likely to be available before August.
Please note that any funds expended on the project before the date of the Grant approval letter cannot be claimed against the Grant.
District Grants are available to all Clubs in our District and are a great way to boost the funding you have for a planned project.
DG Mark has set a target of 50 applications for the next round of Grants so your application will help meet this goal.
Please contact the District Grants Committee d9620districtgrants@gmail.com if you have any queries or would like assistance in preparing an application.
I look forward to receiving an application from your Club.
David Kearney
D9620 District Grants Sub-Committee Chairman
SUPPORTING THE ROTARY FOUNDATION MAKES DISTRICT GRANTS POSSIBLE
Welcome to the Gist! Rather than send multiple messages per week to club officers in the hope that they will channel your interests and pass on what is important to you, we will be sending one digest email per week using the Clubrunner platform which lists new things in the top section, and reminders of old news in the bottom section. That way, you only need to scan the top half of one email per week to get the Gist, and everyone gets the Gist!
This e-bulletin is published by your District Administrator and Webmaster to let Rotarians and any other subscribers know about what is happening in the district. The GIST is for time-sensitive brief stories sponsored by the District, a Rotary club, or a Rotary RAG or Fellowship.
District Announcements
Club event announcements
RAG and Fellowship event announcements
Event notices will run once only in the "Breaking News" section, and events will continue to be published down below in the "Event Reminders" section until the event has passed.
Articles that report on past events and projects, anything of enduring significance, and anything else that does not fit the GIST publishing guidelines should be sent to the District Newsletter editor at newsletter@rotary9620.org.
How to get an Event in the Calendar
To get an event in the Calendar, please send the following information to gist@rotary9620.org:
Mandatory: The text that you would like to appear in the calendar entry. Should include a teaser as to why someone would like to attend the event, ticket prices, etc etc. The text cannot include potentially sensitive information like email addresses, phone numbers and bank account details. If you wish to communicate these, put them in an image or PDF file that can be linked as a download document.
Mandatory: Date, Time, Location. Please include the postcode in the location as this is needed to generate the location map. (Or the event could be online of course.)
Mandatory: Name of a Rotarian in the district who is the primary contact for the event.
Strongly recommended: An image to go in the calendar entry detail page. Landscape format works best.
Optional: Documents about the event like event flyers, etc etc. Max size: 5MB
Optional: Links that might be useful like bookings links, the home page of the charity you are supporting, etc.
How to get an event notice in the GIST
The GIST is published on Sunday. The deadline to get an event notice in every Sunday's GIST is midnight Friday. Requests coming in after Saturday morning will be handled on a "best effort" basis. To get an event entry in the GIST, please do the following:
Mandatory: Get the event in the Calendar (see above)
Mandatory: An image in square or landscape format to be the article. If you send an image that is in portrait format, it will be cropped to square according to the GIST editor's judgement. It's OK to send a PDF Flyer - the editor will just do a screenshot and use that.
Optional: SHORT explanatory text which will go under the image. 200 words max. Long explanations should go in the calendar entry.
