Rotary Australia World Community Service (RAWCS)
RAWCS was formed to support Australian Rotarians and Rotary Clubs in assisting disadvantaged communities and individuals with humanitarian aid projects. The company objective is to manage the Rotary Australia Overseas Aid Fund*, Rotary Australia Benevolent Society* and the Rotary Australia Relief Fund*. To enable Rotarians, the public and the corporate sector to deliver humanitarian aid and charitable support through a range of projects including Rotarians Against Malaria*, Donations In Kind and Australian Charitable Support. To facilitate Rotarians undertaking voluntary work, the Board has engaged professional support in the fields of information technology, communications and marketing and has established a staffed office to process the administrative, accounting and banking functions. RAWCS is not an emergency response organization, but rather looks to engage in sustainable, developmental or relief projects.
Chair: PP Leigh DYSON Youngtown
Activities of RAWCS include the following:
1. Project Volunteers
RAWCS Volunteers do a tremendous job throughout the world, providing their time, effort and personal commitment to help others.
RAWCS aims to make the process easy for volunteers and Rotary Clubs to become involved, join a Team, register online and experience a RAWCS volunteer trip that will be remembered all of your life.
A person wishing to volunteer for overseas service as a RAWCS/Rotary volunteer will need to contact a RAWCS Project Manager who is able to find a place on one of the teams that they are organising.
2. Rotarians Against Malaria (RAM)*
Rotarians Against Malaria (RAM) is a volunteer-run organisation working to eliminate malaria. Fifteen years ago, malaria killed a child every 30 seconds. Under the Millennium Development Goals, however, considerable progress has been made in preventing, diagnosing and treating malaria. As a result, deaths have fallen by 60 percent. Now, under the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals, we are aiming to reduce malaria cases and deaths by a further 90 percent by 2030.
World Malaria Day is on April 25th in Australia we celebrate on April 30th. Please join us on a National RAM Fun Run / Walk. See flyers. Register online at “HELP us Eliminate Malaria”.
Chair: PP Jenny Kerrison North Hobart
3. TIMOR LESTE Floods Relief Appeal
An Australian National Appeal for Timor Leste Flood Disaster Relief has been created under RAWCS.
PLEASE HELP our Timorese friends and protect lives.
(RAWCS Project No. 69 of 2020-21)
or
Contact RAWCS Treasurer: PP James Wilson: (M) 0422 696 644
4. Donations In Kind (DIK)
Donations in Kind grew out of the compassion and concern of returning overseas volunteers.
This recycling and reuse program, focussing on health & education involves the collection, sorting, packing, dispatch and distribution of donated items to countries in need of these goods.
Many goods and products, for which organisations in Australia have no further use, are valuable commodities in needy countries overseas and in some regions within Australia.
Refer to Acceptable Goods Guidelines 2017
Donations in Kind have developed a facility to register consignments to overseas destinations.
We request that all Rotary Clubs and Rotarians consigning containers or pallets of goods to overseas destinations use our Donations in Kind Depots and this facility.
The purpose of this facility is to record all consignments by ROTARY in one place so that when shipping companies contact RAWCS looking for the consignee of a container we can direct them to the person responsible and supply any relevant documentation.
5. Rotary Australia Benevolent Society (RABS)*
RABS is a Public Benevolent Fund to register projects within Australia to enable Rotary Clubs and District to provide assistance to people in need within their local or wider community. RABS projects can be registered by Australian Rotary Clubs and Rotary Districts, and a Rotary Club can only register one RABS project at a time.
Chair: AG Becc Gibson Bellerive
6. Rotary Australia Compassionate Grants (RACG)*
RABS is delighted to announce its Compassionate Grants program to help Australians in need.
As a result of a $1,000,000 donation to Rotary by Dick Smith, grants are now being assessed by the Rotary Australia Benevolent Society (RABS) and will be distributed to disadvantaged Australians identified by local Rotary clubs or Rotary districts as being
How to access assistance
Projects to be considered for grants must also meet RABS criteria for registration which are that the project provides direct relief to people in need. If the intended recipients are disadvantaged, the relief should target that disadvantage.
The concept of disadvantage is unlimited and could arise from sickness, suffering, distress, misfortune, disability, destitution, helplessness or poverty, any aspect of the negative side of the human condition.
The criteria are not prescriptive but are to be used as a guide to determine the disadvantage.
Only NEW projects will be considered.
In addition to meeting RABS criteria, Compassionate Grants will only be approved where the project funds are to be directed to people in need or to benefit a section of a community rather than the community as a whole.
A project should arouse compassion within the community.
Priority for grants will be given to those whose disadvantage has arisen from an ad hoc event over which the disadvantaged had no control, such as an accident, assault, medical condition etc.
Grants will match a club’s fundraising on a dollar for dollar basis subject to the following:
A qualifying project must have a minimum value of $2,000 (ie a minimum grant of $1,000) and a Club or District can qualify for up to 2 grants in any calendar year, subject to a maximum grant total of $10,000.
Chair: AG Becc Gibson Bellerive
* (These projects have Deductable Gift Recipient status with the ATO. That means donations are tax deductible!)