By Anne Matthews
Congratulations to the Rotary Club of Emerald, Qld, which won the Charity and Community Group of the Year Award at the Brisbane Change Maker Awards, held in Brisbane on November 8, 2024.
The Brisbane Change Maker Awards is an initiative of Containers for Change, which gives 10 cents for every eligible bottle or can returned to its collection centres. The awards celebrate the individuals and groups who are using Containers for Change and recognises those that go above and beyond to benefit their community, the environment or a charity.
There were six finalists in the Charity and Community Group of the Year category, so the Rotary Club of Emerald did exceedingly well to be recognised for their hard work and efforts in teaching kids about the value of recycling.
PICTURED: George Lenardon, of the Rotary Club of Emerald, and his partner Rose Kay at the 2024 Brisbane Change Maker Awards.
The club started collecting cans and bottles about five years ago. At that time, the purpose was to give the funds raised to junior groups in their community. This soon blossomed into the scheme it is today. Members now collect large quantities of recyclable cans and bottles and then select a junior group (i.e. Boy Scouts, Girl Guides, Junior cricket, Pony Club, Community Kindergarten, Salvation Army Kids, etc.) to help sort and value add to the collection.
This value adding is done by removing the ring pulls from the cans, which are then donated to Wheelchairs Australia. They also collect the bottle tops from the plastic bottles and donate these to Lids4Kids, which uses a 3D printer to manufacture artificial limbs for disadvantaged kids.
After sorting, they deliver all the cans and bottles to the local Containers for Change depot to be cashed in. The money is then deposited into the club’s account and members invite the kids from the group that helped sort them to one of their meetings to give a presentation on what their goals are and what target they are trying to achieve. They then present them with the total amount that was earned from the can sort that they were involved in.
PICTURED: Rotary Club of Emerald members and friends sorting cans at the Emerald Pony Club as part of the Containers for Change initiative.
The presentation is done with an oversized cheque and with pomp and ceremony, giving the kids a huge sense of achievement and a realisation of the value of hard work and recycling. For example, in August the proceeds went to BUSHkids Emerald. BUSHkids is a not-for-profit organisation that has been supporting the health and wellbeing of children and families in Queensland’s regional, rural and remote communities for more than 85 years.
To date, the Rotary Club of Emerald has handed over approximately $100,000 to 24 groups in its community and has formed a partnership with Containers for Change, which supports them and assists with the processing. The club’s efforts with this program led to the nomination in the Change Maker awards for 2024.
Containers for Change gives charities and community groups the opportunity to raise ongoing funds. Following set up, clubs can partner with their local refund point, which will support and help boost your club’s fundraising efforts. Like the Rotary Club of Emerald, clubs can also work with local businesses and groups by getting them to donate their cans and bottles to reach even higher fundraising goals.