The Kiwanis Club of Moorabbin meets every fortnight at Bentleigh RSL. We would love to welcome you as a member.
If you’re keen to join us to help children in our community please visit our Contact page.
President: Angela Randall
Secretary/Treasurer: Geoff Hergt
Our history
The Kiwanis Club of Moorabbin was chartered on 20 July 1970.
Since that time, members have provided voluntary service to the communities of Moorabbin and surrounding suburbs (Now covered by the councils of Kingston, Glen Eira and Bayside).
Whilst the service projects conducted by members are dictated by the needs of the communities, there has always been a bias toward projects that benefit children.
As an example, the collection of discarded, but still valuable, children’s shoes for redistribution to needy families, the purchase and fitting of long-shafted coloured plastic flags to the rear axle of children’s push bikes to ensure they are seen when on the footpath or road and the provision of many hundreds of calico dolls to local hospitals.
The dolls were used by medical staff to help children understand a medical procedure they may require and to overcome children’s fear of the process.
The Club was very actively involved in fundraising for the Moorabbin Hospital, later to become Monash Medical Centre Moorabbin, and successfully ran a major carnival on the current site for several years after its opening in 1975.
The design and construction of a walk-through bird aviary at a home for the blind, provision of much needed hospital equipment and outings for the aged and infirm are examples of projects conducted for adults. These are just some of the voluntary community service projects conducted over many years.
Members freely admit that it is the personal reward they get from participating which is often the real reason they have maintained their involvement.
Knowing that you are making a difference, the sense of satisfaction for no monetary reward, fellowship and friendships that would never have occurred if they were not a Kiwanian are the reasons for becoming and continuing to be active members.
On 20 July 2020, the planned celebratory 50th Birthday dinner could not be held due to Level 3 COVID-19 restrictions being in place, hence a Zoom Meeting was held instead.
And still going strong
On 21 January 2015, Kiwanis International turned 100. and on 20 July 1970, the Kiwanis Club of Moorabbin was chartered, and has been serving the needs of the citizens of Glen Eira, Bayside and Kingston (formerly the City of Moorabbin) ever since.
At our meeting on 15 April (on-line), President Angela Randall confirmed that she had accepted the role of the Australia District’s Chair for the Kiwanis International Committee on young Children.
The committee is jointly chaired by Past President (1990-91) Will Blechman MD, and Barbara Day, and Angela will report to Jeri and Alan Penn. Wil advises that the committee focuses on children from before birth to age eight, a developmental time of childhood, the importance of which is too often underestimated.
Our members are currently working for Heartkids Australia, Special Olympics Australia (Melbourne Southern), RDA and Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL), but have been involved in projects as diverse as a scented garden for the blind, a children’s playground, a retirement village, plus painting, gardening, cooking sausages etc. All activities are aimed at helping someone in need, particularly Children.
Co-chair Will outlines more on the aims of the committee in his letter to Governor Ashley. One of the immediate concerns of the committee is the issue of “vaping”, as it effects chlidren in the womb as well as the increasing number of children who are taking up this practice.
In support of the Kiwanis Children’s Fund, the Kiwanis Club of Moorabbin has achieved Blue-level Today Club status for the 2015–16, 2016-17 and 2017-18 Kiwanis years. That means our club’s unrestricted gifts to the Kiwanis Children’s Fund reached a per-member giving average of US$10 for each year.
Join us at the Kiwanis Club of Moorabbin
