Testimonials from Our Beneficiaries and Supporters
Sunshine Coast Community Awards 2026 Commendation
​
Since being chartered on 26 March 1973, Mooloolaba Rotary Club has actively supported local, national and international organisations: to connect with people, places and spaces to make a difference. Rotarians are committed volunteers who work tirelessly to raise funds for identified charities or to provide physical support to projects. During the past five years, the Club has donated approximately $325,000 to Sunshine Coast charities.
​
Major Sunshine Coast beneficiaries of Mooloolaba Rotary fund raising efforts have included: endEd (supporting young people with eating disorders), Mooloolaba Volunteer Coast Guard, Board Meeting Surf Charity (supporting young people with disabilities) , the STEMM program (supporting teenage mothers), Urban Angels (providing food assistance), the Rotary University of the Sunshine Coast Community Fund (RUSCCF), RESET (Laurel Place), Currimundi Special School and Equine Therapy. Minor beneficiaries include Cittamani Hospice, Headspace, CAYAC, the Reading Assistance Program, Backslap (skin check truck), Sailability, (providing sailing experiences to people with disability), Birthing kits through Inner Wheel and Hope in a Suitcase and the Pyjama Foundation (supporting children entering foster care).
Mooloolaba Rotary connects with many schools and young people through its EarlyAct Club at Buddina State School, Interact Clubs at Kawana Waters State College (chartered in 2015) and Immanuel Lutheran College (chartered in 1986) and through the Provisional Sunshine Coast Rotaract Club (2025) These clubs provide leadership skills and an understanding of community to young people. Mock interviews at Maroochydore State High School and World Peace Day ceremonies at Mooloolaba State School provide further connections with young people.
The Rotary Youth Exchange program has been supported by Mooloolaba Rotary since 1981 and has provided over thirty young people the opportunity to live and be educated in another country.
​
Activities such as Seniors Christmas Lunch, Australian Day Citizenship Ceremony and Lift the Lid Walk for Mental Health and working alongside CAYAC to collect and deliver bread to the homeless are ways in which Mooloolaba Rotary bring many people in the community together.
Infrastructure projects that have benefited Sunshine Coast residents include a shelter shed for Buderim State School, upgrades to Mooloolaba Rotary Park and Coast Guard headquarters, planting 8000 trees beside the local motorway, a footbridge in the Botanical gardens, kitchen renovations for STEMM and the Hope Connections Café for endEd.
​
Through connections with other organisations such as Animals for Life, Mooloolaba Rotary has provided Equine Therapy for troubled young people and through Road Safety Australia have provided road safety awareness workshops to high school students in approximately six Sunshine Coast schools annually. Education scholarships have been offered to young mothers in the STEMM program and students at the University of the Sunshine Coast through RUSCCCF. The Telling Stories competition has provided opportunities for young writers for the past ten years from a range of local schools.
​
The impact that Mooloolaba Rotary has in the Sunshine Coast region is evidenced by the range of community activities it supports, the opportunities it provides to young people and the connections it makes with local organisations.
August 2023
A COMMENDATION FROM LOCAL STATE MEMBER FOR KAWANA JARROD BLEIJIE
​
I am writing to confirm my support for the Mooloolaba Rotary Club ("the Club").
In the many years that I have been involved with the Club, I have seen the positive impact which it has had on our local community.
I can proudly say that I have been a Rotarian for many years and know from firsthand experience the impact felt in the community from the Club's tireless work and advocacy.
A particular feature of my involvement with the Mooloolaba Rotary Club has been my presiding over the Australia Day Citizenship Ceremonies since I was elected nearly 15 years ago. This day is always a special one for the friends and family of new Australian citizens who swear allegiance to our nation and become a part of our national story. I am certain that these ceremonies would not be possible, nor carry the same emotional weight, without the efforts of the Mooloolaba Rotary Club and its fantastic members.
I am always inspired by Rotary International's motto "Service Above Self' which beautifully exemplifies the deep sense of the values inherent in Rotarians. These values are embodied by the local membership of the Mooloolaba Rotary Club.
As is the case with all volunteer and community-based organisations, they rely on membership to drive the change and impact that they can have. As such, it is with great pleasure that I commend the Mooloolaba Rotary Club and would welcome and encourage prospective members to join their team and get involved.
There is nothing more rewarding than serving one's community, and the Mooloolaba Rotary Club is a fantastic avenue to do such.
If you would like to discuss the Club or my involvement, please do not hesitate to contact me at 07 5406 3100 or via email at kawana@parliament.qld.gov.au.
Yours sincere/y
​
Jarrod Bleijie MP
Member for Kawana
Deputy Leader of the Opposition
Shadow Minister forState Development, Infrastructure and Planning
Shadow Minister for Olympic and Paralympic Infrastructure and Jobs Shadow Minister for Industrial Relations
October 2022
​
A PARENT’S HEARTFELT THANKS
​
We were shocked and delighted when our daughter was chosen as the winner of the Telling Stories competition. In Grade 4 and Grade 5, her story didn’t even make the final cut in her school. It just goes to show how important it is to keep trying.
​
The way she was acknowledged at the Awards’ Ceremony was so beautiful; you have literally changed her life. She has been through some difficult times lately and usually finds solace in dance.
​
The story of a boy dancer means so much to her because she has witnessed how difficult a path this can be for a male.
I will always remember the kind way Gary Crew and Mooloolaba Rotary members spoke to her.
​
Thank you so much for this competition, which brings so much joy to the young writers, their parents and the community. You are literally changing lives. As a parent, I will never forget what you did for my daughter.
​
Many Thanks
​
Sonny