Last Tuesday night 30 members and their guests were treated to a very detailed presentation (including an excellent PowerPoint) on the Rotary Inner Melbourne Emergency Relief Network, or, in Rotary parlance, RIMERN.
We were fortunate to have Ros McMaster, the supervisor of the RIMERN Brunswick warehouse, to update us on the rapid expansion of every aspect of this worthy and essential – but complex – Rotary project. In the first six months of 2023, the number of orders fulfilled already equals the total number in calendar 2022.
 Ros McMaster, David Fallick, President Teresa Liu |
Few can be unaware of the ever-increasing number of Australians who are desperately in need. This is where RIMERN, and its cousin WERN, come in, supplying furniture, white and brown goods, linen, electrical appliances and kitchen necessities to convert a modest rental space into a welcoming home. RIMERN’s clients range from the victims of domestic violence, to refugees and former prisoners. And many of the donated goods would otherwise go to landfill. In other words, a win-win for all concerned!
Our club signed up as the 14th Rotary Cub supporting RIMERN, there are now 16 and the ultimate goal is to ‘export’ this proven template nationally.
Ros was most generous in her comments concerning our club’s contribution; both financially and the regular warehouse roster on every third Thursday of the month. However, she emphasised that the rapidly growing demand for RIMERN services, when coupled with the doubling of warehouse space and a steady inflow of donations, means that more volunteers are the most critical need.
This excellent presentation ended with a lively Q&A and Ros’ request for our members to assist on Mondays when the donations collected on Saturdays by the RIMERN truck need to be cleared and sorted. Clearly, this would stretch our human resources beyond our many long-established, existing commitments, however it’s a request worthy of consideration by our Community Services Committee.
Sign up to help RIMERN today. Read more about this essential service https://www.rimern.org.au/