Rotary Club of Sandton, Poetry Competition Award Ceremony ~ 3 December 2024

end of year MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT RICHARD CIMARDI, 2024

Dear Members of the Rotary Club of Sandton and Our Valued Community,

As we approach the end of another remarkable year, I am filled with immense pride and gratitude for what we have accomplished together. This year, we have once again demonstrated the power of Rotary’s commitment to service above self, connection, and positive impact.

Celebrating Our 2024 Highlights

  • Rotary Fun Day with Special Olympics South Africa and Woolworths: This was a heartwarming event where we brought joy, inclusion, and community spirit to life. Together, we celebrated the abilities and talents of over 100 local athletes, creating memories that will last a lifetime.

  • Annual Blanket Drive: Thanks to your generous support, we raised over R80,000, enabling us to deliver more than 850 blankets to local communities and shelters in need. Your contributions truly made a difference during the coldest months.

  • Poetry Competition: Through this initiative, we witnessed the creativity and expression of our youth, fostering a platform for them to share their voices and stories.

  • Rotary Youth Leadership Academy (RYLA): Partnering with Voices of Change, we proudly sent 13 young adults, including those with physical disabilities, to a transformative camp. This experience nurtured leadership, resilience, and collaboration, reflecting our commitment to empowering future leaders.

  • River Cleanups, in association with Gail Williams and the team from Spruit Gardens: Our ongoing efforts to care for our environment saw us engage in multiple river cleanups throughout the year. These activities not only protect our natural resources but also serve as a testament to Rotary’s commitment to sustainability.

Looking Ahead to 2025 and Beyond

This year also marked an important milestone in our strategic planning journey. With the expert guidance of The Thinking Company, we’ve laid a solid foundation for our 2025 strategy and action plan. This framework will guide us in amplifying our impact and addressing the needs of our community more effectively.

Gratitude and Acknowledgments

None of these accomplishments would have been possible without the dedication, passion, and generosity of our members, partners, and the broader community. To each of you who volunteered, donated, or supported our initiatives in any way—thank you. You are the reason we can continue to create lasting change.

As we prepare to embrace 2025, let us reflect on the incredible difference we’ve made together and look forward to the opportunities that lie ahead. May this festive season bring you joy, peace, and a renewed sense of purpose.

Warm regards,

Richard Cimardi

President, Rotary Club of Sandton

 

The Rotary Club of Sandton

Rotary is an organiSation of business and professional persons united worldwide who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world.

 

The maxim of service through fellowship remains as strong now as it was in the club’s founding year of 1970. Those intervening years of fellowship has enabled the community, the country and indeed many other parts of the world, to be that little bit better off because the Rotary Club of Sandton helped in some way.       

From the hundreds of young people who have been guided through the minefield of their early years, to the seniors whose twilight years are now secure, the Rotary Club of Sandton has been there for them. The record speaks for itself and it would be easy and somewhat justified, to quote all the achievements of the past thirty plus years, but self praise is no substitute for that youngster who grabbed your hand with his sticky little fingers and said ‘thanks mister’. Neither is it a substitute for the elderly man, who for the first time in his life is able to understand what food labels say after years of buying because he recognised the pattern on the packet.

Sandton Rotarians are like that; their reward is the benefits their work brings to others. This may be difficult to understand in a materialistic world and perhaps that is why many people do not become Rotarians, but then who are the real winners?

The Rotary Club of Sandton has effectively spread the fellowship it enjoys through a network of other Rotary, Interact and Rotaract clubs it has founded and has also shared the talents of its members with other Rotary Clubs through district officers and committees.