Rotary District 9980 governor, Balclutha woman Tania Lowery, visited St Joseph’s School and other recipients of a total of $17,000 project funding disbursed by the Balclutha and Milton clubs, on Tuesday, in advance of the arrival of an anticipated 150-plus delegates on April 17.
Mrs Lowery said the conference was an opportunity to harness the collective manpower of visiting Rotarians to blitz a range of community projects on April 18.
Beneficiaries of the "Get in gear, be part of the Rotary machine" initiative would include six South Otago schools and playcentres, and community groups overseeing public assets such as walking tracks, museums, play areas, gardens and riverbanks.
St Joseph’s parent and trustee Trish Breen said she was "thrilled" to learn of the initiative, which would allow the school to overhaul its gardens in a single afternoon.
"We’re super excited as, in common with many schools, we’re time poor. So to have the labour available and, on top of that, funds to buy new native plants to beautify our grounds and attract wildlife is just amazing. We’re so grateful."
