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Lara Rotary is not alone in facing membership pressures.<\/p>\n
Across the region, Rotary clubs are working to attract younger members and adapt to changing volunteer habits, with many acknowledging their long-term future depends on it.<\/p>\n
“Rotary used to be a business people’s organisation, and now it’s turned into an older people’s one,” Bellarine North Rotary Club vice-president Ken Withers said.<\/p>\n
“We need people who are coming off school councils and things like that to get interested in Rotary.<\/p>\n
“We are all going to drop off the perch, so it’s never been more important to attract younger members.”<\/p>\n
Like Lara, Bellarine North has spent recent years encouraging new members to get involved as it works to secure the club’s long-term future.<\/p>\n
Withers said the consequences of declining membership extended beyond Rotary itself, with local communities standing to lose a significant source of support and fundraising.<\/p>\n
“Most years we are putting $40,000 back into just the local community,” he said.<\/p>\n
“Our intention is to make life less bad for people in the local area, as well as of those abroad.<\/p>\n
“We fill a gap of what comes from the government and the community’s needs. We think we do something important and it would be a huge shame to lose it.”<\/p>\n
Although Torquay Rotary continues to attract members and raise funds successfully, vice-president Bruce Turner said the club understood the importance of adapting to changing expectations around volunteering.<\/p>\n
“At its heart, Rotary is about people,” he said.<\/p>\n
“We recognise the financial pressures facing many individuals and their families. Membership will always be accessible here and has come down for a second year.”<\/p>\n
Turner said fostering connection and a sense of purpose remained key to attracting and retaining members.<\/p>\n
“People join because they want to make a difference. That sense of connection is becoming increasingly valuable in today’s busy world,” he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A shortage of volunteers has forced the Lara Rotary Club to close after 13 years of community service. The club officially wound up last weekend after a long struggle to attract new members, ending a chapter that saw more than 50 volunteers support a wide range of projects and initiatives across Lara. Club members had […]<\/p>\n