The time has come for RIMERN … what is it?

Carlton Rotary is proud to be a Member of the Rotary Inner Melbourne Emergency Relief Network (RIMERN).

The keys to a large warehouse in Brunswick East were handed over on June 16 to co-chair and Prahran Rotary president Susie Cole (pictured) and now the warehouse is being prepared to start receiving goods for distribution. Based on similar Emergency Relief Networks in the East (EERN) and the West (WERN), RIMERN will provide donated furniture, appliances and household needs to people introduced by member support agencies across Melbourne.

Carlton Rotary Club president-elect Keith Ryall and honorary member Alan Pettitt (pictured wearing the Rotary caps) were there when the doors were opened to assist with the all-important initial space planning. A number of other Rotary Clubs have assisted so far including Albert Park, North Melbourne, Camberwell, Canterbury, Balwyn, Central Melbourne and North Balwyn.

There will be considerable opportunities for other volunteers when we start to receive and distribute goods including donated goods procurement, support agency recruitment and liaison, grant writing and fundraising, administration including stock records, financial management and warehouse management.

Already there has been interest shown by the Darebin Hard Rubbish Heroes group – an online special interest group – as there seems to be so much reasonable quality furniture and household goods becoming available as people downsize or simply wish to declutter. We are sharing the space with Canard Solutions who specialise in managing decluttering, downsizing and estates, and for the past five years have been a significant donor of furniture and household goods to EERN, WERN and other charities.

By way of background, EERN was established 26 years ago by Rotary, Lions and the City of Whitehorse to provide donated furniture, appliances and household essentials to people coming out of homelessness, domestic violence, jail, natural disaster and other situations of need. WERN was set up five years ago to provide the same service in the western suburbs. In the next issue of Inner City News, we will update you on progress as it is still very much early days … and a work in progress.

Changeover Dinner at Carlton Rotary for 2021

On June 29, president Michael Elligate will hand over the leadership role to president-elect Keith Ryall to take effect from July 1, 2021, the start of a new Rotary Year. The Rotary International Theme for 2021-22 is “serve to change lives”. Carlton Rotary’s own theme will continue to be “caring for Carlton”.

Meetings will be in person at Graduate House at 220 Leicester St, Carlton at 1pm on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month. The third Tuesday will be an online meeting by Zoom also beginning at 1pm. Enquiries may be directed to [email protected] •