Like most of WA I am still lost for words and in somewhat of a state of shock for our boys in purple. It was the same sorry result when we watched in Toodyay!
We hope to see as many folk as possible representing Applecross Rotary to celebrate the life and amazing achievements of Dr Ian Fairnie AM at Swan Yacht Club from 12 midday this Friday 2nd October.
Host Suresh Prabhakaran, President Margaret Brede, Guest Speaker Rahul Seth
Rahul Seth is the founder of Activate Mental Health, Perth’s largest mental well being group.
Mental health is currently WA’s biggest community concern.
Rahul described how he was born in Switzerland, and went to primary and high school here, where he was heavily bullied.
In high school he discovered he had a natural affinity with numbers which led to his becoming a qualified chartered accountant. In 2008, he took a job as an auditor, but he was struggling with his mental health. Rahul said that his biggest mistake at that time was not joining any social groups.
He consulted a psychologist who diagnosed depression, and later bipolar.
Rahul was advised to reach out to social groups, and he played tennis for 10 years while working as a financial manager. But in 2015, he wanted to go back to Switzerland to visit and on his return, decided to switch to helping people through employment services.
He also knew that he wanted to create a mental health support group, primarily for people aged 25-45, because once diagnosed and stabilised, there was nowhere for those people to go.
Rahul pitched his idea to the Victoria Park Neighbourhood Community Scheme. He was given a grant to found the Perth Active Depression Support Group. A safe space for socialising and playing board games in the Victoria Park Community Centre was established.
Over 10 years, member numbers have increased to 8500. The pyramid steps of AMH are self actualisation, self esteem, belonging, safety and physiological well being. Many mental health groups offer safety and well being but AMH offers the next step of the pyramid – belonging – which in turn leads to self esteem and self actualisation.
Now AMH volunteers lead coffee clubs which meet every two weeks, play board games every fourth Saturday, and hold a Silent Book Club (a great concept which host member Suresh thoroughly endorsed), walking groups, bouldering, volunteering opportunities and arts and crafts.
Rahul has a vision where AMH will grow to enable him to hire staff to market the work his organisation does and have the capacity to reach out to even more people.
He says that one of the biggest highlights of his mental health support work was receiving the WA Volunteer of the Year award from Volunteering WA in 2023. But more importantly, it’s the friendships he has made, and seeing people with all sorts of problems grow in confidence and happiness from the connections they make within the group.
The day was perfect, the walk itself and the Wild flowers fantastic, the site set up looked good .... BUT, where were the punters to support this Rotary mental health project????
Plenty about the place checking out the wild flowers, but less than 10 actually joined from outside Rotary.
Soooo, despite the effort of Warwick and his organising team, the social media campaign, signage, brochures, on line check-in and the like, for whatever reason, the event just did not resonate at all with those whom the messaging was aimed at.
Two things do stand out.
Rotary buy-in, at club level, was virtually non existent. We had the volunteer support, but not the member support. When members and friends join in, the numbers build. (Applecross, Melville and Attadale were all aligned) But of course, only a part solution.
The messaging to Joe Public, in terms of seeking engagement and support completely missed the mark. Are they 'over walks', are they over perceived fund-raisers, are they just not resonating with this sort of publicity and promotion, what ever the cause??
In terms of 'bang for the buck' it did not meet the minimum, and basically acts as a negative for similar future Rotary community actions.
My thoughts are that Australian Rotary Health, in terms of these walks, need to review what works, what doesn't, and why, and set some stronger guidelines around ensuring community engagement for future events.
Further, is this also somewhat symptomatic of how the broader community now leave this sort of activity, and its social purpose, to the various layers of Government to take up?
However, well done to Warwick and his team for the strong effort of putting the event together.
For the future, we just need to make sure that it is a worthwhile outcome for all involved.
JACFEST now less than 8 weeks away!!!!!
No reminders necessary, I'm sure, but Sunday, 15th November rushes forward at a gallop and will be on us before we know it.
Sue and Market Life are doing a great job in keeping the overall event and management on track, and it will be great to have Chris W back on the team again..
However, there is a lot to be done over the coming month to make sure that our messaging is out in the market, that all of the required agreements are finalised, that our assets are updated and prep'd, that signage is ready, and the key stakeholders, including local traders and residents, are all on side.
A special thank you to Michele for successfully negotiating the Lotterywest Sponsorship which now sits in the bank account. Well done Michele!
AND a big shout out to our AxR for the $10,000 donated to the Nepalese flood disaster. Generous donations from the PMM car parking collection were a wonderful extra to the over $5,000 from our Activities Account. Happy to put in the long hours in support of our generosity for those truly in need.
What started as a simple act of community spirit has turned into something truly remarkable. Attendees of the Father's Day Perth Makers Market at Goolugatup Heathcote in Applecross on Sunday 6 September collectively donated $5,000 through voluntary parking donations, and when Applecross Rotary increased their donations, some markedly, the combined contribution reached $10,000 for the RAWCS Nepal Flooding Disaster Relief Fund.
The fund was established to provide urgent relief to individuals, families and communities devastated by the recent flooding disaster in Nepal. RAWCS (Rotary Australia World Community Service) is a Rotary non-profit organisation that has been delivering humanitarian, development and disaster relief projects both in Australia and internationally since 1966, contributing more than half a billion dollars in aid across 45 countries over that time.
Parking at Perth Makers Market events is managed entirely by volunteers from the Applecross Rotary, who give up their time at every market to ensure the event runs smoothly for thousands of attendees. Rotary member Ken Williams, who was on the ground managing parking on the day, said the response from the Perth Makers Market community exceeded all expectations.
"When people heard about what we were raising the funds for they immediately doubled their donations," Mr Williams said. "It was so great to see the generosity of the community making all of our volunteer hours truly worthwhile."
Perth Makers Market is held at Goolugatup Heathcote in Applecross six times a year and is Perth's largest showcase of handmade small businesses, with over 150 local stallholders attending each event. The market draws thousands of visitors across the day and has become one of Perth's most beloved community events since its establishment in 2016.
The next Perth Makers Market will be held on Sunday 18 October at Goolugatup Heathcote, with Applecross Rotary once again managing parking on the day and looking forward to raising funds for further community projects.
Perth Makers Market extends its deepest gratitude to every attendee who contributed a parking donation on Sunday 6 September, and to the Applecross Rotary for their extraordinary generosity and ongoing commitment to the community.
To find out more about RAWCS and the Nepal Flooding Disaster Relief Fund or to make a personal donation visit RAWCS.
The Rotary Club of Attadale is presenting the Spring Concert on September 20 to raise money to help the homeless and others in need.
Much of the funds raised will be reserved for the “My Home” project to support the homeless, that is a major priority of the Cluster One clubs.
For those who did not attend the 2026 Conference this Link to 2 itemswill take you to Michelle Blakeley’s presentation on “My Home”. This is a life-changing project that deserves our support.
Could you please advertise the Spring Concert widely and invite all Cluster One Rotarians to come along and enjoy an afternoon of fine music and by doing so, help raise much needed funds for this very worthy project.
If you would like to check out the superb quality of the Fremantle Chamber Orchestra visit their website and scroll down to listen to a variety their works.
We look forward to enjoying the pleasure of your company for what promises to be will be an absolutely superb concert.
We invite all Rotarians (and others you know who may be interested) to HEALTHY MINDS, BRAINS & BODIES. Our 2026 ARH WA - Perron Institute forum on WA neuroscience and mental health features some of WA's brightest new researchers in these fields.
Wednesday 23 September 2026 John McGrath Pavilion 97 Hensman Street South Perth 6.00 - 8.30pm (Registration from 5.30pm)
RSVP: Humanitix (The event is free but donations are welcomed)
Perron Institute students will showcase their research, and a panel forum will be part of this event.
Light hospitality will be provided: coffee, tea, juice, soft drink, or a glass of wine or beer, with nibbles.
Hope to see you there!
Warwick L Smith Australian Rotary Health - WA Team
Kevin-Neil Ward has been part of the Fresh Start family for 29 years. But his journey in this field began even before that — first as a Youth Worker with Teen Challenge, and as a street support worker for homeless youth with Drug ARM for three years — before becoming the caseworker for Fresh Start's very first client. Since then, Kevin-Neil has served in many roles within Fresh Start, including Director of Caring and Growth and Senior Chaplain, before becoming CEO.
