It’s Blog Action Day and this year’s theme is The Power of We so I thought I would just do a very brief post here to talk about the Rotary Community Service Awards which were handed out last night.

I don’t know a lot about Rotary, but their motto, Service Above Self, certainly has a synergy with The Power of We, and judging by the ongoing popularity of Rotary, and the fond reminiscenses of several people who spoke in relation to how Rotary had supported them, they have a lot of people contributing to their own sense of “we”.

The awards were handed out in six categories, covering Recreation & Arts, Youth, Homelessness, Community Health and Mental Health, Aged Care & Community Support, and Vocational Support & Community Leadership. While there was more of an emphasis on the prizes (and those sponsoring them) than the depth of the partnerships being celebrated (in that it would have been good to hear more about what the partnerships entailed), it was great to see so many organisations who are developing corporate partnerships, and maintaining ongoing and meaningful relationships with those partners beyond handing over the money and writing acquittal reports.

Highlighting and celebrating the work of the not for profit sector is always a welcome activity and if we can learn more about what makes the best partnerships tick and share that knowledge, it’s all for the better.

I attended the event as a guest of Portland House Foundation who were partnered with Carers Victoria.