I had a long career in the financial services industry both in Australia and overseas and one of the best things in my life was to join Rotary a little under 10 years ago when I became a member of Rotary Melbourne. For six years I was a Board member at Expression Australia and am now very pleased to be able to actively pursue voluntary work within Rotary.
My interests are in the Arts especially literature and music, the Environment, world affairs, sport and unsurprisingly still take a keen interest in global financial markets. Rotary has been a perfect fit for me in that I have been able to pursue most of these interests within Rotary.
I have been active on the Environmental Sustainability, Arts, Community Welfare and Investment committees at Rotary Melbourne also being involved outside the Club with other Rotarians in the activities of ESRAG and Rotarians for Bees.
A little under two years ago I became the Ambassador for SAFE Families at Rotary Melbourne and am a member of the SAFE Families leadership team which has given me an opportunity to work with Dorothy Gilmour and a wonderful group of people who are committed to spreading the important messages on how to make the home a safer living environment for all family members.
Domestic abuse sadly exists in all communities across Australia and apart from having serious damaging ramifications on mental health and well-being it can also cause the break-up of a family and contribute to homelessness.
Family abuse can start in the simplest of ways and escalate over time to be a very serious situation impacting the lives of the most vulnerable family members. The psychological harm to children can be profound.
If we can highlight ways in which a potentially dangerous situation in a home can be prevented, then our Rotary SAFE Families will have had a positive impact.
