Community collaboration alongside scooters

Leading by example on Club Collaboration 

Thank you to all members who helped sell tickets for the Rotary Southland Raffle, a collaborative fundraising effort by Southland Rotary Clubs in support of The Grace Street Project.

The raffle formed part of a wider Rotary contribution alongside the PlaceMakers Southern Scooter Challenge, reinforcing Rotary’s strong commitment to hands‑on community support.

On Saturday 21 March, just under 200 riders — including our own Club President, Michael, along with Colin Anderson (South Club) and Dave McKissock (aka Captain Rotary - Sunrise Rotary & Past District Governor) — completed the impressive 194‑kilometre journey from Teretonga Raceway to Te Anau. 

    

Dave, Michael and Colin                Southland Mayor Rob Scott                

Rotary members from across Southland played an active role in the lead up and throughout the event, contributing to pre‑event registration, on‑the‑ground support, and the coordination of the finish‑line celebrations in Te Anau.

Fiordland Rotarians assisted with setting up the finish line and managing the parking of scooters within the park‑like setting of the Te Anau Club on the stunning Southland afternoon. After assisting with the final tasks for the raffle, they then went on to showcase their auction‑coordination skills, delivering further fundraising support for The Grace Street Project.
   
Separating tickets stubs                 Setting up the finish line 
 

Now in its ninth year, the Placemakers Southern Scooter Challenge has raised close to $1 million for charitable causes. Every dollar raised from the 2026 event will support The Grace Street Project, a community‑led initiative building an 800m² community hub in South Invercargill that will be open to the entire Southland community once completed.  

 

Rotary & Scooters on show at Te Anau Club      

 Janette Malcolm, Chair of Grace Street Project thanking everyone 

Almost all of the 2,500 Rotary raffle tickets distributed across the nine Southland Rotary Clubs were sold.

The ten raffle prizes were drawn on Saturday night at the Southern Scooter Challenge finish‑line event, with winners contacted and prize collection currently underway. 

The full list of winners will is published on our website: Rotary Southland Raffle 2026 Draw 

The next Southern Scooter Challenge is planned for two years’ time, with the Te Anau route expected to be confirmed again. 

Rider fundraising has reached $64,000, with further donations still coming in. 

Proceeds from the Rotary Southland Raffle are currently being reconciled, with the donation presentation date to be confirmed.  

Huge thank you to all our community, we could not have done this without the support of the Businesses, Organisations and People who supported this collaboration to support The Grace Street Project.

Doug Dennison, Fiordland Rotary,  & Tash Clay, Placemakers at the “Finish Line”