Gerringong Rotary is organising a Trivia Night at the Gerroa Fishermen’s Club on 25 October to raise money for ROMAC, Rotary Oceania Medical Aid for Children.

ROMAC is a project of Rotary Clubs in Australia and New Zealand. It facilitates medical aid for children in Oceania in the form of life saving and/or dignity restoring surgery, not accessible to them in their home countries.

As well as organising medical care, ROMAC also organises carer families to look after the patient and a family member during the recuperation period.

See their website for stories on ROMAC’s terrific work.

Top Blokes indeed

Gerringong Rotary supports Top Blokes, a charity addressing young men’s mental health issues.

Daniel and Jacob from Top Blokes spoke to one of our August meetings to tell us more about what they do.

Top Blokes started in Wollongong, then expanded to Sydney and the Central Coast, then elsewhere in regional NSW.

In 2020 they moved into Queensland and are now looking at taking their programs to Victoria and New Zealand.

Top Blokes focuses on young men’s mental health – suicide is the biggest killer of young men in Australia.

Young men are suffering from a lack of good male role models and the pressure of social media and access to pornography, leading to them bringing unhealthy attitudes into their relationships.

Poor mental health leads to poor physical health, with sufferers more likely to use alcohol, drugs and vapes.

Conversely, introducing healthy routine also improves mental health.

Top Blokes teach the importance of the Big 6: Diet, Exercise, Sleep, Water, Hygiene and Routine.

With 75% of mental health issues emerging before young men turn 24, early intervention is vital.

Top Blokes have three programs, targeting different age groups.

For ages 10-13, a mentor goes into school for a term to explore the concept of masculinity.

For 14-17, two mentors go in and the program lasts for six months. It is billed as a leadership program and the school selects a mixture of boys from different friendship groups who will benefit from the program, with a view to them then teaching their peers.

The high school program deals with alcohol, drugs, mental health, relationships and pornography. Schools that have adopted the program have experienced improvements in behaviour that have flowed through to cost savings for the school from a dramatic reduction in detentions and suspensions.

The third program is for young men aged 18-24 and is running with air force recruits.

It deals with mental health, body image and gambling. It started in Williamstown and is now being extended to Darwin and Brisbane.

Top Blokes gets boys and young men to open up about the mask they feel they have to present to the world – strong and in control - and how they really feel inside.

Realising that everyone feels anxious and uncertain is transformative.

New members and friends are always welcome at Gerringong Rotary - see www.gerringongrotary.com.au or contact [email protected].