Centacare Project - an Award Winner!
Tues 11 Oct 2025 - The Association of Community Service Organisations (ACSO) held its annual awards dinner.
With representation from Apex, Kiwanis, Lions, Rotary, Soroptimist and Zonta, the awards night was the highlight of the annual Service Club Week.
This year, Rotary District 9500 was well represented with several winning nominations for community projects in the nine Project Award categories.
Adelaide West’s Central Adelaide Homeless Project was nominated and won the Catalyst Award for an ongoing club initiative that has grown to involve other community groups.
Project initiator and coordinator, Sioux Christiansen, was there to accept the award with a beaming District Governor Elect Marie Dorrington looking on. As a very experienced Rotarian, Marie kept quiet about the possibility of another recognition.
Sioux was about to pick up her Catalyst Award certificate and cheque for $500 when the MC started saying something about a Premier’s Distinction Award, with a major prize of $2,000 for an outstanding project in any Project Award category, out of all entries received. Entries for this award had to have involved one or more Service Club involved.
Much to Sioux’s amazement, Adelaide West Rotary’s Central Adelaide Homeless Project was announced the winner.
A very excited Marie had to push a stunned Sioux out of her seat to collect the Award. After being presented with the Award and cheque by the Premier’s representative, Member for Light, Tony Picolo, a near speechless Sioux expressed her thanks to our Club for its support of the project and stated that the award really belongs to the Central Market Traders who give so generously to the city’s homeless.
Our Club’s success was also announced by City of Adelaide Lord Mayor Stephen Yarwood at his Reception in recognition of ACSO at the Adelaide Town Hall on Friday 14 October.
Marie Dorrington made the surprise announcement of the Awards to our Club members at our 13 October meeting where Sioux was happy to hand-over the $2,500 to Treasurer Geoff Beer to be used for future community projects.
Pictured to the right is Premier’s Representative, Member for Light, Tony Picalo presenting Certificates to Club Vice President Sioux Christiansen.
