On the 10th July at 10pm AEST Rotary Social Impact Network had a Pyjama Party with the President of Rotary International Stephanie Urchick.
In addition "The Chief" Stephanie Urchick and her aide Tom Gump, we were joined by participants from Zimbabwe, Uganda, Sri Lanka, all over Europe, US, NZ, Australia. President Stephanie shared her goals for the year and engaged in a lively Q&A and discussion about her role in the organisation, terminology, acronym soup, and the opportunities, roadblocks, and potential of Rotary.
Thank you from Social Impact Network President Ben Brown for everyone who joined us to share their dreams for The Magic of Rotary.
District Changeover on June 29th was a celebration of the inspiring achievements of the past year during the term of Immediate Past District Governor Christine Owen and we thank Christine for her leadership and dedication during this time.
Special congratulations to Theo Glockermann OAM, recognised with a Rotary International Service Above Self Award - the highest honour recognising Rotarians who demonstrate Rotary’s motto, Service Above Self, by volunteering their time and talents to help others, intended to recognise especially those who actively help others through Rotary.
Rotary District 9685 was proud to posthumously recognise PDG Bob Aitken AM for service to Rotary and the Rotary Foundation, especially through the Polio Plus program and his role in developing Rotary Down Under, with a presentation to his family.
Also recognised with honour through the evening:
Janelle Craig of West Pennant Hills-Cherrybrook : District 9685 Service to Rotary Award
Phill Isaacs OAM of Upper Blue Mountains Sunrise : District 9685 Service to Rotary Award
PDG Bruce Allen of Castle Hill : Distinguished Service Award
Rotary Club of Chatswood-Roseville : Celebrating 75 years in Rotary
Rotary Club of Balgowlah : Celebrating 50 years in Rotary
Rotary Club of Hornsby : Small Clubs Service Award
Rotary Club of West Pennant Hills-Cherrybrook : Large Clubs Service Award to Rotary Club
Acknowledgement of IPDG Christine Owen as a Major Donor to the Rotary Foundation
A huge thank you to our event photographer Maureen Rose from the Rotary Club of Richmond. Please enjoy the evening's photos on our District Website.
Rotary International President-elect Stephanie Urchick announced that the 2024-25 presidential theme is The Magic of Rotary and called on members to recognize and amplify the organization’s power to save lives.
“Don’t misunderstand me – we are not going to end polio or bring peace to the world by waving a wand and saying some funny words,” Urchick told incoming district governors at the Rotary International Assembly on 8 January. “It’s up to you. You create the magic with every project completed, every dollar donated, and every new member."
To learn more about Rotary International's goals for the year, click here
Click on the image above for more information about Rotary Fellowships.
Rotary Fellowships are international groups that share a common passion. Being part of a fellowship is a fun way to make friends around the world, explore a hobby or profession, and enhance your Rotary experience.
On Saturday 26th November 2023, one of the walks against domestic and family violence was held at Penrith at the Tench Reserve.
Rotarians were joined by the Police and numerous community groups to reinforce this campaign.
District Governor Christine Owen and AG's Michele Ellery and Paul Rogers were accompanied by Rotarians from Rotary Clubs from the Blue Mountains, Nepean and Hawkesbury areas.
It was an amzing dedication to the fight against violence with the weather cooperating to provide an outstanding day to undertake
this walk. This was one of a series of events taking place during the 16 days of activism against domestic and family violence.
EndPlasticSoup attracted great interest at the Rotary International Convention which was held from 27 to 31 May, 2023, in Melbourne Australia.
Many attendees visited our Booth in the House of Friendship where it was always busy and we had inspiring conversations. The Breakout presentation was attended by 240 people
(many could not attend because the room was full). Our ambassadors Melanie Lewis (RC Social Impact Network, Sydney, Australia), Barbara McChesney (RC Windsor, CA, USA) and Salvador Rico (RC South Ukiah, CA, USA) did such a great job.
Melanie repeated the breakout presentation in a webinar which was recorded.
This handbook has been created by the Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group (ESRAG) between 2020-2023 with the support of our members. Its purpose is to educate and inspire Rotary members and friends around the world to take club action to reduce the environmental footprint of their events. The handbook includes a selection of activities that your Rotary club can do to be more sustainable.
Click on the image below to download a copy of the Green Events Handbook.
Welcome to the Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group (ESRAG)! We formed ESRAG to empower members of the Rotary Family worldwide to take actions to sustain our environment, particularly to stabilize our climate.
We formed ESRAG (Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group) to empower members of the Rotary Family worldwide to take actions to sustain our environment, particularly to stabilize our climate.
ESRAG provides an organizing point and informational resources to share information with clubs and communities about sustainable practices and the global humanitarian crisis of climate change.
Our action model: Identify environmental leaders within the Rotary world, assist them in initiating environmental service projects that are meaningful to THEM, help where we can, and acknowledge and publicize their awesome work.
EndPlasticSoup attracted great interest at the Rotary International Convention which was held from 27 to 31 May in Melbourne Australia.
Many attendees visited our Booth in the House of Friendship where it was always busy and we had inspiring conversations. The Breakout presentation was attended by 240 people
(many could not attend because the room was full). Our ambassadors Melanie Lewis (RC Social Impact Network, Sidney, Australia), Barbara McChesney (RC Windsor, CA, USA) and Salvador Rico (RC South Ukiah, CA, USA) did such a great job.
Melanie repeated the breakout presentation in a webinar which was recorded.
Survivors of the bus crash, families of the deceased, and people who assisted at the scene are receiving support.(ABC News: Harriet Tatham)
Please support us now with this Rotary Australia World Community Service (RAWCS)
and the Rotary Australia Benevolent Society (RABS) Fund Raising ...
Summary: To provide benevolent relief and support to survivors, victims, and their immediate families from the events of the fatal bus accident which occurred near Greta (Hunter Valley, NSW) on Sunday 11 June 2023.
Challenge: The effects of the Hunter Valley Bus Tragedy will be far-reaching, impacting the survivors, victims and their immediate families for many months, possibly years to come.
Solution: Individuals who are adversely affected will be identified and be given funds to help with their recovery. It is our priority to get funds quickly to those who are in need to help them with their future.
Long term impact: To ease the burden of those survivors, victims, and their immediate families impacted by the tragedy.
Sponsored by: Rotary Club of Singleton Sunrise, District 9660
Survivors of the bus crash, families of the deceased, and people who assisted at the scene are receiving support.(ABC News: Harriet Tatham)
Please support us now with this Rotary Australia World Community Service (RAWCS)/ Rotary Australia Benevolent Society (RABS) Fund Raising ...
Summary: To provide benevolent relief and support to survivors, victims, and their immediate families from the events of the fatal bus accident which occurred near Greta (Hunter Valley, NSW) on Sunday 11 June 2023.
Challenge: The effects of the Hunter Valley Bus Tragedy will be far-reaching, impacting the survivors, victims and their immediate families for many months, possibly years to come.
Solution: Individuals who are adversely affected will be identified and be given funds to help with their recovery. It is our priority to get funds quickly to those who are in need to help them with their future.
Long term impact: To ease the burden of those survivors, victims, and their immediate families impacted by the tragedy.
Sponsored by: Rotary Club of Singleton Sunrise, District 9660
The Rotary Club of The Entrance members and the Health on The Streets team
NOVEMBER 20, 2022
Rotary The Entrance has donated an ECG and spirometry machine to the Health on The Streets (HoTS) mobile health clinic run by Coast & Country Primary Care to help the team to detect potentially life-threatening conditions.
Coast & Country Primary Care CEO, Kathy Beverley, said the ECG machine will mean registered nurses will be able to assess and detect cardiac issues in clients.
“The spirometry will be able to assess, detect and monitor respiratory conditions such as asthma, emphysema, and COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease),” she said.
“(This) means that HOTS will be able to provide early intervention referrals.
“Almost 30 per cent of our clients are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, and the new equipment means that HoTS will also be able to incorporate chronic disease screening and ‘715’ screening for First Nations people.
“Providing a culturally safe service is very important to supporting First Nations clients to access care and Rotary has also supported HoTS with the design and purchase of shirts which feature a special Aboriginal artwork design by well-known Central Coast artist, Garry Purchase.”
In celebration of the UN’s World Environment Day and Rotary’s End Plastic Soup Day, District 9685 has launched the Environment Action Weekend, 4th & 5th June 2022. We encourage you to undertake individual, club and community activities to help support the Environment as one of the seven RI Areas of Focus.
Our Rotary Environment Countdown Calendar encourages positive impact by thinking globally but acting locally: choose an activity from the list to complete each fortnight or create your own and share it with us. The tasks are relatively simple but fun and can help you create community and revive fellowship in your club. Who doesn’t want to share photos of their yard, get out into the fresh air, extend the brain?! All these things help us connect to each other, connect to our surroundings, and connect across generations.
Examples might be: going for a walk or cycling at least every other day; buying goods free from plastic wrapping - a no plastic two weeks; litter picking once a week in your local community; building a compost heap for household food waste; planting an insect-loving tree or volunteering with a tree planting project; buying refillable products and using refill outlets; taking a photo of a native tree, some spring flowers, or birds or other wildlife; replacing light bulbs with LEDs; watching an environmentally-related documentary; feeding the birds or putting a bug house in the garden; having a meat free week or vegan week; filling one bag for a Charity shop, etc.
The Countdown starts from 4th April, to be completed by 5th June. The list of activities is COVID-safe, and for all ages and mobilities. At the completion of your calendar, please complete a quick online form to register your activities here. This will enable us to tally our collective impact and display our great examples of service as fun opportunities that promote respect and value for a greener environment. All successful completions will receive a Certificate of Recognition from the District 9685 Environment Chair and be entered into a raffle to win a copy of Isabella Tree’s book, Wilding: The return of nature to an English farm. This book brings together science, natural history, drama, and hope wrapped up in an inspiring story of a farm, a couple, and a community transformed.
CALENDAR CHALLENGE INSTRUCTIONS
All activities are considered COVID safe and are considered inclusive for all.
Any member of the community is welcome to participate (Rotarians and non-Rotarians).
The challenge runs between the 4th April and 5th June - every two weeks you will need to submit an activity completion form via this link.
It is possible to include more than one individual on each submission form - if needed, please include all names and activities in the appropriate question boxes.
If a Rotarian participant is unable to complete an online form, they will be required to report their completion to their club secretary or Club Environment Rep (who will forward any completions to the District Environment Chair at Melanie.Lewis@rotarysocialimpact.org)
Late entries will be accepted for a certificate - however, you must complete a total of 5 activities (from the list - or your own ideas). But please note, late entries will not be entered into the raffle draw.
All successful completions submitted by the 4th June will be eligible to enter our prize draw for the book.
The book winner will be determined at 8pm on the 5th June 2021.
On 18-19th March, we attended the annual District Conference, themed "Navigating Change. COVID has been obstructive in the last couple of years for our Conferences, but this time it was all GO. Held at HQ West in Rooty Hill, this flamboyant Conference Centre, Hotel and RSL Club proved to be a great venue for some 450 Rotarians. It was so good to see everyone and renew networks and friendships. what we also reflected on that the community work has been still carried on despite COVID.
Whilst at one level it was a social event, there was a serious side with our community work. The Young Australian of the Year, Dr Daniel Nour, spoke about his work in setting up Street Side Medics, bringing on-the-ground medical support to homeless and disadvantaged people. What an inspiration he is.
The second highlight of the Conference was hearing from the iconic athlete Louise Sauvage OAM (shown below being interviewed by Stephanie Brantz) who relived some of her Paralympic sporting achievements. What a determined, purposeful person she is.
A great Conference and congratulations to DG Lindsay May and the Conference team.
Devastating floods have once again struck along the east coast of Australia for the second year in a row. This year, the devastation was even greater than last year. In support of our local communities affected by flooding in the Hawkesbury-Nepean River system, an appeal has been set up by Rotary Australia World Community Service (RAWCS) to raise funds for all of those who have lost their homes, possessions and, in many cases, their livelihoods.
Match your $ for $.
This project is supported by an anonymous donor who will match every dollar donated $ up to $50,000. All funds raised will go to providing gift cards to those affected and suffering hardship by the recent tragic floods in the Greater Sydney District. By using the QR code or this link, https://donations.rawcs.com.au/53-2021-22
Your donations will receive tax deductible receipt.
Gift vouchers to the value of $34,500 has already been provided through a Rotary Foundation Disaster Response grant and are currently being distributed in the Hawkesbury, Richmond, Windsor, Lower Portland, Sackville areas. Funding can only be used for individuals suffering hardship and not infrastructure or orgnaisations.
Where possible the distribution process will be through Rotary Clubs.
We also had a donation from the Rotary Club of Manly of $5,000 Coles gift cards and these are being distributed in the Richmond area.
Help our own community by donating to the District 9685 RAWCS Flood Appeal for the Greater Sydney District. Take this message to your board for club support
The Rotary Foundation helps Rotarians to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace by improving health, providing quality education, improving the environment, and alleviating poverty. The Foundation is a not-for-profit organization supported solely by voluntary contributions from Rotary members and friends of the Foundation who share its vision of a better world. This support is essential to make possible projects, funded with Foundation grants, that bring sustainable improvement to communities in need.
Donations to The Rotary Foundation are appreciated (no matter the size) and will support educational, humanitarian, and cultural programs and projects throughout the world – assisting Rotarians to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of poverty.
Tax deductible donations to The Rotary Foundation may be made in the following ways.
Note that donations may be made in Australian dollars and you may select from a number of funds, including supporting a polio-free world through the PolioPlus Fund.
Call 1300 4 POLIO (76546) to help in the fight to End Polio Now through the PolioPlus Fund
Credit card donations may also be made by telephoning (02) 8894 9840
Donate by cheque payable to Australian Rotary Foundation Trust, and mail to PO Box 6985, Norwest NSW 2153.
In all cases, a tax receipt will be issued by the Australian Rotary Foundation Trust.
For more information, visit this page on the Australian Rotary Foundation Trust website or call (02) 8894 9840, or contact District 9685 Foundation Chair, Haran Ramachandran at foundationchair@rotarydistrict9685.org.au
My name is Forest Resener and I'm the Operations Director for StoveTeam International, a nonprofit organization started by a Rotarian. We are working in Latin America to save families from the dangers of open-fire cooking. The cookstoves we provide not only help families avoid respiratory illnesses, which account for 4 million deaths every year, but they also provide local employment and prevent CO2 emissions! Our innovative approach has won StoveTeam numerous awards, and resulted in the donation of over 78,000 cookstoves to date. But around the world, we are still nowhere close to addressing this issue on the scale it deserves.
To raise awareness for this devastating issue, we developed an engaging and informative interactive pre-recorded video presentation, specifically for Rotary clubs. The video follows the same format as a standard Rotary program, while allowing us to show your club the issue of open-fire cooking firsthand and give an inside look at our programs. We have received an incredible response from Rotary clubs so far!
How it works To show the video during your meeting, just share your screen and click the link below to start the video. Please note that I will not be able to attend the meeting, but I will be there in spirit via the interactive video. We have a small staff of only three directors and we are dedicated to remaining focused on our programs. We truly appreciate your understanding.
The video includes a 23 minute presentation, plus a Q&A session at the end where the meeting host can click on questions to display an answer video.
Let us know whether the club enjoyed the presentation. We will be thrilled to hear from you! And feel free to share the link with other clubs or individuals.
Please share the following link via email and social media, so that club members can continue to connect with us: stoveteam.org/next-steps
The first 4 Rotarians (from left): Silvester Schiele, Paul Harris,
Gustavus Loehr, Hiram Shorey, and Paul P. Harris
Paul P. Harris, an attorney, wanted to create a professional group with the same friendly spirit he felt in the small towns of his youth. On 23 February 1905, Harris, Gustavus Loehr, Silvester Schiele, and Hiram Shorey gathered at...
Rotary members achieve a record-breaking World Polio Day
Rotary members raised awareness about polio eradication and showed their support more than ever on World Polio Day. Participation in activities and events and donations to PolioPlus both increased this year.
Clubs registered more than 7,600 virtual activities and events in 146 countries, surpassing last year’s 5,900 events. We had a variety of awareness promotions and online presentations as part of our registered events, with many virtual events that featured high-profile speakers and attracted large audiences. Donors contributed more than $920,000 online - totaling more than $2.7 million with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation 2-to-1 match - which is the most ever raised online for World Polio Day.
A new social media campaign inspired members and supporters to share their best End Polio Now photos using the hashtag #MyEndPolio. So far, more than 1,000 photos have been uploaded and shared. Rotary’s World Polio Day Online Global Update has been watched nearly 300,000 times and downloaded by thousands of clubs to communicate the critical need to end polio for good. Learn more about polio eradication achievements and the challenges ahead to protect all children from polio.
Extract from the End Polio Now Newsletter, December 2020
Be part of the District’s Club Vision Facilitation Team
Please consider getting involved – you will be surprised how much you will get out of supporting Clubs’ reach their vision and potential.
If you would like to join the team to assist or to find out more, please contact the District 9685 Vision Facilitation Director - Robert Bredin (Norwest Sunrise Bella Vista) on 0425 233 783 or email bredin@bigpond.net.au or email clubvisioning@rotarydistrict9685.org.au
Since 2009, the Rotary Clubs of Erina, Kariong Somersby, Northlakes Toukley & Woy Woy have sold over 6000 trees raising $140,000 to support Grandparents Raising Grandchildren on the NSW Central Coast and other local community projects.
Rotary Matters a weekly program on community radio station Triple H 100.1 FM profiles the causes, projects and people who make up Rotary. The idea is to arouse interest and engagement among the wider general public. Each week a different Rotary initiative is profiled with an in studio interview. This is followed by a What’s On of activities in District 9685 which are accessible to the public. To have your Club’s initiatives and activities profiled on Rotary Matters, contact the host, Ian Stuart on 0416 138 860 or ian.stuart@optusnet.com.au Episodes of the program can be heard indefinitely on the Rotary Matters Facebook site and other social media platforms like Spotify. See "Read More"for links to some recent broadcasts.
The Rotary Foundation Trustees and Rotary International Board of Directors have both unanimously approved adding a new area of focus: supporting the environment.
Supporting the environment becomes Rotary's seventh area of focus, categories of service activities supported by global grants.
It joins peacebuilding and conflict prevention; disease prevention and treatment; water, sanitation, and hygiene; maternal and child health; basic education and literacy; and community economic development.
The Prostate Cancer Foundation Australia (PCFA) was founded by Lane Cove Rotary in 1996 as a result of PP Roger Climpson’s leadership following his bout with prostate cancer. The 25th anniversary is in 2021 and DGE Jeremy Wright 9675 and DGE Lindsay May have been involved on a committee to incorporate these celebrations to acknowledge Rotary and PCFA and reinvigorate PCFA within Rotary.
However other events are also being organised as Rotarians in other Districts are committed to PCFA or as survivors have reason to support activities associated with Rotary’s centenary in Australia.
Please see the below email about RC Perth and their activity for PCFA Awareness Month – September.
Good afternoon all,
Anne and I thought we would share some exciting news with the group.
You may be aware PCFA have launched "The Long Run" community event to coincide with Prostate Cancer Awareness Month in September. This event has gathered great traction with over 1,500 participants already registered and $170,000 raised so far.
Today, Perth Rotary Club have decided to participate as a club activity, and in doing so also inviting other Rotary clubs to be involved in both the event and supporting fundraising activities.
Anne and I thought this may be a great initiative to have other states/ clubs involved and using the opportunity to further highlight the forthcoming 25 years of partnership Rotary and PCFA have enjoyed.
We have the necessary marketing collateral to support any club involvement, but seek your assistance in getting the message across various Rotary regions.
I have attached "The Long Run" guide for your reference and would welcome your thoughts on how we can best capitalise on this opportunity.
The purpose of the District Conference is to provide opportunities for networking, inspirational addresses, and discussions on Rotary-related matters.
The event recognises the service programs, projects, and public relations achievements in our District in order to inspire Rotarians to become more involved in service.
The conference also gives Rotarians and clubs a vision of Rotary beyond the club level and provides a memorable fellowship experience.
Many Rotarians have said that they were never truly enthusiastic about Rotary until they saw an inspirational presentation at a District Conference.
The purpose of the District Conference is to provide opportunities for networking, inspirational addresses, and discussions on Rotary-related matters.
The event recognises the service programs, projects, and public relations achievements in our District in order to inspire Rotarians to become more involved in service.
The conference also gives Rotarians and clubs a vision of Rotary beyond the club level and provides a memorable fellowship experience.
Many Rotarians have said that they were never truly enthusiastic about Rotary until they saw an inspirational presentation at a District Conference.
POLIO MOVIE EVENT 2020 A highlight each year for hundreds of Rotary clubs around Australia and New Zealand is the Polio Movie Event. This year’s movie is I Am Woman, the inspiring story of Australian singer/songwriter, Helen Reddy, who shot to global stardom in the seventies. Clubs will be able to run events during October and November. In Australia, the movie is being streamed to homes on Stan and the only way to see it at the cinema will be through Rotary events. In New Zealand, the movie opens at cinemas on 12th November but Rotary clubs will have the exclusive to cinema screenings during October. This year, the Polio Movie Event will be a tribute to Sir Clem Renouf. It provides the perfect opportunity to have some fun, engage with community, get inspired, honour Sir Clem… and of course raise lots of funds for End Polio Now!
Rotary members have played an invaluable role in the effort to rid the African region of wild polio. We should be proud of all the hard work that we’ve done to eliminate the wild poliovirus throughout Africa and in nearly every country in the world.
This progress is the result of a decades-long effort across the 47 countries of the African region. It has involved millions of health workers traveling by foot, boat, bike and bus, innovative strategies to vaccinate children amid conflict and insecurity, and a huge disease surveillance network to test cases of paralysis and check sewage for the virus.
Rotary International President Holger Knaack and Nigeria National PolioPlus Chair Dr. Tunji Funsho congratulate Rotarians on eradicating wild polio in the African Region. Watch here.
By S.R. Yogananda, past district governor, past regional Rotary Foundation coordinator, and a member of the Rotary Bangalore East, Bengaluru, India
The year was 1987. I had come back from the Sultanate of Oman and was running a consumer products distribution company in Bangalore, India, when a business executive came to my office one evening. He said “I have been watching the way you do business. You are not taking short cuts, you have asked your staff and accountants to follow all the government regulations. I would like to invite you to join my Rotary club.” Rotary, he said “amongst other things, stands for integrity”.
In October 2019, the Upper Northern Beaches (UNB) Rotary Club raised funds from bucket collections around Mona Vale, topped it up to $11,250 and sent it to the Rotary Club of Narromine, west of Dubbo (430 kms, 260 miles, NW of Sydney). Narromine Rotary, with funds from another Rotary Club, and topped up by the local Shire Council, were able to inject $24,400 into the local economy supporting 45 Businesses and 122 families suffering through the earlier part of the drought. This Rotary Club, together with the Country Women’s Association arranged events in the small farming communities around Narromine with those attending able to put in applications to access up to $200 worth of vouchers to be used in local businesses. One young farmer with young children commented “We may be spending $20,000 a week on feed to keep our sheep alive but, to open a $199 gift voucher, lifts your spirits knowing that someone out there is thinking of you and cares!”
The NSW Inspirational Women’s’ Awards (RIWA) were established to recognise and celebrate women across all communities in NSW who give outstanding service to their own community and to other communities around the world. The Awards are an initiative of the Rotary Districts and Clubs of NSW. The Awards being presented today cover several different categories. They acknowledge the time and effort that these diverse and inspiring women give to the community over and above their professional and/or volunteer role.
They exemplify Rotary’s motto of Service Above Self.
An updated My Rotary that’s faster, easier to navigate, and accessible on your mobile devices launches at the end of July. What can you expect from this improved site? Quite a bit.
There was a gathering - High Tea - at a members home last week to celebrate with the chosen candidates for the Community Committee's initial "Community Caring Awards" . The event was attended by the Community Committee members and President Janelle Speight and PE Peter Kirkwood.
Jo Karaolis reports as follows:
"One of the many challenges of our Club’s Zoom meetings is the difficulty of presenting awards in a meaningful fashion.
Our July Community Award recipients are both volunteers with Cavalcade, the organisation that preserves and parades treasured clothes and accessories from Australia’s past. Our wonderful Jo-Ann Moffat offered to hold a celebratory High Tea at her place complete with delicate china, a collection of beautiful teapots and delicious sandwiches, scones and cakes made by Community Committee members.
Jo-Ann’s house provided the perfect setting for a colonial tea party and allowed the required social distancing, completed by Jo’s assiduous collection of personal details for contact tracing. It could have been 1918-19 when similar rituals were required to ward off the ‘Spanish’ flu. Members of the Community Committee attended in their best finery to honour the Cavalcade volunteers and their work.
Lucy Dahill, as the Community Committee Chair, and Janelle Speight as President of our Club, presented the Awards, one to Mary Green who founded Cavalcade and who has led the team of enthusiastic volunteers over many years, and the other to Jenny Watsford who was recognised for her lifetime of volunteering in the Hornsby-Ku-ring-gai area including at Meals on Wheels, St Lucy’s and Cavalcade and for her creative and varied support of her local community especially during the Covid-19 shut-down.
We are enormously grateful to Jo-Ann for creating such an appropriate period event for our Awardees. It will be so good when we can meet in person as a Club once more and honour Award recipients all together. Our Zoom meeting the following week focused on the work of Cavalcade and members learnt all about its work from Sue Sweeney, a dedicated Cavalcade volunteer.
Rotary’s Centenary is a time of celebration! It Is a time to reflect on our past, and take pride in all that has been achieved. It is a time we play our part in the history of Rotary.
Our centenary is also the time to lay the foundations for our future, as we still have much to do. The key project in our centenary year will focus on stopping the one in 16 children who die in 9 Pacific nations before the age of five.
Rotarians across Australia were invited to join on 10th July for virtual fellowship, as well as meet our R100 Centenary Ambassadors, the Governor General and Mrs Hurley, as they launched our national centenary campaign. By joining the Zoom event, Rotarians witnessed the “Passing the Baton” ceremony. The baton that will carry the symbols of our centenary and will travel far and wide across Rotary clubs and Districts.
We wanted to take the opportunity of sharing with you the video that our Ambassadors have provided and you are welcome to share this with your Districts and Clubs.
We ask for your support in helping us raise funds for our R100 Centenary project, "Rotary Give Every Child a Future"; saving young lives in Pacific nations. We look forward to you joining in and making your mark on history!
Kind regards, Garry Browne Hugh Bucknall Chair - National Centenary of Rotary Committee Founder - Centenary of Rotary Campaign
YOUTH EXCHANGE in D9685 continues with 7 Inbound students remaining and being cared for by their clubs. The District Committee thanks all of the host families and clubs for the continued care for these students.
We have had only 2 of our Outbound students return home in the past months due entirely to the Covid19 crisis. These students will be considered to have fully completed their exchange as the circumstances of their return home was out of their control.
With the majority of the clubs in our district holding zoom meetings it is a great opportunity to connect with past students. They are now able to attend a club meeting and update the clubs on their lives since returning from exchange in Australia.
Hats off to the Rotary Club of Umina Beach for holding an International night with a difference. Conducted via zoom and attended by 8 past inbound or outbound students. They had invited a 9th student but due to a work commitment that student could not attend but sent apologies.
The Rotary Club of Ryde has also had 2 past students join their meetings on a regular basis since converting to zoom.
Their student Alma who was recalled home to Sweden by her Government in April has been a regular attendee of the club’s meetings.
The youth exchange committee challenges all Rotary clubs that have hosted or sponsored students no matter how long ago to make contact with these people and find out what is new in their lives.
Remember as we say in Youth Exchange “ It is not better or worse it is just DIFFERENT”.
Usually, at this time of year, you’ll see us Rotarians throughout local shopping centres and the like rattling buckets, waving banners, EFT machines in hand raising much needed funds for The Salvation Army on their Red Shield Appeal Weekend.
This year, due to restrictions forced upon us by the COVID-19 pandemic, we are unable to do that. So how can we help?
Rotary Clubs working hand in hand with The Salvos goes back many years and never before have they needed us more!
Mark your calendars for 20-26 June for an exciting opportunity to gather online with the family of Rotary for our first online convention.
This year's virtual convention is a great opportunity to connect with Rotary participants from around the world to experience the spirit of Rotary, find inspiration through innovation, celebrate our resilience and ability to adapt, exchange ideas, explore how clubs are addressing COVID-19 around the world, and much more.
Experience Rotary in action during our Flag Ceremony, witness the power of connection during our general sessions, learn new ways to engage with Rotary during our breakout sessions, find inspiration from our global speakers, and much more.
The 2020 Rotary Virtual Convention will join you with Rotary participants around the world during a time of unprecedented challenges.
Now More than Ever, Rotary Connects the World: The 2020 Rotary Virtual Convention 20-26 June ~ Schedule at a glance
General Session 1: Together, We Connect — Saturday, 20 June — 11.00pm (AEST)
General Session 2: Together, We Learn — Sunday, 21 June — 11.00pm (AEST)
Featured Breakout Sessions (details coming soon) - Monday – Friday, 22- 26 June
Each day, one breakout session will be offered at each of the following times*:
Firstly, the nine global grants supporting this project have all been approved. When we put in all the grant applications last year, we were confident that the government would make a substantial contribution. That literally went up in flames with the bushfire crisis and now getting money from government is all but impossible for the time being with the Covid-19 crisis. Five of the grants have been fully funded with the government funding gap being made up principally by additional DDF commitments – thank you. To fully fund the remaining four grants we currently need an additional USD 130k in DDF or USD 190k in cash. We are continuing to seek additional donations from individuals and clubs.
Secondly, at rather short notice, but with amazing help from Andrew Mahoney (RC Wellington), we've also developed the concept of an e-card for this coming Mother's Day. Donors can download the card, email it off to wherever they wish, and make a donation to our centenary Pacific immunisation project in the name of the mothers in their lives. With your help, we really hope Rotarians will seize this opportunity. Please go to https://everychildafuture.com/mothers_day_2020.html.
We are excited to announce that Zoom 5.0 is live, and wanted to take a moment to highlight some critical information regarding this latest release.
When: On April 27, 2020, Zoom released Zoom 5.0, setting a new standard in video communications security. Beginning May 30th, 2020, Zoom will be enabling GCM encryption across the entire Zoom platform, providing increased protection for meeting data.
What: Please begin updating all your clients to Zoom 5.0 now. After May 30, 2020, all Zoom clients on older versions will receive a forced upgrade when trying to join meetings as GCM Encryption will be fully enabled across the Zoom platform.
How: Please refer herefor more information on updating your endpoints. Zoom admins, visit our 5.0 IT administrator page for more detailed instructions.
The Youth Exchange Committee in District 9685 is still working hard towards providing our inbound and outbound students with a positive experience during this time of uncertainty and changing lifestyles.
Currently all our Outbound Students, those being hosted by clubs and districts overseas, are well and adapting to the change of living that we are experiencing here in Australia. One student has returned home after the YEP program was cancelled in the host country. That student arrived home safely on Monday morning after a very long trip. The student and the rest of the family are in isolation at home with the permission of the Chief Medical officer for NSW and NSW Health.
The Committee members are in constant contact with the students overseas and their natural families here in Australia. At the time of writing no student is contemplating returning to Sydney in the near future, a decision made by the student and their parents.
In relation to the Inbound Students, those students currently being hosted by D9685 clubs, 8 students have returned home to their country of origin mostly because their governments requested, they return. All 8 have arrived safely and are currently also isolating with their families.
The remaining students are being supported by the amazing Host Families, Club Rotarians and the district committee members.
What does this mean for the program next rotary year? We do not really know yet. If your club was considering hosting an inbound student for 20/21 please keep the funds in your budget until we have a clear idea of what the program might look like in the future.
We have 3 inbound students who will still be in our district until January 2021 who will need to continue to have a great Youth Exchange Experience. We are not yet certain what the departure dates for the 5 remaining European students will be as yet.
All of our outbounds will be returning in January 2021 with great stories to tell us of their year away. The parts of the program that capture that excitement will still continue.
The Committee Members join John and I in thanking all 9685 Rotarians for your support of the program so far in these difficult times.
The Rotary Districts of ACT and NSW Emergency Services Community Awards nominations for 2020 are now open.
The Emergency Services Community Awards are an initiative of the Rotary Districts & Clubs of ACT and NSW. In keeping with Rotary’s motto of “Service Above Self”, the Awards acknowledge and celebrate the selfless Community Service of Emergency Services Personnel while supporting two important Rotary initiatives: Australian Rotary Health, PhD Research Scholarship investigating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Emergency Services Personnel Emergency Disaster Preparedness Rotary Vocational Training Teams to Developing Countries in the Asia Pacific.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR THE AWARDS Nominees must be an appointed paid or unpaid volunteer/member of one of the State/Territory Emergency Services who perform Community Service above and beyond the call of their normal duties.
To nominate a member of the Emergency Services in either ACT or NSW for these awards please go to https://resca.awardsplatform.com complete the nomination form in its entirety (the compulsory fields) and then submit same for judging.
To log in you can use the account details that you set up during the 2019 Awards period.
A Winner of these Awards previously as a Volunteer of the Year and/or Officer in Paid Capacity, is ineligible to be nominated.
A Finalist in these Awards, is ineligible to be nominated again within a period of 5 years.
A Nominee not selected as a finalist can be nominated again and in the following year.
Please click HERE to view - download the ‘Rotary On The Move’ Newsletter for April 2020. Please feel free to share and send us your great membership stories.
The publication acknowledges ARH supporters, contains new research findings, as well as upcoming events.
Hard copies will be available soon. Request them by emailing: admin@arh.org.au or calling (02) 8837 1900.
Lift the Lid in Schools
Dr. Seuss knew it then, and Australian Rotary Health knows it now — reading matters in the development of children’s mental health. This is why we are thrilled to announce a new partnership we’ve formed with QBD books, one of the largest bookstore chains in Australia, to create a special new Schools Program.
Lift the Lid in Schools aims to encourage children to participate in raising much needed funds and to start the conversation about finding better ways to help all Australian kids improve their mental health, through much needed research, with the added bonus of encouraging them to take time out and read along the way.
One the biggest challenges facing schools and parents today is the mental wellbeing of our children.
Each year 1 in 5 people experience a mental illness and one-third of young people have had an episode of mental illness by the time they are 25 years old. Because of these startling statistics Australian Rotary Health has committed to allocate its funding to mental health prevention research in young people. 100% of all donated funds go to research.
Without research we are unable to find possible cures for mental illness or develop mental health interventions that are accessible, low-cost, and effective for the kids out there needing support. Research has found cures for other illnesses, your school’s involvement could help mental illness join that list.
It’s fun and rewarding!
Throughout the year we will keep you up to date with new information and incentives, plus great prizes including book packs for your library and the chance to have some of Australia’s best children’s authors visit your school.
The school’s program is simple – we are asking that each school participate by registering here, where you will be provided the fun Lift The Lid on Mental Illness kit to display in the office or general assembly hall. You have until the end of Mental Health Awareness Month in October to participate and the aim is to raise up to $1000 per school.
The District 9685 Rotary Youth Exchange Committee will be holding Information Nights about 2020 Exchange around the district for students, parents and Rotary clubs. The Information nights are a great opportunity to meet the people involved and get your questions answered! Please contact secretary@rotaryyouthexchange.net.au if you’re planning to attend. The Information Nights are scheduled to run from 7pm to 9pm on the following dates:
6 March 2020 Castle Hill RSL
11 March 2020 Sinofield Edu-Retreat, Leura
12 March 2020 Erina Leagues Club
12 March 2020 Warringah Mall Library
18 March 2020 Penrith Panthers
30 March 2020 Mingara Recreation Club, Tumbi Umbi
2 April 2020 Ryde Eastwood Leagues Club, West Ryde
7 April 2020 St Alban’s Anglican Church, Lindfield
Please click HERE to view - download the ‘Rotary On The Move’ Newsletter for March 2020. Please feel free to share and send us your great membership stories.
Lower Blue Mountains Rotary has received a generous offer from a Penrith businessman in support of the Rotary Bushfire Appeal …
The businessman and his wife have decided to donate funds from the sale of their longtime family vehicle – a 1987 Mercedes Benz 560SEL sedan – to Rotary in a highest tender fund raiser.
The vehicle (pictured) has 326,000 kms on the clock and has been serviced every 10,000 kms. Registered (DJC 033) until September, 2020, it is a one owner car and has been garaged every night.
Tenders are required to be forwarded to two difference email addresses -
A recent Australian Rotary Health (ARH) funded study has revealed that a new mental health program is effective in reducing the use of unhelpful coping strategies among children with dyslexia.
Dr Mark Boyes and his team at Curtin University were awarded an ARH Mental Health Research Grant in 2018 to conduct a pilot trial of the ‘Clever Kids Program’, a mental health program for primary school children who struggle with reading and spelling.
Forty children with dyslexia were recruited to the trial, with twenty participants receiving the Clever Kids program compared to twenty participants who were part of a wait-list control group.
Dr Boyes said after attending Clever Kids, children reported improved coping skills.
“They were much less likely to use unhelpful coping strategies like avoiding problems, not telling people about their problems, and blaming themselves for their problems,” Dr Boyes said.
“There were also promising findings for self-esteem, emotional problems, and peer problems. After attending Clever Kids, children reported higher self-esteem and parents said their children had fewer emotional and peer problems.”
Dr Boyes noted however that while these findings are promising, these changes were substantially smaller than the changes in coping skills.
“These changes were smaller than the changes in coping skills, and we need to do a bigger study to confirm if Clever Kids improves self-esteem and reduces emotional and peer problems,” Dr Boyes said.
Another strength revealed from the trial was that children with dyslexia reported that they liked the program and found it to be helpful.
“They really liked meeting other children who were also struggling with reading and spelling. Children also liked activities involving drawing, movement, and paying attention to their bodies. They did not like activities involving sitting at tables reading and writing as much.”
“We believe the program could be improved by having shorter sessions or including more breaks during sessions and reducing the number of activities that involve reading and writing.”
Dr Boyes said there is a very clear parent demand for programs addressing and promoting the emotional wellbeing of children with reading difficulties, and the results of this pilot study indicate that a bigger evaluation of the Clever Kids program is feasible.
“We are delighted to have secured funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council to conduct a larger trial of the program”.
The Clever Kids pilot study is a world-first to use a rigorous randomised control design to test a program promoting mental health among children with dyslexia.
It is also the first time an evaluation of a mental health promotion program for children with dyslexia has assessed potential mechanisms associated with mental health and emotional and behavioural problems directly.
Results from the study are expected to be released by April 2020 before being submitted to a peer-reviewed journal. Dr Boyes hopes to present these findings at the Society for Research on Learning Disorders Conference, held in Norway on 18-19 June 2020.
The project was conducted with support from the Dyslexia-SPELD Foundation (DSF), who developed and run the Clever Kids program.
We thank the Stan Perron Foundation for co-funding this project.
Media contact: Jessica Cooper – (02) 8837 1900 or jessica@arh.org.au
We are still looking for motivated Rotarians who want to make their Service the best it can be to register for Rotary Leadership Institute Course 56. This is a terrific learning and development opportunity for Rotarians of all experience levels.
The RLI course is run over two days, power-packed with information, learning, and skills participants can use in their Rotary life straight away. And it is great value at only $75 including all materials, coffee breaks and lunch.
Networking with other Rotarians and led by experienced facilitators, others have described RLI as the best Rotary training they have had. Registrations are done online at rli.rotarydistrict9685.org.au
Please click HERE to view - download the ‘Rotary On The Move’ Newsletter for February 2020. Please feel free to share and send us your great membership stories.
Our Australian Rotary District Governors have agreed to establish a central fund into which all Australians can donate to support the victims of the devastating bushfires ravaging our country.
A link to the fund can be found on the main page of the RAWCS (Rotary Australia World Community Service) website: https://rawcs.org.au
The Sydney Rotary Club has pleasure in advising that the Vice Regal couple Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AO QC, Governor of New South Wales and Mr Dennis Wilson, will Host the launch of the 2021 Centenary Celebrations at Government House, Sydney.
As you would be aware our Rotary organisation will be celebrating 100 years of being established in Australia and New Zealand and a number of clubs in both countries have created a committee of the willing to start the journey and countdown to the Centenary Celebrations in 2021.
Many different events and activities are being worked on and it is the intent of the committees to enrol all Rotarians from around both countries, where practical to participate and show their pride and enthusiasm for our great organisation and capitalise on the opportunity to highlight the great work we do.
With this in mind the Governor of NSW will be hosting an event to commence the launch in NSW of the Centenary Celebrations. We have been advised by Government House there is a limit to the attendees and on that basis, it will be a first in selection. For the clubs of NSW there is an allocation of 50 places. That means that the first 50 clubs to register a Representative and pay $500 towards the Centenary project will receive a ticket to the event.
Wednesday 12 February 2020 at 6:00pm
Government House, Sydney Macquarie Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
On Thursday 12th and Friday 13th December Ian Salmon, Parry Monckton and Tim Shay visited Muswellbrook in the upper Hunter Valley.
We joined the Muswellbrook Club for dinner on Thursday night and met the President, John Hobden and other key members of the Club. The Club has about 20 members. We met about 10 members. They were very welcoming to all of us and also introduced us to members eg their member who is head of the chamber of commerce in the town. They are very keen for us to adopt them.
The Club has been involved in the distribution of hay for farmers in 2018/2019 and has raised $50,000 for this. This is especially in badly affected areas in a hundred kilometre or so radius. They distributed a lot of hay by club members personally, but had some issues with a few who were not worthy. In view of this and now a severe lack of actual stock on farms, having been sold, they have preferred to concentrate on giving out Voucher cards for spending only in local businesses as the preferred option to help. Those businesses are very much affected by the drought as well as farmers, as local farmers have no money to support those businesses. The distribution of these cards can also be tightly controlled by local members of the other surrounding Rotary clubs and other organisations who are themselves “in the know” who is most needy . This helps local businesses as well as the recipients.
There are many ways in which we can partner with the Muswellbrook Rotary Club in helping them do this in fund raising activities or events, hands on, and building fellowship. We explored some of their activities for the future such as just one example: a STEM camp run by the University of Newcastle for year 11 and 12 students from local area high schools in June running for 3 days. The cost is about $ 300 each but where we might help them on those days to help run the events. .
On Friday, John and Gary spent all day driving us to surrounding towns Merriwa and Murrurundi. It was an opportunity to see just first hand how pitifully dry and desolate the whole landscape of the upper Hunter is. There is no grass, just dust and dirt, trees dying everywhere and no stock to be found in hundreds of kilometres. It is truly heart breaking! Very difficult to describe how awful it really is.
At Merriwa we had morning tea with members of the Rotary Club of Merriwa, and in particular John Sparrow, the President. These people were nearly all local farmers as well as members of Rotary Merriwa farmers. Again the reception and friendliness was wonderful.
They distribute vouchers in conjunction with the Muswellbrook Rotary Club. These vouchers are often targeted at particular businesses. For example, chemists. In one case we were told of a husband and wife who were each requiring medication. Because of their circumstances, only one could afford the medication so the other had to go without. The Club managed to organise vouchers with the chemist so that both the husband and wife could afford the medication. They have also been involved in hay distribution. The feeling was, that at this stage of the drought hay distribution was wasn't really going to be of much benefit as most farmers would have run down their stock to low or zero levels.
Along the way, we discovered the Merriwa Club does a bicycle event similar to our Bobbo in the Merriwa hills. The next one will be on the 8th March 2020. Perhaps our club would help support that event and then they could support ours too!
We also met Maria Cameron. She works as a Land Services Officer - Regional Drought Support for the New South Wales Government but is an absolute gem! She not only lives on the land herself locally but visits every single property ( 4000!) in the area as part of her job. She knows first hand and keeps a very confidential list of those that can mostly be helped in the whole area. We discussed amongst other things mental health issues, suicides, and how the farmers women and men and school kids can best be helped. Maria has been organising trade courses for farmers ( who are not able to do much on their land at the moment with no stock and bare barren hillsides, to acquire skills eg welding etc and which also has a separate agenda in helping those farmers ( especially men) just getting together to have fun and learn providing psychological support at the same time in the form of courses and social get togethers. Our clubs could get together and go and help at one of these workshops and have dinner with all of them. ( there is a wonderful local venue for this Brindley Park!!!)
One possibility is for Turramurra Rotary to just go to Merriwa to support the community and businesses. Maybe on a weekend. Just get a bus together or go up and go shopping! And hand out the cards! Or just buy stuff to support the town businesses There is quite good accommodation available.
We then went to Murrurundi.
This town is on level 6 water restrictions and has been since July 2018.
We visited Justine Cooper and her team of volunteers. It is truly awe inspiring what they do!!
Justine runs an operation called the Pop-Up Pantry in a little local old weatherboard church ( part of the museum). Supplies and money are donated from all over NSW including individuals or charities or schools or small groups charities , scout groups and from everywhere including Sydney. The volunteers help sort those supplies and then stack and sort onto the shelves for the local Murrurundi farmers and most needy people to simply come and shop for free, two days a week. They come from far away flung locations in the Upper Hunter not just the local town. When they don’t have something donated ( they don’t keep perishables at all) they give cards or direct then to the one local supermarket. Justine simply buys from the local supermarket to stock items in short supply if they don’t have it and is bought for needy farm families. This can be a sensitive operation as farm families are often embarrassed about receiving help. Originally the family would come and collect groceries from the Pop-Up Pantry only at night. This is now a bit more relaxed and they can now feel comfortable to come during the day. Demand for groceries and supplies is ever increasing.
But the worst problem is literally no water! The Pop-Up Pantry also buys and supplies water to needy farmers who have literally no water and reliant only on their bone dry water tanks and dams . They have no money to put down bores ( about $10000 and not necessarily successful!) .
Justine and her volunteers just hand out 10 liter containers of drinking water on a Saturday morning to those needy who pull up and they put it in their vehicle. The next three weeks is earmarked for mostly doing just this.
Justine spends in each case, $400 for 30 kilolitres of potable water to be carted by a local business to put into rain water tanks. . There is no charge to families who are in need and these volunteers know who is needy. They don’t ask questions they just do it and Justine’s phone never stops ringing. She isn’t even eligible for government donated money! ( which can only be accessed for mental health programs !)
In the short term we could give money, write a cheque, go shopping for groceries put them in a trailer and drive up there. Or shop in the town and give it to the pantry. Or buy water!
The D-Caf program was included this year under District 9685 Community Service Dementia Awareness & Support chaired by Bobby Redman.
D-Caf was an initiative of the Rotary Club of St Ives and a pilot program, with the support of KNC, commenced latter part of 2018 at the PCYC in Waitara.
Following the success of the pilot program initially run by Tim England and Fiona Jenkins, and with continuing funding from the Rotary Club of St Ives, the Waitara D-Caf continued through 2019. Mid year Fiona Jenkins was appointed D-Caf Coordinator to continue with the Waitara D-Caf and to encourage other Rotary clubs to establish their own D-Caf. Several new D-Cafs have been established with more to follow; congratulations to the hosting Rotary clubs and to their community based partners.
The D-Caf program will continue in 2020 and beyond, and Ian Cameron (Rotary Club of Wahroonga) will take on the D-Caf Coordinator role. Please forward all future enquiries to Ian.
For convenience, a mobile phone number 0455 322 097 has been allocated for D-Caf, and for other enquiries in relation to Dementia Awareness & Support.
Wondering if you can help share this Go Fund Me Page – we have the first Indigenous crew racing in the Sydney to Hobart this year and we’re currently raising funds. If you know anyone that would be willing to contribute, that would be much appreciated:
Please click HERE to view - download the ‘Rotary On The Move’ Newsletter for December 2019. Please feel free to share and send us your great membership stories.
Former St Ives Rotarian Bhuvan Unhelkar, will be visiting Sydney Feb 18-26 2020. Now a university lecturer in IT in Sarasota, Florida, Bhuvan is very familiar with our District and would love to share his worldly experiences with your club. His favourite topic is “Global Peace: A Multicultural Rotary perspective”, however he can be persuaded to talk on almost anything. Please let Kalma McLellan know if you would like him to include him in your meeting program in Feb 2020.
With fires on top of drought, our northern neighbours are really struggling. If you and/or your club are in a position to support, there have now been a number of RAWCS accounts set up to manage your donations:
Please talk to Community Service Director Peter Kirkwood if you have any plans to support our bush cousins so that a coordinated approach can be taken. And thank you all so much for what you have already provided to so many across our state.
In case you are wondering if Shelterbox can or are supporting this disaster, ROWLEY TOMPSETT, Chair, ShelterBox Australiaprovides the following input to your questions:
“It’s been devastating to see the rapid spread of bushfires in Australia. Thousands have been forced to evacuate their homes, and the country is bracing itself for ‘the most dangerous bushfire week ever seen’. Our thoughts are with all those affected, including our colleagues at ShelterBox Australia.
At this time, we’re not sending a team to provide shelter aid. We’re monitoring the situation closely and will provide an update if anything changes.
While New South Wales and Queensland have both declared a state of emergency, the Australian Government has not made an international request for emergency shelter. Core infrastructure, like power, communications, roads, hospitals and schools, is likely to be repaired quickly compared to other countries.
Our core items – including tents, tools and tarpaulins – are unlikely to be an acceptable solution for Australian families, particularly with temperatures of 40C expected.
Local teams already have good capacity to respond and start the recovery process. This is due to the high-quality infrastructure, social support, availability of resources, and the preparedness activities of Government teams.”
I am looking for Rotarians with Technology skills to join us on the District Public Image Committee! If you or someone you know can help with “how to” hands-on workshops starting in February next year, please contact me?
The Bobbo has a great reputation within the cycling community. There are four different routes which riders can select according to their abilities. Serious cyclists return year after year to challenge themselves on the longest rides, while social cyclists will enjoy the shorter routes.
All the routes go through some of the most stunning bushland and waterfront scenery in the Greater Sydney region. Some 2,500 riders are supported by around 450 enthusiastic volunteers who, along with the Police, SES and St Johns, make it one of the best-organised and safest events on the cycling calendar.
We’d really appreciate any help you can give us to provide maximum publicity for the Bobbo. Please consider entering a team from your Club. Teams of five or more who raise over $1500 are eligible to access the Corporate Hospitality Marquee for free refreshments, snacks, beer and massage.
The funds raised by this terrific event helps Lifeline year after year to save lives through their Crisis support counselling. Please lend us your support for 2020 as we try to break through the $1 million fundraising milestone!
We look forward to your support and if you have any questions please give me a call. See too www.bobbo.com.au
The 17th awareness campaign on Prevention of Drug Abuse was conducted in the 18th October 2019 at “Raja Rani Hall”, Point Pedro Northern Province Sri Lanka. 110 students from Grade 12 along with 12 teachers actively participated in this awareness programme.
The panel made of representatives from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board (NDDCB), Alcohol & Drug Information Centre (ADIC), and others presented on four topics to the attendees. The topics were Drugs and Youth, Alcohol and Drugs –The adverse impact, Drugs of Abuse –Sources & Demand Reduction and HIV/AIDS & STDs respectively.
Five winners were selected from the 32 entries to the Posters Competition and received cash prizes.
Point Pedro Urban Council Chairman Mr. J. Iruthayarajah who provided the venue facility & the Urban Council Secretary Mr. P. Rameshwaran not only graced the opening ceremony but remained throughout the programme extending all possible support toward the success of the event.
Mr. I. Illankovan, Secretary, Ministry of Education, Mr. N. Kanthathasan, Deputy Director of Education (Ministry), Mr. Y. Raveenthram, Zonal Director of Education, Vadamaarachi, Mr. U.Sureshkumar, Zonal Deputy Director of Education Vadanaarachi & Mr. Croos, Asst Manager, Hatton National Bank, Point Pedro extended their fullest co-operation.
This program is a joint initiative between Rotary and Lions in Sri Lanka and funded by Rotary Club of The Hills-Kellyville thru a District Grant.
In 2021, Rotary in Australia and New Zealand celebrates our first 100 years of service – and we need a powerful, engaging logo to help build our story.
So, we have created a Centenary Logo Competition to help make an impact.
What creativity can we conjure that captures the heart and soul of our centenary?
Separate designs for both New Zealand and Australia will be welcome. Or a design that covers both countries – a design that enhances Rotary’s broader branding.
Everyone is welcome to enter – Rotarians, professionals, friends and family. And the designer’s story will be an important part of the logo’s launch. We are tapping into the passion and energy of volunteers who will be rewarded simply with heartfelt thanks acknowledged by Rotary leaders. That story will be part of our centenary story.
The competition is now open and closes on December 15. This is a tangible chance to make a mark on history!
'Judy’, the story of Judy Garland – ‘the legend behind the rainbow’ is the star attraction at the next Rotary Charity movie night at Glenbrook Cinema on Sunday, November 17.
The new biopic has been acclaimed all over the world and Academy Award winner Renee Zellweger is early favourite to win her second best actress award for a stunning performance in the lead role as Judy Garland.
Regular supporters of the popular Rotary movie nights are urged to book immediately as ‘Judy’ is certain to be a ‘sell out’.
It will be another colourful night with prizes for the best dress ‘divas’ in the finest musical traditions.
All conditions remain the same – movie ticket, finger food (not a meal), and drinks for $20 each. Proceeds will support Lower Blue Mountains Christmas Appeal funding for needy families throughout the Lower Mountains, via Gateway Family Services.
Patrons are requested to bring grocery items for the annual Gateway food hampers – along with toys and small gifts for families.
Bookings MUST be made with Gaye Van Der Meer on 0430 433 717. Payment can then be arranged on line via Lower Blue Mountains Rotary Service Account – BSB:062 640 Acc # 00901 789, or cash when ticket pick-up is arranged with Gaye via Glenbrook Butchery.
Tickets are available for collection at Cinema Hall door after payment is confirmed with Gaye Van Der Meer. Doors open at 6 pm and the movie starts at 7 pm.
CLAIM THE DATE: Notice is also given of the last Charity Movie Night for the year on Sunday, December 1. This is a special Christmas comedy entitled ‘Last Christmas – written, produced and starring the very popular Emma Thompson.
Please click HERE to view - download the ‘Rotary On The Move’ Newsletter for November 2019. Please feel free to share and send us your great membership stories.
Please click HERE to view - download the ‘Rotary On The Move’ Newsletter for October 2019. Please feel free to share and send us your great membership stories.
KIDS IN NEED, NEED OUR HELP! EXTEND A HAND TO HELP SYDNEY KIDS IN CRISIS!
DONATE TOILETRIES TO “TALDUMANDE YOUTH SERVICES”
The Rotary Club of Beecroft are collecting toiletries to form “Starter Kits’ for homeless children/youth as they enter into the services of Taldumande Youth Services and we are hoping you, our wonderful community will help us!
Please have a look to see if you have anything around the house for these toiletry “Starter Kits” for girls and boys and if not, maybe you could pop an item into your shopping trolley next time you’re out.
Useful items for each pack – Roll on deodorant (female and male) Shampoo Conditioner Face Wipes Razors Shaving Cream Body Wash Body Lotion Toothbrush Toothpaste
New sample/travel-size items that you may have collected from hotels are perfect. We also need of normal size household toiletries to fill the bathrooms of the 26 homes many of the homeless children end up residing in. We will be collecting toiletries from:- 25th September until 30th October 2019 We have Sydney drop off addresses at:- Wahroonga, Warrawee, West Pymble, St Ives, North Parramatta, Baulkham Hills, North Rocks, West Pennant Hills, Cherrybrook, Beecroft, East Ryde, Epping, Normanhurst and Berowra.
DID YOU KNOW THAT ON ANY ONE NIGHT IN AUSTRALIA, OVER 25,000 YOUNG PEOPLE AGED BETWEEN 12-24 ARE HOMELESS?
Taldumande are a registered charity who provide support to vulnerable and homeless children, young people aged 12-21, and their families across Northern Sydney, an area that extends from Sydney Harbour to the Hawkesbury River, into the Northern Beaches, out to Ryde, Denistone and Pennant Hills.
Please if you can SHARE this post so others can join in and help too, it would be appreciated. If you would like to know more about their services, please visit their website https://www.taldumande.org.au/
Don't forget, the best way to keep up to date with our collections is by liking our Facebook Page or following us on Instagram.
WE ARE HELPING TO EMPOWER SYDNEY YOUTH TO INDEPENDENCE AND STABILITY
A rugby world cup window display in the Rotary Recycles Opportunity Shop in Blaxland is creating plenty of interest among shoppers and pedestrians.
The Rotary Recycles Opportunity Shop (3/156 Great Western Highway, Blaxland) is a project of Lower Blue Mountains Rotary Club and has proven very popular with great value bargains since opening early this year.
Given Rotary’s community service ideals, Op Shop manager and Rotarian Kerry Gunn makes the most of window space and has a promotion team creating inspired, topical window displays for local community organisations.
The current World Cup Rugby display features a Wallaby jersey, flags of competing nations and other colourful memorabilia.
Themes change regularly and some of the topics planned for the next few weeks include debutante balls, Halloween, the Melbourne Cup, breast cancer, and camping. Recent displays have included men’s prostate health, native birds, and cancer support groups.
BLAXLAND OP SHOP WINDOW DISPLAY ATTRACTS ATTENTION
Please join us and together we can share a meal and save a life. - Let us together raise funds to support lifesaving heart surgery for children with Congenital Heart Diseases.
Around 3000 children are born every year with congenital heart defects in Sri Lanka
That’s almost 8 in 1000 babies per year.
More than 40% of these babies and children and over 60% of critically ill babies and children cannot get treatment on time because of a lack of facilities.
All these children are referred to Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children (Only hospital with capability for Children Heart Surgery)
1500+ children die due to this lack of facilities.
Rotary Club of Kandy Sri Lanka and Rotary Club of Madras Coromandel have joined hands to provide surgery to approximately 100 children from the most vulnerable in the society due to their socio-economic status. The children will come from around the nation. The operation will be carried out at the world-renowned Apollo Children's Hospital in Chennai Tamil Nadu South India.
In addition, there will be a selection of medical Nurses and Doctors from Colombo Lady Ridgeway Hospital, Teaching Hospital Jaffna and Karapitiya trained at the Children's Hospital on paediatric cardiology.
The total budget for the project is AU $265,000. Rotarians and Rotary Districts in India and Sri Lanka have pledged a total of AU $120,000. Further AU $75,000 coming from The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International. We have a shortfall of AU $70,000.
Our goal is to raise AU $20,000 to make this project a reality and giving normal healthy life to 100 children.
This is one small step towards our goal.
Event: Sri Lankan Hopper Fundraiser Night
When: Saturday 26th October 2019
Where: 3 Candlebush Crescent Castle Hill NSW 2154
Time: 06:30 PM – 09:30 PM
Dinner Cost: Single – $35 / Couple - $60 / Family - $80 (2 Adults + 2 Children)
Meal - All you can eat Egg, Milk and Plain Hoppers with Two accompanying non-veg curries and a vegetarian curry. Hoppers without Pol Sambal, Seeni Sambal and Kata Sambal to tantalize your taste buds.
Community groups across NSW are being challenged to brush up their creative skills for this year’s Graffiti Removal Day by creating murals.
Graffiti Removal Day chairman Bob Aitken AM said preventing graffiti is the focus for this year’s event on Sunday, 27 October.
“Graffiti vandalism costs our community over $300 million each year,” Mr Aitken said.
“Since the event started in 2012 volunteers have removed more than 141,000sqm of graffiti, saving the community $10.4 million.
“This year, as well as removing graffiti we want to see ugly tags with no artistic merit covered by colourful murals to help stop graffiti from occurring in the first place.”
To help inspire people we are running a competition to find the best mural in the state with a $1000 first prize.
Several schools in the Georges River area have already kicked off the competition with over 500 students combining to create a community mural at Carss Park and they are challenging other groups to enter the competition.
Graffiti Removal Day ambassador and football legend Mark OAM congratulated the students and threw his support behind the event.
“Graffiti Removal Day is great way people can show they love where they live and it is great to see so many or our youth involved,” he said.
“This year’s focus on encouraging people to come up with fun ideas to prevent vandalism at regularly targeted sites is a great opportunity for community groups to display their creative flair while removing ugly graffiti.”
“I would encourage everyone to get involved in this great community event.” Said Mr Geyer
Up to 3000 volunteers from various groups including Rotary, Scouts NSW, Girl Guides NSW&ACT, Air Force Cadets, PCYC, NSW Police, Lions, church groups, high schools and 80 councils are expected to remove graffiti from over 600 sites across NSW on Sunday 27 October.
All material and equipment required for Graffiti Removal Day is supplied to volunteers for free by sponsors Dulux, NSW Government, Australian Rail Track Corporation and Southern Cleaning Supplies.
People can volunteer, suggest an idea, find out more about the mural competition or nominate a clean-up site by going to the website www.graffitiremovalday.org.au.
Amazing guest speakers who will share their journey as you discover more about our 2019 inspirational winners.
The guest speakers include:
Louisa Hope – Survivor of Sydney's Lindt Siege will share - Thoughts and coping skills for what could have been a devastating future life.
Stay tuned for another exciting speaker.
These awards recognise service to the community across all sectors. Directed at the non-Rotary community, it is about commitment, dedication, perseverance and proactivity in improving the lives of others across NSW and the ACT.
Often women, especially in country and regional NSW and ACT are the "quiet achievers" whose actions inspire others and make a difference in their communities.
The Awards cover 2 key categories inclusive of Rural and City Urban for each category:
Young Inspirational Woman of the Year for the 18-30 years
Inspirational Woman of the Year for the 30+ years
Finalists are selected from each category, resulting in 2 overall winners:
Young Inspirational Woman of the Year
Inspirational Woman of the Year
An exemplary number of applications ensured the panel of independent judges from Rotary Districts were challenged as they assessed the three key criteria:
Community service which best exemplifies Rotary’s motto of Service Above Self
Achievements
Personal attributes
* Your ticket purchase and proceeds from this event will support an Australian Rotary Health Scholarship for a young female GP by assisting with expenses during her 12 month placement in a Rural GP practice. ** Opting to incur the administration costs related to the issue of this ticket/s results in Rotary Health receiving those proceeds.
ROTARY INSPIRATIONAL WOMENS AWARDS - 27 OCTOBER 2019
A team from Penrith High School won the national Model United Nations Assembly debating competition in Canberra in August.
The annual competition was conducted at the Museum of Australian Democracy (Old Parliament House) and the all male Penrith team triumphed after a gruelling two days of debating the challenges of world peace, climate change, health, education, living standards and a variety of other topics.
The superb skills of Penrith High team members John Maddock, Rhys O’Connor and Victor Zhou carried the team to victory which represented a ‘first’ for Penrith and Rotary District 9685.
The Model United Nations Assembly (MUNA) has been one of Australian Rotary’s premier youth programs since introduced from Canada by the Rotary Club of Lake Cargelligo, NSW, District 9700, during the early 1980s. Program development over the years has ensured MUNA provides an excellent forum for students in Years 10 – 12 to understand the principles and work of the United Nations organisation whilst enhancing debating skills and growing knowledge of world issues.
Penrith won the right to contest the national finals in Canberra by out-debating 32 teams at the MUNA Western Sydney event organised and conducted by local Rotarians in June.
Twenty-seven teams from four Australian States contested the national finals in Canberra. Each team was allocated a country to represent – with Penrith drawing the United Kingdom.
Topics this year included –
Proliferation of nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula.
Regulating international migration.
International cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space.
Protection of the Global climate for present and future generations.
Protection of journalistic freedoms.
National finals are conducted in the former House of Representatives chamber in old Parliament House – which of course creates a special aura for competing students.
All contestants were congratulated on the quality and enthusiasm of their debating. Their research fostered a greater understanding of the international and domestic policies of countries represented – and all three Penrith team members have indicated they are contemplating a career in international relations.
The Penrith team was mentored by Penrith High Head of Social Sciences Joel MacRae who was honoured by Rotary with a special Teaching Award last October.
Pictured – Penrith High School’s 2019 MUNA Debating Team receive their awards from Rotary organisers of the Western Sydney event last June. From left, those pictured are Past President Drew Fitzpatrick of Lower Blue Mountains Rotary, John Maddock, Rhys O’Connor, Victor Zhou, Penrith High Head of Social Sciences Joel MacRae, and Rotary District 9685 Governor Elect David Clark.
Please click HERE to view - download the ‘Rotary On The Move’ Newsletter for September 2019. Please feel free to share and send us your great membership stories.
On December 7th 2016, Dick and Pip Smith visited the Rotary Club of Wahroonga. Dick was introduced to the club by Rob Ferguson, they had both been at school together at the Roseville Primary school. The major surprise of the morning came when Dick produced a cheque and donated $1 million to Rotary.
The money was used to set up Rotary Australia Compassionate Grants (RACG) with the aim to aid disadvantaged members of the Australian community irrespective of their location within Australia. Since then, RACG has received matching grants and as a result over $2 million has delivered numerous projects that have benefited local individuals and communities.
Last Wednesday, the 7th August, John Cameron and I attended another event with Dick and Pip Smith. Once again Dick produced a check for $1 million and donated it to Rotary.
Here are Pip and Dick Smith with John Cameron, Lindsay May and Doug Reid
After the event, as we travelled back north on the train John Cameron and I reflected that we were possible two of only seven people who have witnessed Dick and Pip handing over $2 million to Rotary, with Dick and Pip being two of the seven!
If you would like to join Martha Jabour OAM and the team at the Sod Turning at Grace's Place, please email John Wakefield johnwakefield@rotarydistrict9685.org.au, so that there is an idea of the number of Rotarians attending.
As 2018-19 Trustee Chair Brenda Cressey shared, contribution results for the 2018-19 Rotary year were outstanding. Thanks to each of you for your enthusiastic support of Rotary’s priority program – the eradication of polio. In late May, we were faced with an unusual prospect of being considerably short of our $50 million goal. The cash contributions and District Designated Fund projections showed we would be approximately $5 million short of goal.
You came to the rescue and together we raised $50.8 million. This achievement truly shows the willingness and dedication of all Rotarians to fulfill our promise to the children of the world. Together we will end polio.
While we celebrate our success in 2018-19, we must remember that our job is not complete. Our new challenge is to raise $50 million for polio eradication this Rotary year.
Thank you for all you are doing and will do to help end polio now.
Respectfully,
John F. Germ Chair, End Polio Now Countdown to History Campaign Committee President, Rotary International, 2016-17
Modern day slavery exists all over the world in many forms....forced labour, human trafficking, debt bondage, forced marriage, the sale of children and sex slavery. We meet Doug Malcolm from Dee Why Rotary Club, founder and driver of Paint4Freedom a National Art Competition dedicated to raising awareness of slavery and raising funds to counteract it. www.paint4freedom.org
Please click HERE to view - download the ‘Rotary On The Move’ Newsletter for August 2019. Please feel free to share and send us your great membership stories.
Overall we donated $US 542,048 to the Rotary Foundation this year, and while less than the last two years, in Aussie dollars it is more than last year. Clubs and individual Rotarians have given $A 764,000 in this last Rotary year. This figure was helped hugely by your generous support for the End Polio campaign, including a very generous bequest of $100,000 through Belrose Rotary, the contribution from those clubs that supported Ride the Train organised by Mark and Dave Anderson from Rotary Beecroft, and our 5 screenings across the district of the Movie Bohemian Rhapsody in November. Our End Polio giving this last year was $A 244,000 against $A 80,000 in the previous year
Unfortunately, our Annual Fund giving, which is fundamental to our ability to support club projects, both here and overseas, was down; $US 337,000 ($A 475,000) from $US 404,000 ($A 529,000) in 2017-18. We believe it has been heavily affected by the huge club support for the Drought Appeal earlier in the year, when the generosity of clubs was just wonderful. While many clubs were able to provide less support than in the past, there were a good number of clubs that gave more, and very generously. Thank You!
We are thankful to the increasing number of personal donors, our Centurions, Paul Harris Society members (now 86 in the district) and in particular some very generous Major Donors who materially made a big contribution to our result. For interest I have included a column in the club giving report that shows the percentage of clubs where there is a lot of personal giving vs the level of club giving. It is interesting that across the district 70% of our giving is now personal.
Outside the Belrose bequest of $US 74,074, the three best donating clubs are the E-Club (US$ 67,599), Beecroft (US$ 42, 356), and Ryde ($US 20,332). Best Annual Fund giving clubs per capita were E-Club ($US 1458), Beecroft ($US 860), and North Sydney ($US 411). Thirteen of our clubs gave more than $US200 per head so thank you all very much for your great support.
Once again, a donation was received from every club in our district, so thank you all. Please see the table below for a summary by clubs of giving during the year.
Our donations go to the engine-room of what Rotary is all about. The Rotary Foundation’s funds go almost entirely into doing good in the world with a world-leading ranking in terms of effectiveness, efficiency, integrity and low cost of operation. In particular it is the vehicle through which Rotary has made a huge and on-going commitment to ridding the world of Polio.
It was also pleasing to see a growing number of clubs using Foundation funds to support their humanitarian projects using District and Global Grants. We would like more clubs to be active in applying for grants as they are a very efficient way for your club to enhance the money available to support your wonderful project work.
We look forward to all clubs continuing to give their generous support during this year ahead as PDG Bruce Lakin takes over as our District Rotary Foundation Chair. I thank our District 9685 Foundation committee for their great work around the clubs and in their specialty areas, and I know Bruce will receive the same level of support and assistance from his team.
I am delighted to be serving in the District Communications Director role in 2019/20. As I work full time, the best (and preferred) way to contact me is email (communications@rotarydistrict9685.org.au).
Our plan is to send out 2 eNews editions each month:
* DG's eNews - 1st Thursday of the month
* eNews - 3rd Thursday of the month
Please look out for them in your inbox, please take the time to read and contribute to them!
It would be appreciated if the following email addresses could be used by you, your team and clubs:
Here is a link to the program profiling the inspirational work of John Corney and others from Epping Rotary Club, providing clean water to a community in Oecusse, Timor L’Este.
We have a number of boxes of books that have been donating (still residing at) a Primary School in Northern Sydney that need to make their way to the Purple House Project in Alice Springs.
The North Ryde Fun Run for Youth Mental Health is a community event organised by the Rotary Club of North Ryde, with venue partner Macquarie University and local community groups.
The 2019 Fun Run will be held on Sunday 25th August from 9am to 1pm at the Macquarie University Sport Fields, corner of Culloden and Talavera Roads, Macquarie Park.
The proceeds raised go towards funding research into youth mental health through the Australian Rotary Health organisation and to treatment programs through the Centre for Emotional Health.
Please click HERE to view - download the ‘Rotary On The Move’ Newsletter for July 2019. Please feel free to share and send us your great membership stories.
Rotary is giving US$100 million in grants to support the global effort to end polio, a vaccine-preventable disease that once paralyzed hundreds of thousands of children each year.
The funding comes as Rotary and its partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) address the final—and most pressing—challenges to ending poliovirus transmission, and as Nigeria approaches three years without any reported cases of wild poliovirus, bringing the Africa region closer to polio-free status.
“We have the wild poliovirus cornered in the smallest geographic area in history, and now there are just two countries that continue to report cases of the wild virus,” said Michael K. McGovern, chair of Rotary’s International PolioPlus Committee. “As we work with our partners to apply innovative new strategies to reach more children, and embrace lessons learned thus far, Rotary is doubling down on our commitment to end polio for good. I’m optimistic that the end of polio is within our grasp, but we must remain vigilant in rallying global political and financial support as we push towards a polio-free world.”
While there were only 33 cases of wild poliovirus reported in 2018, the last mile of eradication has proven to be the most difficult. Barriers to eradication--like weak health systems, insecurity, and mobile and remote populations--must be overcome. As long as a single child has polio, all children are at risk, which underscores the need for continued funding and commitment to eradication.
To support polio eradication efforts in endemic countries, Rotary is allocating half the funds it announced today to: Afghanistan ($16.3 million), Nigeria ($10.2 million), and Pakistan ($25.2million). Additional funding will support efforts to keep vulnerable countries polio-free:
Chad ($102,395)
Democratic Republic of the Congo ($9.5 million)
Ethiopia ($2.6 million)
Iraq ($6 million)
Kenya ($6.3 million)
Mali ($1.2 million)
Somalia ($1.4 million)
South Sudan ($1.2 million)
Syria ($1.7 million)
Yemen ($2.1 million)
The World Health Organization (WHO) will receive $1.3 million to conduct research, and will also receive support for surveillance activities in its Africa ($10.9 million) and Eastern Mediterranean ($4 million) Regions.
Rotary has committed to raising $50 million a year to be matched 2-to-1 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, amounting to $150 million for polio eradication annually. Rotary has contributed more than $1.9 billion to fight the disease, including matching funds from the Gates Foundation, and countless volunteer hours since launching its polio eradication program, PolioPlus, in 1985. In 1988, Rotary became a spearheading partner in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Gates Foundation later joined. Since the initiative launched, the incidence of polio has plummeted by more than 99.9 percent, from about 350,000 cases in 1988 to 33 cases of wild poliovirus in 2018.
ROTARY ANNOUNCES US $100 MILLION TO ERADICATE POLIO
Rotary Foundation funding is released to Districts for financing grants, 3 years after they were contributed.
Our 2018-19 TRF giving, comes back as DDF in 2021-22.
We are today $130,000 behind in contributions and this means that funding for District and Global grants in 2021-22 will be $75,000 less than for 2020-21.
As more clubs access DDF for their humanitarian projects, our nominated DG for 2021-22 Lindsay May is alarmed that there will be many unhappy but well meaning Rotarians who will not be able to fund grants as they did in the previous year.
Contributions this year have understandably been impacted by drought appeals, and rightly so.
We all hope that conditions will improve for our farmers but once we reach June 30 2019 we cannot add any funds that provide the valuable match to boost overall grant funding in 2021-22.
Personal giving is tax deductible.
Please give now to ensure we can maintain our good works in 3 years time.
Lindsay May DGNn 2021-22
Note - The above is a general summary of the process and does not fully describe the intricacies of TRF funding."
In September the Zone 8 Rotary Conference will be held in Christchurch New Zealand from 20th – 22nd September 2019. Previously known as the Zone Institute this Zone 8 Conference is open to all Rotarians to attend and participate in. You will be able to meet and make new friends, and learn more about the amazing work of Rotary. This will also be an opportunity show your support for the people of Christchurch especially after the earthquake and the recent tragic events that impacted so many people. It will be a time to see how Christchurch has been reinvigorated and what it is continuing to do after the earthquake.
The Organising Committee have done an excellent job in getting together a fantastic programme of presenters who you will find inspiring and challenging. The breakout groups on Saturday afternoon will also be very special. The then President of Rotary International Mark Maloney and his wife Gay will be present and Mark will be talking about his vision for the future of Rotary.
It promises to be a great weekend. I would urge you to attend, below are the links to register. By attending you are supporting not just Rotary but the people of Christchurch who have had some challenging time over the last few years.
Following news of two further wild polio virus cases in Pakistan, I am pleased to forward the following in depth Polio campaign comments from three of our outstanding international leaders and commentators – including inspirational words and encouragement from Bill Gates.
We now have 24 confirmed cases of polio this year – seven in Afghanistan and 17 in Pakistan – all as a result of the ongoing hostilities along the border between the two countries.
When you read the attachments, you will really understand the difficulty of the situation and the bravery of our volunteers.
Bill Gates leaves no doubt on the absolute vital nature of ongoing support from Rotary – along with his commitment.
So please focus on encouraging end of year support from your Rotary clubs. Let’s ensure a high percentage of clubs honour the request from RI President Barry Rassin for clubs to contribute $1,500 each in a special ‘one off’ donation this year.
I am pleased to provide the information contained in the attachments. I believe the three pieces provide ALL the answers and I urge you to share with your Rotary clubs – and suggest they publish same in their club newsletters over a three week period.
Earning the Rotary Citation is an honor that RI President Barry Rassin hopes clubs strive to achieve. To earn the citation, please complete all activities and report your accomplishments to Rotary by 30 June.
Where should I enter my club’s accomplishments? The 2018-19 Rotary Citation Achievement Guide explains how and where to report each citation goal. If a club member who isn’t an officer wants to record citation progress in Rotary Club Central, you can learn to delegate your level of access temporarily to allow the member to do so.
This year’s district governors will receive certificates by email in September to distribute to Rotary clubs that have earned the citation.
A Rotaractor from District 9710 (Seb Cox) who has spent a lot of time in Tanzania over the past few years and working with and setting up Interact and EarlyAct in that country has been assisting with a project titled One Voice – He has asked me to share this with the Rotarians in Australia. Could I ask that you pas it on to your current DG’s to make reference in their newsletters if possible.
One Voice is a music project for the Earlyact and Interact clubs of Tanzania. Earlyact and Interact are youth programs of Rotary, where schools aged students focus on serving their community.
Tanzania is a growing force in the Rotary world. Many Rotary clubs are taking the lead to sponsor Earlyact and Interact clubs. In 2019 the Country Interact Team wanted to create a project to unite the Earlyactors and Interactors together and the One Voice Project was formed. The Earlyactors and Interactors recorded a song discussing how Earlyactors and Interactors rise up to create peaceful and loving societies.
To support the Earlyactors and Interactors in creating the song the One Voice Team was created consisting of Seb Cox, a Past Country Chair of Earlyact and Interact in Tanzania with three musicians who have a wealth of experience of writing and recording music in Tanzania; Hilda Green, Aziz Ngassa and Daz Naledge.
The song was recorded and filmed over 9 location in both Tanzania and Australia, with four Earlyact and six Interact clubs involved. All coming together to see, hear and feel the power of music!
The song and video was launched in April at the Rotary District 9211 94th District Conference and Assembly at the Julius Nyerere International Conference Centre in Dar es Salaam in front of over 1000 Rotarians from Tanzania, Uganda and around the world.
The #Rotary Club of Beecroft are once again collecting good interview-appropriate clothing for Dress for Success, Sydney. They are a registered charity that improves the employability of women in need in NSW by providing services free of charge including professional clothing.
So, if you are doing your summer – winter wardrobe swap-over, please consider whether you have anything that could form part of an interview outfit for a long-term unemployed woman. This also includes shoes, handbags and accessories.
We will be collecting from 9th May until 30th June 2019. This year we have drop off addresses at Beecroft, Castle Hill, Baulkham Hills, Berowra, Cherrybrook, East Ryde, North Parramatta, Wahroonga, West Pennant Hills, Normanhurst, West Pymble and North Rocks, so please message or call us and we will provide you with the closest drop off address.
YOUR GENTLY USED CLOTHING GIVES A WOMAN A NEW START……TAKING WOMEN FROM WELFARE TO WORK!
ShelterBox is Rotary’s partner in disaster relief, a position we’ve held proudly for the last six years. This partnership has enabled Rotary, through ShelterBox, to be first responders assisting those deprived of their homes by natural and man-made disasters. In 2018, we were honoured to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of our humanitarian work; all Rotarians share in this honour with us.
Many of your Clubs will have already supported us during this financial year; to you, our heartfelt thanks for your continuing support.
To those who have not yet your final decisions on donations this year, I ask you to consider ShelterBox as one of your beneficiaries. Your support can make a world of difference.
In 2018, with your assistance, we were able to deliver disaster relief and other humanitarian aid to 17 countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, British Virgin Islands, Chad, Cameroon, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kenya, Niger, Philippines, Syria, Somalia and Vanuatu. We have been able to provide relief following cyclones (4), earthquakes (2), floods (2), drought, volcanic activity and conflict (8). We often work with partner agencies to ensure our aid reaches those most in need. Your support enabled us to assist 30,000 families with emergency shelter, and another 12,000 families with essential household items … a total of over 210,000 people.
I have attached a copy of our international work in March this year as an example of how your funds can benefit those most in need.
Please convey our heartfelt thanks to all your Rotarians and friends. We look forward to continuing this wonderful partnership.
This is a sad moment for Rotary, as I must inform you that Sushil Gupta has resigned as president-nominee of Rotary International due to health reasons.
This was a difficult decision for Sushil to make, and I understand and fully respect his choice to prioritize his health. He is firmly committed to continuing his work as a valued and respected member of our organization. Sushil has shared a message announcing his resignation, which you can all read on My Rotary.
The 2018-19 Nominating Committee for President of Rotary International will convene electronically in the coming weeks to select Sushil’s replacement. Information about the selection process is also available on My Rotary.
I have no doubt we will pick an excellent candidate to serve as RI President for the 2020-21 Rotary year. Please join me in wishing Sushil a complete and rapid recovery, and thank him for his service and dedication to Rotary.
Sincerely,
Barry Rassin President, Rotary International 2018-19
Hi everyone, Thank you to all of the clubs that had donated to Grace’s Place since the District Conference, and before. Some really good news to come out of the conference is that Martha Jabour asked me how she could join Rotary. I immediately asked her when she lived and directed her to the President of Carlingford Rotary Club who was sitting a few tables away. As a result of that meeting, Martha will be inducted into the Rotary Club of Carlingford next week.
We are currently attempting to get all donations in for Grace's Place before the end of June so we can present a cheque to Martha at District Changeover on the 6th July at Hornsby RSL. All monies raised within District 9685 will be directed at a particular part of the building under the name of D9685. Again, many thanks for your support of my Partner’s Project in DG Susan’s year.
Please click HERE to view - download the ‘Rotary On The Move’ Newsletter for May 2019. Please feel free to share and send us your great membership stories.
Districts that have been affected by a disaster can use Rotary disaster response grants to launch their own projects or work with established relief organizations to help their communities recover. Districts should work closely with local officials and groups to ensure that the funding will meet a specific community need.
The Rotary Foundation also offers funding to support long-term disaster recovery efforts through global grants. Learn more.
Who can apply for a disaster response grant
Once qualified for Rotary grants, districts in an affected area or country may apply for a maximum grant of $25,000, based on the availability of funds. A district may apply for subsequent grants after it successfully reports outcomes from previous grants.
In early March the Rotary Club of Northbridge (NSW) in conjunction with the Australian Red Cross Blood Service launched the Grolman Challenge.
The Challenge is to recognize the contribution of Rotarian Syd Grolman OAM, a passionate blood donor who over his life made 383 life saving donations. The aim is to encourage the local community to donate blood, plasma or platelets to reach Syd’s 383 donation target by the end of 2019.
At a recent club meeting, Guest presenter John Feist, Community Relations Officer for the Australian Red Cross Blood Service (Chatswood), explained that 27,000 donations are needed every week to keep a good blood supply. He noted that while 1 in 3 people in Australia at some time in their life will receive a blood transfusion or blood products, only 1 in 30 people actually donate blood. Around 1 in 3 of those in need of blood products are cancer patients.
John further explained that Australia has the safest blood stock in the world. Each donation can be used to help three patients therefore Syd’s 383 donations could have saved 1,150 lives.
Syd, accompanied by his wife Marcelle, commented on the night that he was honoured to have the Challenge named after him and encouraged us to spread the word about the need to donate blood to reach our target ! With 15 donations to date, the Grolman Challenge needs you!
It is that time of the year when clubs turn their thoughts to distributing hard earned funds not yet allocated to favourite charities.
As Chair of the D9685 Australian Rotary Health committee may I make a special request that ARH be given high priority on your list which will, of course, exceed your available funds.
ARH, our Australian Charity of choice, exists on the generosity of clubs and individuals to achieve a quite simple goal. It is “To fund research into diseases in the Australian community with the ultimate aim of cure or elimination of the problem.”
ARH does not distribute funds to causes no matter how deserving they are, but finances researchers in areas of need as determined by our Medical Board. We have, over the last few years, funded research into Mental Health problems as well as to Indigenous health professionals to help address the multitude of areas of concern.
Please support us in our endeavours to change the lives of people who are in desperate need of help.
Take a look at our website http://www.australianrotaryhealth.org.au where you can meet some of our researchers and Indigenous scholars, they are wonderful individuals with shared goals.
Your support, no matter how small or large (preferred option) will further the health of people around the world.
ARH - Research by Australians, for Australians, in Australia for the benefit of all the world.
Rotary Clubs of the Northern Beaches banded together on Saturday (6 April) for a working bee at the Aspect Vern Burnett School, for students with Autism, at Forestville.
Rotarians scraped off large plastic transfers on sheeted glass, filled a sand pit, spread garden chips in a playground, painted the kitchen and water-blasted the pathways. “Working together to achieve a cleaner safer environment for students and staff was fun and satisfying,” said Warren McGurgan, acting Rotary Assistant Governor.
I am writing to see if you may be able to assist The Rotary Club of Norwest Sunrise in raising funds to support the purchase of a new wheelchair for Amruta Bhanushali. Amruta is almost 11 years old and attends the Hills School in Sydney. She was born with a number of chronic medical conditions that makes life more challenging for her but she makes the most of every day and brings smiles to the faces of all the people she meets. Amruta loves listening to pop music and getting out and about in the fresh air. On doctors advice, she urgently requires a better wheelchair to prevent her scoliosis worsening.The chair will cost in the order of $16,000 providing it is purchased before the end of financial year.
We have raised $2,200 towards the chair and have three pledges of $400 each, totalling $3,400, so we are 20% of the way there.
Our Rotary Club of Norwest Sunrise is coordinating the fundraising efforts and we are seeking 32 big hearted supporters to each purchase a spoke at $400 each to complete the fundraising drive.
Spokes (Special Persons Of Kindness and Empathy) will be recognised on the fundraising page at http://bit.ly/2Ioibhy
Due to Amruta’s complex medical needs she requires a customised seating system to meet all her needs, keep her comfortable and able to participate in the school environment. Due to the family’s current visa status Amruta is not eligible for funding through the National Disability Insurance Agency. Further details can be provided if your club is interested in supporting Amruta.
Kind regards,
Jeremy Carter
President
Rotary Norwest Sunrise
RAISING FUNDS TO SUPORT THE PURCHASE OF A NEW WHEELCHAIR
Please click HERE to view - download the ‘Rotary On The Move’ Newsletter for April 2019. Please feel free to share and send us your great membership stories.
Dr Vera Sistenich is an emergency medicine specialist in Australia, where her areas of interest include Aboriginal health, medical education and the development of physician training in the field of international emergency medicine. She gained her medical degree at the University of Oxford, and a masters of public health at Harvard University. Outside Australia, she has clinical experience in China, DRCongo, Nepal, Peru, South Africa, Vietnam and the UK. She has also worked with asylum seekers both at the Christmas Island Immigration Detention Centre in the Australian Indian Ocean territories, and on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea. In 2013-2014, she was Health Policy Advisor to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva, Switzerland. She is currently the project leader for HandUp Congo's Emergency Medicine Project, in collaboration with Rotary International.
Vera lives in Sydney with her husband and baby son. When not in the local hospitals, she enjoys ocean swimming and is also a hobby apiarist and candlemaker. Honey sold from her hives has raised nearly $10,000 dollars in support of the work of HandUp Congo.
Brian was raised and educated in Newcastle before moving to Maitland in 1979 to commence a 34 year career in law enforcement. After speaking at a Rotary meeting in 1999, Brian was asked to join the Rotary Club of East Maitland. Brian and Carol immediately engaged in Youth Exchange as host parents, before joining the District Committee as a YEO; today he engages inbound students in law topics.
Brian has served on most club director roles and held the Presidents chair in 2004-05, 2013-14 and 2018-19. Brian is a triple Sapphire Paul Harris Fellow, Carol a PHF Sapphire, recipient of the East Maitland Club Service Award in 2015 and Rotary International Partner Award in 2016.
At District level Brian has been involved in RAWCS, DIK, ROMAC, RYPEN, RYLA, Dream Cricket, RYDA, GSE and Science and Engineering Challenges, either directly or as a volunteer.
Spare time is shared between grandchildren, historic muscle cars and travelling.
The presentations regarding the concept of creating a New Rotary District in the Greater Sydney area has been seen by most if not all clubs in D9685. Many clubs have already made a decision on whether or not we should continue the with the conversations.
There have been many questions asked and many good suggestions made by clubs and individual Rotarians.
In order to capture the whole districts response and to have some meaningful discussion I have booked a meeting room at Hornsby RSL on Saturday 27/4/19 from 9am. This will be an opportunity to workshop the issues and address any unanswered questions.
This meeting is open to all but I would like a quorum of the current Presidents so we can capture a representative range of ideas and comments. The President Elect or another representative of the club is also invited to be present.
We will be taking the district vote at the Presidents’ meeting in May once clubs have had a chance to discuss the outcomes of this meeting. The vote in May will not be to form a new District; it will be to decide Yes, we will continue the discussions and planning, or No we will not continue. A later vote will be taken once a full proposal is developed – with club input.
Please click HERE to view - download the ‘Rotary On The Move’ Newsletter for March 2019. Please feel free to share and send us your great membership stories.
Often referred to as “the gang buster”, Detective Superintendent Deborah Wallace, has delved into the dark underbelly of crime investigating and dismantling some of the State's most feared gangs. Throughout a stellar career spanning more than 30 years with NSW Police, Deb has faced murderers, drug manufacturers and extortionists - to name just a few - armed with her trademark heels and colourful suits.
Currently Commander, State Crime Command Gangs Squad, Deb is a self-described diehard Parramatta Eels fan and proud "westie". Her pragmatic approach, tenacity, sense of humour and ability to separate her work and personal lives, has enabled Deb to thrive in high pressure police operations.
The recipient of numerous awards including the Australia Day Achievement Award, the Australian Crime and Prevention Award, and the Australian Police Medal, Deb is strongly committed to community endeavours and is a long-time supporter of Youth off the Streets.
Nominations from Rotary Clubs for a Past District Governor to be part of the Zone 8 Nominating Committee for the Rotary International Director for ZONE 8 (Australia and New Zealand) are being called for.
Any Rotary club may nominate a suitably qualified Past District Governor to sit on this selection committee. The Committee will meet in September 2019 at a venue to be decided.
Disastrous flooding in North Queensland has left many families and individuals in need of assistance in their recovery. The appeal is designed to assist those families and individuals whose needs are not covered by insurance and Government assistance. On Monday 4th Feb 2019, the Rotary Club of Townsville South West registered the following RAWCS - Rotary... Australia World Community Service RABS Project - (Rotary Australia Benevolent Society) Project: “D9550 North Queensland Flood Appeal”. Project Number 74-2018-19: (RABS) Link for donations: https://donations.rawcs.com.au/74-2018-19 Manager: PDG Robert Tardiani Assistant Manager: Bruce Scott
It is with great excitement that we announce Melbourne as the host city for the 2023 Rotary International Convention, the largest conference secured this century for Victoria.
Melbourne is a Big Events City! Set to deliver over $88 million to the Victorian economy, the Convention is the most valuable conference ever won for the state, with the four-day event anticipated to attract more than 20,000 Rotarians from around the world. The global spotlight will be on Melbourne and how we present ourselves to the world.
The Convention will take place 27-31 May 2023 using superb venues; Rod Laver Arena and the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre. All activities and events are within the Heart and Soul of Melbourne. Over 7000 hotel rooms over 50 properties across Melbourne. Our transport plan uses our famous trams, ferries and buses to quickly and easily move delegates between venues, hotels, event and restaurants. And of course, Melbourne is a very walkable city with many interesting routes and laneways to tantalise visitors.
In addition, the Victorian visitor economy will be bolstered with expenditure from thousands of visiting Rotarians utilising transport, hospitality, entertainment, venues, attractions, tourism services, event planning, freight customs broker services, technology rental, security and various other members of the local business event and tourism supply chain, as well as the flow on benefits across regional Victoria for pre and post touring. Rotary has a business heritage as well as community service. We are proud to make an impact on local business and create jobs.
The effort to secure this exceptional event was no small feat. Our approach was tenacious, going that extra mile to demonstrate Melbourne’s ability to meet the stringent bid regulations and strategically demonstrate our capacity to accommodate the specific needs of Rotarian delegates and Convention format. This was all made possible by a unified approach between the Melbourne Convention Bureau, Rotary Club of Melbourne, Rotarians from 5 local Districts, Melbourne City Council, State Government and Team Melbourne partners. They have come up with a package that is bound to thrill delegates.
This win is everyone’s and demonstrates what can be achieved when we collaborate and work together. The sublime benefits for local Rotarians include
Showcasing Melbourne to international Rotarians
Continuing the partnership of 5 local Rotary Districts
Local visibility and publicity for what Rotary achieves
Engagement of Rotarians in new events
Providing a magnet to attract new members
What Happens Next?
Our local Host Organising Committee is shovel ready. Team members are drawn from 5 local Districts, RC Melbourne, the Rotary Foundation and the 2014 Sydney RI Convention. We will work with an International Convention Committee and staff from Rotary International based in Evanston, USA to deliver the best possible Convention. The focus of the Host Organisation Committee is on Promotion, Publicity, Welcome, House of Friendship, Events, Customer Experience, Finance and Volunteers. The current team will be expanded in coming months to add more horsepower with a broader talent pool.
Melbourne has previously hosted this Convention in 1993. And the 2014 Sydney RI Convention has fast tracked our ability to create a wonderful event. Our Sydney colleagues have shared their experiences and systems to give us a flying start.
A vital part of hosting is to have an engaged and energised volunteer team to assist all visitors during the Convention. We wish to include volunteers from all ages - so be a Rotary Ambassador for Melbourne by registering to volunteer at the Convention in 2023! Recruitment starts immediately at multiple District Conferences to be held in Melbourne and Maryborough in February and March.
In the meantime – “Save The Date” 27-31 May 2023.
In the future a dedicated website is planned for volunteer registration and other Convention information - until then please connect to www.rotaryclubofmelbourne.org.au for progress updates.
We are pleased to announce Rotary and Mediators Beyond Borders International (MBBI) have entered into a service partnership to help enhance our club and district peace building efforts.
Rotary has worked with MBBI – an impact organization founded on the principle of people-centered peacebuilding – since 2013 to advance our common goals for peace. This new partnership will enable Rotary members to train with MBBI to sharpen their mediation, dialogue and other conflict transformation skills.
Mediators Beyond Borders International’s mission is to build local skills for peace and promote mediation worldwide. Recognizing that the only lasting peace is the one built by those involved, MBBI can help clubs and districts advance their peace and conflict prevention/resolution objectives by delivering services and enhancing skills for community assessments, trauma-informed peacebuilding, post-conflict reconciliation and recovery, cross-sector and network collaboration, project design, implementation, evaluation and peacebuilding leadership that prioritizes the elevation of women and youth as leaders.
MBBI and Rotary members can work together to save lives today and one day, eradicate violent conflict around the world. This partnership connects Rotarians, Rotaractors, and Rotary alumni with resources to take action, locally and globally. Rotary members play a key role in building connected communities. Connected communities are safer communities, and safer communities are more prosperous communities.
Read the partnership factsheet for more information on how clubs and districts can build peace in partnership with MBBI. Connect with MBBI to support a safer, connected, and prosperous world one community at a time.
We hope your district will welcome this opportunity to prevent conflicts in your communities; please share this information with clubs in your district.
The restructured Rotary Australia World Community Service (RAWCS), Health & Education Repurposing Activity (HEERA) – formally Donations in Kind regularly needs assistance from clubs and club members to assist with sorting and preparing equipment and general items for shipment to developing nations and other areas of need.
Although this work is on-going currently throughout February and March we have urgent need of assistance by 4 – 6 volunteers on Tuesdays & Thursdays for sorting and packing hospital linen for a project in Timor Leste’ and preparing hospital beds and other equipment for projects in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka.
The role of HEERA is to assist Australasian Rotary Clubs and other humanitarian organisations to access redundant health and educational equipment in our society and to sort, package and transport these items to communities locally, nationally and internationally where they are in great need. Whether it is for your own club project or not, assisting at HEERA is a great way of fulfilling Club International Service ideals. By your efforts a disadvantage person or community somewhere in the world will benefit with higher health or educational advantages.
The activity is open regularly on Tuesdays and Thursdays between the hours of 10:00am and 2:00pm for this purpose and some Saturdays for loading containers.
Address: Unit 4, 12 – 16 Anella Avenue Castle Hill Schedule:
As I have previously advised over the past year, most Rotary International rules are created or changed by district representatives from around the world meeting once every three years and voting on enactments that have been submitted by clubs and districts. So we, the club Rotarians are responsible for the rules; not RI or "Evanston". It is therefore up to every Rotarian to participate and voice our views.
I will be voting on behalf on D9685 in April in Chicago at the Council on Legislation. Many of the proposed enactments are not relevant to our district or to our zone; others are very relevant, such as an enactment to make Rotary magazines an optional part of our membership. This is likely to result in the demise of many, if not all of our regional magazines. Another proposed enactment is to ensure we record our volunteer time, and another to stop mandatory reporting of attendance. (this does not stop the clubs recoding attendance).
I will shortly be sending a list of enactments that I think are relevant to our district or to the world of Rotary as a whole. The link below will provide individual Rotarians with the option to personally support or object to proposed enactments. All of the proposed enactments are on the RI website. In this way all Rotarians can influence the final decision.
Statements of Support and Opposition Statements of support and opposition are due by Thursday, 14 February 2019. Statements will be shared with all representatives prior to the Council. Clubs and district conferences should submit their statements of support, opposition, or general comments regarding legislation using the online form here: https://rotary.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3z84O8VkGe5J1oV.
Please click HERE to view - download the ‘Rotary On The Move’ Newsletter for February 2019. Please feel free to share and send us your great membership stories.
The Rotary Leadership Institute is successful because it delivers skills and knowledge that Rotarians can apply straight away in their clubs. It (1) hones leadership skills, (2) builds Rotary knowledge, (3) gives a perspective about where Rotary has been and where it is now, and (4) shares a vision of what Rotary can be. This is all done while (5) networking with Rotarians from other clubs and (6) providing opportunities for partnering in service.
The two part course is held on a weekend or separately on Saturdays or Sundays to meet demand. Morning tea and lunch are provided. Each day starts at 8:00am and finishes around 4.00pm. The cost is $75 and we encourage Clubs to pay for their members attending.
Courses 50,51 and 52 are open for registration:
RLI 50 runs over the weekend 2-3 March at the District Office, Thornleigh.
RLI 51 runs Saturday 4th and 18th of May at the District Office, Thornleigh.
RLI 52 runs over the weekend of 1-2 June at a location to be decided in the Penrith/Lower Mountains area.
You are invited to the annual Welcome Home Youth Exchange Dinner for all our Returning and Inbound Students at Muirfield Golf Club, Barclay Rd, North Rocks
on Friday 8 February 2019 at 6:30 for 7pm.
Cost is $40 per person. Normal practice is for the Club to pay for their inbound and
returning students and for family members and friends to pay for themselves.
RSVP Friday 1 February 2019.
Payment by cheque to Treasurer, Rotary Club of Carlingford, PO Box 2740 Carlingford Court, NSW 2118 or EFT to BSB 062 300 Account number 2802 2803. You will need to include the names of the people you are paying for and your club in either method.
Each year Rotary Clubs have the privilege and honour of suggesting candidates for District Governor from their membership. District 9685 and its predecessors have a great history of Rotarians, supported by their Clubs, who have stepped up to the role.
District 9685 is now calling for applications for nomination as Rotary International District Governor for the 2021-2022 Rotary year.
An applicant must be a current member of good standing of a Club in the District with at least 5 years Rotary membership as at June 2019, as well as having served as President of a Rotary Club for a full term.
It is a challenging and rewarding appointment with a structured and exciting two year training and preparation period, prior to assuming the position.
It’s your opportunity to lead and inspire Rotarians in Clubs across the District.
As an initial expression of interest, please contact, PDG Bruce Lakin, Chairman of the Nominating Committee, via email at brucelakin@teleware.com.au or mobile 0419 876073. He will assist you by providing information about the role and the selection procedure.
You can help even if you are not intending to apply.
All Rotarians know someone who would be an excellent Governor and maybe need someone to tell them just that, so please encourage them to apply. If the response is “not just yet”, they could contact the Nominating Committee Chair to get information for the future.
Key dates are:
1 March 2019: Formal Application Details and Package available
22 March 2019: Closing date for applications
7 April 2019: District Governor 2021-2022 Selection Interviews
(candidates must attend the District Office in Thornleigh in person)
beautiful images, graphics, videos and audio – bringing it to life
links to compelling stories on a range of topics – highly engaging
a menu that allows quick and easy navigation.
We think this web page will serve a number of purposes:
making Rotarians even more proud to be members
telling the story of who we are to prospective members and others
conveying the value of the Foundation in delivering high-impact projects
giving recognition to the work of our wonderful partners, such as Shelterbox.
In other words, this is much more than an annual report. It’s an outstanding new tool to convey how – together – we are making a difference in the world. We’d encourage you to share it with all your audiences.
Tip: It’s even more powerful if you click the full screen icon at the bottom right.
2019-20 RI president announces his presidential theme
By Arnold R. Grahl Photos by Alyce Henson
Rotary International President-elect Mark Daniel Maloney explained his vision for building a stronger Rotary, calling on leaders to expand connections to their communities and to embrace innovative membership models.
RI President-elect Mark Maloney announces the 2019-20 presidential theme, Rotary Connects the World, to incoming district governors in San Diego, California, USA.
Maloney, a member of the Rotary Club of Decatur, Alabama, USA, unveiled the 2019-20 presidential theme, Rotary Connects the World, to incoming district governors at Rotary’s annual training event, the International Assembly, in San Diego, California, USA, on Monday.
“The first emphasis is to grow Rotary — to grow our service; to grow the impact of our projects; but, most importantly, to grow our membership so that we can achieve more,” Maloney said.
Maloney believes that connection is at the heart of the Rotary experience.
“(Rotary) allows us to connect with each other, in deep and meaningful ways, across our differences,” Maloney said. “It connects us to people we would never otherwise have met, who are more like us than we ever could have known. It connects us to our communities, to professional opportunities, and to the people who need our help.” Maloney also called on every Rotary and Rotaract club to identify segments of their community not represented in their club by creating a membership committee with diverse members. “Through Rotary, we connect to the incredible diversity of humanity on a truly unique footing, forging deep and lasting ties in pursuit of a common goal,” he added. “In this ever more divided world, Rotary connects us all.”
Maloney urged leaders to offer alternative meeting experiences and service opportunities to make it easier for busy professionals and people with many family obligations to serve in leadership roles.
“We need to foster a culture where Rotary does not compete with the family, but rather complements it,” Maloney said. “That means taking real, practical steps to change the existing culture: being realistic in our expectations, considerate in our scheduling, and welcoming of children at Rotary events on every level.”
Maloney said many of the barriers that prevent people from serving as leaders in Rotary are based on expectations that are no longer relevant.
“It is time to adapt, to change our culture, and to convey the message that you can be a great district governor without visiting every club individually, and a great president without doing everything yourself.”
Relationship with the United Nations
During 2019-20, Rotary will host a series of presidential conferences around the world, focusing on Rotary’s relationship with the United Nations and the UN’s sustainable development goals that many Rotary service projects support. More information will be available in July.
In 2020, the United Nations will celebrate the 75th anniversary of its charter and its mission of promoting peace. Rotary was one of 42 organizations the United States invited to serve as consultants to its delegation at the 1945 San Francisco conference, which led to the UN’s charter. For decades, Rotary has worked alongside the United Nations to address humanitarian issues around the world. Today, Rotary holds the highest consultative status that the UN offers to nongovernmental organizations.
“Rotary shares the United Nations’ enduring commitment to a healthier, more peaceful, and more sustainable world,” Maloney said. “And Rotary offers something no other organization can match: an existing infrastructure that allows people from all over the world to connect in a spirit of service and peace and take meaningful action toward that goal.”
Q&A is the show where YOU (the audience) sets the agenda by asking the tough questions of Australia’s politicians, pundits and opinion-makers. We are live to air across the nation every Monday night at 9.30pm. We have had the pleasure of many Rotary members from across Melbourne and Sydney attending our shows during 2018 and we would like to invite members of your community to attend in 2019.
We know your members are enthusiastic to engage in the national discussion. As we head towards a likely federal election in May, there will be lots to discuss and plenty of questions that needs answers!
Would you be interested in organising a small (or large!) group for your members to attend Q&A in the New Year? We can help with free transport in and around Sydney for your group (within about 2 hours drive). Every Monday night we organise a bus from a different area of Sydney and its surrounds – please let us also know if that would be of interest to you and we will find a suitable date. If you are from further afield and happen to be with your group on a Monday night in Sydney (or individually too!) please also let us know and we will give you priority. For more information please contact us: Email: qanda@abc.net.au Ph: 02 8333 4065 Web: www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/ We look forward to seeing you at Q&A!
Georgie Gardner is co-host of TODAY alongside Deb Knight and newsreader Tom Steinfort.
She is one of the country’s best known and most popular television presenters, anchoring Channel Nine’s 6pm bulletin on Friday and Saturday nights, and guest host and regular contributor for Today Extra before taking on the TODAY hosting role with Karl Stefanovic in January 2018.
For seven years from 2007 to 2014 Georgie was part of Nine’s hugely popular breakfast show, TODAY, as their News Presenter and fill-in host, covering everything from natural disasters to politics along with an array of world events.
Georgie hails from Perth, Western Australia and was educated at Dalkeith Primary School and St Hilda’s Anglican Girls School.
In 1992, Gardner moved to Newcastle in New South Wales to take up a cadetship at Radio 2NX where she reported, wrote and read the news. In her debut year she was rewarded with radio’s highest award – a RAWARD as Australia’s Best Newcomer to metropolitan radio.
She moved to Sydney’s 2DAY FM newsroom in 1994, spending three years as the drive-time newsreader before joining the Ten Network as a television news reporter and fill-in presenter in 1997.
In 1998, Gardner moved to the Seven Network to read the Late News. She went on to co-host the network’s early morning Sunrise program for two years.
Gardner joined the Nine Network in July 2002 to present various news bulletins as well as the weather on the 6.00pm weekday news. She currently presents the 6pm news in Sydney on Friday and Saturday nights as well as regularly filling in on Today Extra.
She is passionate about charities relating to young people and is an ambassador for Red Kite, Literacy Planet and School for Life.
Georgie is mother to Bronte and Angus, and along with her husband Tim, they reside in Sydney.
Each club has received a Gnome from DG Susan, as she has visited your clubs, to decorate and bring to Newcastle, as the District 9685 Gnomes gather.
Join the Rotary Rocks Gnome in Newcastle as each club decorates a gnome that represents their own club – will we see the marketing gnome from Carlingford, the running gnome from Lindfield, the operatic gnome from Woy Woy, the antique gnome from Springwood or the caroling gnome from North Ryde and Macquarie Park?
You’ll have to bring your club’s gnome to Newcastle and find out!
Decorate your gnome before 29 March 2019
Deliver your gnome to NEX, Newcastle when you come to the Conference
See all the different gnomes from all corners of our amazing District. Be creative, think outside the gnome and turn your tiny gnome into the giant power of your Rotary club!
The Club that has the Gnome voted most popular by the Rotary Rocks Conference Attendees will be awarded a Paul Harris Fellow, that they will be able to present to a local COMMUNITY member.
Martha Jabour has been the Executive Director of the Homicide Victims’ Support Group (Aust) Inc. since 1993. She was employed by the Institute of Forensic Medicine in 1993 to co-ordinate and to set up the support group, providing counselling, support and referrals for the family members of homicide within the counselling section.
Martha trained as a grief and trauma counsellor after the death of her second son Michael to cot death at the Bereavement Care Centre and the National Centre for Childhood Grief. She acquired experience within the areas of Grief, Trauma, Policy Development, Strategic Planning and responding to crisis management whilst working both in a voluntary and paid position with the Sudden Infant Death Association of NSW. Her interests are to further promote victims’ rights and needs, with a special focus on crime prevention, particularly in the areas of domestic violence, mental health and juvenile justice.
Kelly Fedor is Channel 9’s Chief Court Reporter and calls the Supreme Court her second home. During her six years with the network she has reported on the life sentence handed to the state’s most infamous detective Roger Rogerson, the jailing of former Labor MP Eddie Obeid, the trial of property developer Ron Medich and the arrest of Chris Dawson 37 years after his wife disappeared. She is also regularly in the thick of it, covering bushfires, floods and more recently the Sydney to Hobart race.
Her television career followed a long stint in radio at Sydney’s number one station 2GB where she worked with Alan Jones and Ray Hadley. There she also covered some of the nation’s biggest stories which included the 2011 Brisbane floods, the arrest of Malcolm Naden and the funeral for underworld figure Carl Williams.
Kelly loves her job because she has a front seat as history is made, it allows her to write, tell stories and develop connections with inspiring people. It also means she doesn’t have to sit in an office from nine to five.
Kelly is from the Blue Mountains and is the daughter of Margaret and Ivan Fedor. Ivan was a passionate Rotarian which means the organisation has been a part of her life since she was a child. In fact, at the age of just 16 she worked hard to secure a spot in the Rotary Youth Exchange program and she moved to the US state of North Carolina. During those 12 months she got to go to Prom & Homecoming, be a part of the track team and travel across the country in a bus for three weeks. It was a year which helped shape her life.
William Chan is an urbanist and design strategist with a passion to create resilient and inclusive places for people. Educated in Australia and Italy, William graduated with the University Medal in Architecture and Convocation Medal from the University of Sydney. Supported by the Rotary Foundation Global Grant, he undertook further study at the Politecnico di Milano as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar in 2015-2017. His Dottore Magistrale thesis was unanimously awarded cum laude.
William has worked on sustainable urban development projects for Arup Foresight, Hassell, Cox Architecture and the Australian Government Department of the Environment. With architecture and design experience in both the private and public sector, William is a World Economic Forum Global Shaper and Fellow in sustainable cities with the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). He is a Research Affiliate with the Center for Sustainable Urban Development (CSUD) at Columbia University's Earth Institute in New York. He was most recently a Fellow in innovation and executive education with the Qatar Foundation’s World Innovation Summit for Education.
William has led community-building projects for the homeless, slum dwellers and refugees around the world. In 2009 he contributed to Global Studio in South Africa, an action-research program to improve the lives of the urban poor, and returned in 2012 as a project associate in India. He assisted the 2013-2015 People Building Better Cities: Participation and Inclusive Urbanization travelling exhibition, and is currently involved in the Agenda 2030 Local Projects Challenge. Recently, he founded a plastic waste circular economy initiative that educates youth in design-thinking, circular economy and STEM skills, which was presented at the 2018 UN General Assembly High Level Meeting on Social Business, Youth and Technology.
William has been named one of Australia's top 100 Brightest Young Minds, an inaugural Australian Government Creative Young Star and UNICEF Young Ambassador. He is the recipient of an Australian Achievement in Architecture Award from the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) and the Order of Australia Association Medallion for leadership and service to the community.
William’s involvement in Rotary began at the age of 12, where he completed a community service award program through his local club. Throughout high school, he contributed to Interact and was elected President as a Year 11 student. He has since participated in RYLA. In his spare time, William volunteers as a surf lifesaver at Tamarama Beach.
If you have been a Rotary Volunteer at a Polio National Immunisation Day, please bring your yellow vest to wear at the End Polio Now Walk on Saturday afternoon.
The Conference Host Hotel is the Holiday Inn Express - details about special Rotary rates are available on the Conference website.
A range of accommodation options are available on the 2019 Conference website. As some delegates prefer to book directly with the hotels, we have provided websites however we would also suggest you research other booking sites closer to the date (availability is usually listed six months in advance) such as www.wotif.com, www.lastminute.com.au or www.expedia.com. You can also visit www.visitnewcastle.com.au for additional options and tourism information.
On Saturday Afternoon, we will walk from the Newcastle Town Hall down to and along Newcastle waterfront in raising awareness of Rotary’s campaign to End Polio. Rotarians will join together to walk from across District 9685 and other surroundings Districts. Members of District 9670 will be joining with us, local school children and the general public will also be invited to join with us.
Bring your End Polio Now Shirt or End Polio Now Shirts will be available to purchase from the RDU Stand at the Conference for $15. If you don’t own a Polio shirt just wear something red. Prizes will be given for best dressed club, lady, man and child.
The local media will be briefed to get the best coverage out to the community.
We meet at 2.30pm at Civic Park adjacent to Conference Venue.
A brief ceremony will take place then off we go on a level walk along the foreshores easy walking for all.
We will be rattling buckets to raise further funds-remember $1 saves a child’s life.
Dominic commenced at PCYC NSW in November 2016. Dominic has extensive executive experience across Government, Events and entertainment, IT services and sporting organisations, with a 20 year career as an Army Officer which included representational and operational experience. He brings to PCYC NSW a strong values based leadership style, respect for the Police and history, and a passion to grow the legacy of PCYC NSW to deliver expanded empowering experiences to youth and the community.
If you joined Rotary after March 12 2018, then you won't have had the wonderful opportunity to attend a Rotary District Conference......YET!
We'd love you to experience the magic and wonder of a District Conference, hear inspirational speakers, see amazing projects in the Project Showcase and enjoy the fun of the Rock n' Roll evening on Saturday night.
You can register to attend the FULL Conference (Friday Night through to Sunday Lunchtime), for just $200 for the WHOLE conference.
Susan Templeman spent 1981 in Mexico as a Rotary Youth Exchange student, sponsored by Strathfield Club at aged 17. Prior to that she had taken part in Rotary debating competitions, joined the Rotaract Club in Strathfield and attended RYLA.
On returning to Australia, she completed a BA (Communications) degree at the (now) University of Technology, whole working for 2GB’S Mike Carlton breakfast show.
In 1985, Susan began work as a journalist in the Canberra Press Gallery for Radio 2UE. For three years she reported on Australian politics, and then spent three years as a foreign correspondent, working in New York and London.
Returning to Australia in late 1990, Susan and her husband Ron built a home in the Blue Mountains. Working first at Telecom in the media relations team, Susan soon found herself with a new baby setting up her own freelance business.
Within a few years she had formed Media Skills Pty Ltd, a specialist media training business, which could she operated for almost 25 years, later becoming Templeman Consulting. Working across every part of the private sector - from farming to IT, biotech to investment banking - and extensively in Federal, State and Territory departments and the non-government sphere, Susan helped hundreds of organisations and tens of thousands of individuals improve their ability to handle media interviews.
While running a thriving business, in 2009 Susan decided to run for public office. She won preselection for the Labor Party to contest the 2010 Federal election in the marginal seat of Macquarie, representing her home of the Blue Mountains and the neighbouring Hawkesbury.
She lost that election, but was determined to recontest, and was again unsuccessful at the 2013 election. A few weeks later, her family was one of 200 who lost their home in the 2013 Winmalee bushfires.
She has since rebuilt the family home, and her continued commitment to the local community delivered results in 2016, when she was elected as the Federal Member for Macquarie.
Coordinator of Master of Public Health, at the Institute of Koorie Education, and academic School of Medicine, Deakin University.
Dr Charles is a very proud Kaurna man for the Adelaide Plains, and father of five children. James has lived at many different places around Australia, including Newcastle NSW while working at the University of Newcastle and Albury while working the Bachelor of Podiatric Medicine program at Charles Sturt University. James was one of the first Aboriginal Podiatrist in Australia, the first Aboriginal person to receive a Master of Podiatry, and first Aboriginal Podiatrist to receive a PhD (Aboriginal foot health).
James has volunteered his time at many Aboriginal community-controlled organisations, boards and committees and was, President of the Indigenous Allied Health Australia 2009 – 2010, and Chairperson of Indigenous Allied Health Australia Network 2008, Vice President Indigenous Allied Health Australia 2011 and was also very proud to be selected to be a representative at the national “Close the Gap” committee in 2008-2009.
Dr Charles has received many awards over the years including the National NAIDOC Scholar of the year award winner in 2017 for his teaching, research and work in the Aboriginal community. He received the 2017 Faculty of Science, PVC Student Learning Student Experience Survey Award for his teaching in Podiatry at Charles Sturt University. In 2014, James received the Golden Microscope Award, from Australian Rotary Health Indigenous Health for his innovative foot and ankle work and his research in Aboriginal foot health. Dr Charles has also received the prestigious Alumni Accolade Award from the University of South Australia in 2018.
1. Take a step into the past at Newcastle Memorial Walk
Let’s begin with an activity that’s enjoyable, educational, and absolutely free.
Head out for a stroll at Newcastle Memorial Walk – a stunning piece of infrastructure dedicated for ANZAC heroes. Built to commemorate the centennial anniversary of ANZAC Gallipoli landing and the beginning of Newcastle’s steel-making industry – a journey to this coastal walkway lets you pay tribute to the men and women who dedicated their lives for Newcastle and the whole Australia.
It’s open to the public 24 hours everyday so there’s no excuse to miss this terrific walk.
2. Visit the koalas, kangaroos and more at the Blackbutt Reserve
If you like a good nature walk, family picnics and the wildlife – Blackbutt Reserve is a must-see for locals and tourists alike.
Open everyday from 10am to 5pm, people from all ages can get close to the rich habitat of kangaroos, koalas, geckos, and more intriguing animal life without having to leave the city. You can choose to stay in a picnic spot, join a guided tour, or appreciate the wildlife exhibits and incredible encounters with various kinds of animals.
Everyone enjoys free entrance and great facilities for kids and adults. You only have to pay for parking. The walking tracks inside the reserve are also a good way to get fit.
3. Surf and Sightsee at Nobbys Beach and the Lighthouse
Winter or summer, Nobbys Beach remains among the favourite beach destinations in New South Wales. (It’s also considered the safest among Newcastle’s beaches.)
Whether you want to go for a long walk, or surf for pleasure, this place is perfect for you. Take your camera to the lighthouse, marvel at the panoramic view from its vantage point and take a picture of the surrounding areas.
4. Go back in time at Fort Scratchley
History buff or not, you’d be intrigued to know that Fort Scratchley fired on an invading naval vessel on June 8, 1942 and the fort itself has more than a century of history to boast.
This famous coastal defence and fortification has been turned into a museum. Children below four years old can join the guided tours for free. Kids from 4-14 will have to pay $6.50 while adults pay $12.50 if they wish to participate in the tours. They are scheduled six days a week (it is closed on Tuesdays) from 10am to 4pm
4. Seek sunshine, the ocean and new mates at Merewether Ocean Baths
Merewether is a quiet suburb of Newcastle known for its 100 metres by 90 metres communal yet well-maintained swimming pool.
The best thing about this destination is the gathering of locals and visitors stopping by for a swim – a cultural aspect that is unique in this part of Newcastle.
5. Explore wines and winemaking in Newcastle and the Hunter Region
Newcastle sits near some of the best winemaking spots in Australia. In Hunter Valley alone, there are more than 150 of them – that’s a lot for you not to even visit one or two.
Wineries are picturesque destinations on their own. But if you love tasting various types of wines, then you’re in for a double treat. Time out Australia rounded up 10 of the best vineyards in the Hunter Valley that you shouldn’t miss.
Learn about the top-notch types of wine that earned the love of Aussies and take fantastic photos during winery tours at the Hunter Region.
6. Take a tour inside and around Christ Church Cathedral
What else makes it remarkable was its formidable history. It survived the Japanese attack in 1942 and a devastating earthquake in Newcastle in 1989. From this seemingly unshakable place of worship, you also get a magnificent overlooking view of Newcastle.
With all the holiday shopping demands you have to meet, you want a place to get all you need at one stop. Well, when in Newcastle, Darby Street has you covered.
Looking for the best party dress or an awesome gift for your loved ones? The shopping district that is Darby Street has delightful range of items you’d love to take home. Don’t forget your shopping list to guide you through this dizzying hub of all great gifts.
Whether you want to hit a hip bazaar or a nifty cafeteria, Darby Street offers a lot of great possibilities.
8. Marvel at artistic creations at Newcastle Art Gallery
More than 5000 works of art are housed in this gallery or museum. Being the second oldest city in Australia, Newcastle has accumulated a massive amount of culturally and historically relevant artworks. Come by anytime from 10am to 5pm – Tuesdays to Sundays.
Entrance to the gallery is free (unless for some special exhibitions). Note that if you’re coming as a group, book ahead of time to avail free guided tours and avoid parking hassles.
9. Savour the view of Newcastle Harbour on a ferry ride
A tour in Newcastle is incomplete without witnessing the trade that led to its economic boom: the coal transport.
Watch myriad of ships docking its harbour and transporting coal to many parts of the world. Newcastle has the world’s largest coal export port. If you hop on a ferry and stay long enough, you will see the bustling trade and enjoy a variety of vessels stopping by the busiest seaport in New South Wales.
If money and time are not an issue, book a cruise at Nova Cruises (http://www.novacruises.com.au) or Moonshadow Cruises (http://www.moonshadow.com.au). If you want to save up, you can board the Stockton Ferry, which is scheduled to leave every 20 minutes or so. It’s open from 5:30 in the morning until midnight from Monday to Saturday. On Sundays, it operates from 8:30am to 10pm.
10. Take 360-degree view of the city from Queen’s Wharf Tower
Strong limbs and calves are required as you would have to climb 180 steps to get to the top of the Queen’s Wharf Tower and enjoy the panoramic view of the city below.
The 40.3 metre-high tower was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1988 as part of a vision Joy Cummings – the first female Lord Mayor winning the position in 1974. Besides these political and social milestones, the wharf is worth a visit for the spectacular views it offers the visitors.
From this vantage point, you will get acquainted with the lovely coastlines and cityscapes of Newcastle.
11. Crank up your creativity and take a step back in time at the Lock-up
Once you have started digging the spots on NSW State Heritage Register, you can never miss the Lock-up. It’s among Newcastle’s historically and culturally significant buildings.
A quick look at the structure gives you an idea of the prosperity enjoyed by early settlers in Newcastle. The building was constructed from a Sydney sandstone and completed in 1861, the same time the Newcastle Police Station was built. The Lock-up is literally a prison cell converted into a cultural and art hub – a small local treasure in Newcastle.
Admission is free and the art pieces are intriguing. Check out the posters outside the building for upcoming exhibitions.
12. Stroll about the Bathers Way Coastal Walk to see the picturesque Newcastle
Put on your most comfortable walking shoes and head out for a delightful stroll at the Bathers Way Coastal Walk.
Visitors and locals alike will appreciate the beauty of Newcastle ocean and beaches. Starting from Nobbys Headland to Merewether baths, the walk would take about 5 km. A brisk walk not only keeps weight gain at bay, it also offers great views for your eyes to feast on. That’s a double treat you don’t want to miss out on.
Along the way, you also get to meet nice people who equally enjoy this fantastic walk. Now, that’s a triple treat.
13. Escape from the mundane and head to Myall Lakes National Park
Looking for bush, beach, and lake in one recreational space? Myall Lakes National Park is the weekend escape you have been longing to find.
Get away from the city and melt away your stress with an overnight stay at the park, a stroll by the spectacular beach, a good swim at the lake, or a much-needed walking tour by the bush. Myall Lakes National Park has you covered. People of all ages will find a lot of interesting things to do around here any time of the year.
14. Get around on foot, by bike or on a canoe at Hunter Wetlands Centre
Once you get off a car, it’s just you and the rich flora and fauna. There are areas where you can have barbecue and a proper picnic. You’d be glad to know that this revitalized 45-hectare wetland can be accessed seven days a week from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
There is so much to see and explore around this hidden jewel and the activities abound for all ages.
15. Stop by Newcastle Harbour Foreshore Park
Well-maintained parks may not be a rarity in Newcastle but the view of the sea and the Newcastle Harbour – the hub of the coal export industry – make Foreshore Park extra special.
On the way to the park, pay attention to the old buildings, brick houses, and Victorian-inspired terraces. A double take is all you need to have a glimpse of Newcastle’s glorious past and exciting future.
16. Bike around the city and spend as much time as you like at each destination.
Sunny days are a great time to explore a city on a bicycle. Newcastle is no exception.
Bike tours are fantastic because you control where you want to stop by and how long you want to stay at a landmark, historical site, or tourist attraction. You also benefit physically from the leg exercise.
NEX is conveniently located in the heart of Newcastle. It is just 35 minutes from Newcastle airport and is serviced by a range of public transport. Located in the harbour city precinct on the corner of King Street and Union Street, Newcastle West, NEX is central to boutique accommodation, trendy cafes and bars, pristine beaches and the Port of Newcastle foreshore.
NEX is located at 309 King St, Newcastle. It is also known as Wests Newcastle.
Christine Nixon joined the New South Wales Police in 1972 with our current District Governor Susan Wakefield (nee Thompson). As Christine rose through the ranks, she was often the first – to work in operational policing in Darlinghurst / Kings Cross in 1976; to win an American Scholarship to study at the Kennedy School of Government Harvard University, USA; to become an Assistant Commissioner in 1994 in charge of Human Resources. She also became a Region Commander for the Western Suburbs, Gosford and the North Shore and finally the Wollongong and the South Coast of New South Wales.
During her career Christine championed the causes of women in policing, victims of violence and sexual assault, gay and lesbian police employees and disadvantaged groups. She was a strong advocate for Community Policing and better treatment of Police Service employees.
Christine was the 19th Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police leading 14,000 staff, operating across more than 500 locations and overseeing an annual budget of $1.7 billion. She joined Victoria Police in April 2001, after serving with the New South Wales Police from 1972 and in 1994 became the first Female Assistant Commissioner in 1994. She lead the Victorian Bushfire Recovery and Reconstruction Agency after to 2009 Black Saturday Bushfires.
Christine is a Fellow of ANZSOG, The Australian Institute of Police Management, The Australian Institute of Management and The Institute of Public Administration Australia.
Currently Christine is Deputy Chancellor of Monash University, Chair of Monash College Pty Ltd and Chair of Good Shepherd Microfinance and an Independent Councillor Royal Australian College of General Practitioners..
Libby has been a Police Officer for nearly 30 years, 19 years of which she served with the New South Wales (NSW) Police Force and during that time she specialised in crime prevention, sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, victim support and Indigenous issues. In 1992, she established and co-ordinated the first “Victim Support Unit” for the NSW Police and worked extensively with victims of crime. (Award received – Rotary Pride of Workmanship).
In 1996 – 1997, she held a position on the NSW Police Commissioner’s State Domestic Violence team. Libby developed and implemented the “Family Violence Awareness Training for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities” which she delivered to Aboriginal communities throughout NSW and to inmates in various Correctional Centres. (Awards received – Parliament House – Stop Domestic Violence Day Award; NSW Police Commissioners Commendation).
Throughout her NSW Policing years, Libby built a strong rapport with many communities, also focusing on Indigenous Elders and Leaders and she developed the Indigenous Elder’s Group, “Elders Walkabout”. (Award received – International Humanitarian Paul Harris Award).
Libby’s continuing interest for community, culture and crime prevention led her to explore the international arena by joining the Australian Federal Police International Deployment Group in 2008. Since then, she has been deployed to the Northern Territory during the “Government Intervention” (2008), Sudan with the United Nations (2009), Timor-Leste with the United Nations (2010-11) and then the AFP Timor-Leste Police Development Program (TLPDP) in Dili (2012-14).
From 2014 to 2019, Libby was based in Sydney working in various AFP roles, she resigned from the AFP in February 2018.
Her biggest achievement was during her personal time where she developed her own crime prevention initiative, a youth and community centre in Timor-Leste. The initiative is a registered RAWCS project and Libby joined the Rotary Club of Blackheath in 2014.
John and Donna live in Invercargill, New Zealand’s southernmost city.
A chartered accountant, for the past 20 years John was CEO of the Community Trust of Southland, a community-owned philanthropic $225m investment trust, which grants $7m a year for community projects in Southland. John stepped down from this role in mid 2017.
John joined the Invercargill South Club in 1994, and has enjoyed a number of Rotary roles since then, including leading a GSE Team to D5220 in California in 2003, leading the Australasian RYLA Team to Gallipoli, Turkey in April 2005 for the 90th anniversary of the Allied landing at ANZAC Cove, and was District Governor in 2012-13. John has been his District Trainer, District Membership Chair, District GSE Chair, and is a regular MC and speaker at Rotary Conferences, Institutes, and Presidents’ Elect Training events. For the 2015/16 Rotary year John was a member of Rotary International’s Vocational Service Committee.
From 1 July 2016 John has been the Rotary Co-ordinator for New Zealand, and 8 Australian Districts. John was also a training leader at the Rotary International Assembly in San Diego in January 2017, and again in January 2018.
Outside of work, family and Rotary John has been and is involved in the governance of various organisations, including Chair of Camp Quality New Zealand, Chair of Philanthropy New Zealand, Trustee of the Ngai Tahu Fund, Chair of the Catholic Diocese of Dunedin Board of Management, Chair of the Verdon College Board of Trustees, and is a Justice of the Peace.
Heath Ducker overcame a Dickensian childhood, to achieve professional and personal success.
Heath is an author, lawyer and CEO of the Youth Insearch Foundation. He’s a professional public speaker, having addressed audiences all over Australia and overseas. His most recent speech was to the Australian Family Law Conference, on Children and the Family Law System.
Heath was Advisor to the NSW Attorney General from 2009 to 2011. He was a Lawyer with international law firm, Dentons, from 2006 to 2009, and at the United Nations Special Consultative Body, the South Asian Human Rights Documentation Centre in India, in 2005.
Heath led treks across the Kokoda Trail for Adventure Kokoda from 2003-2005. He was Executive Officer upon Australia’s Tall Sailing Ship the Young Endeavour in 2004, the Co-Founder and Coordinator of the Young Insearch Project from 1997 to 2000 and Leader of the team that established Youth Insearch in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
Heath’s story was featured on the ABC’s Australian Story in 2006 (introduced by Prime Minister John Howard) and his Autobiography, “A Room at the Top” (forward written by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd) was published by Random House in 2009.
Heath’s other achievements include appearances on the:
ABC’s Q&A as a panel member
Channel 7’s Sunrise & The Morning Show with Kerrie-Ann
ABC Radio National, Life Matters & Mornings with Geraldine Doogue
Books “100 to1 an Australian Journey” and “Mosaic”
Several other radio, TV, newspaper appearances
As a Youth Advocate, Heath held audiences with the Prime Minister Howard, and the Premier of NSW Bob Carr.
Heath is a recipient of the Australian Davos Australian Leadership Award, presented to him by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
Emmanuel Musoni is the chair of Great Lakes Agency for Peace and Development International (GLAPDI), a community organisation founded in 2012 in Sydney. Emmanuel has been engaged in community development for many years both in Australia and overseas.
Emmanuel was raised in a refugee camp until he was 16 years. This has led him to be strongly committed and passionate about advocating for better settlement and integration of refugees and migrants who are yarning to call rural and regional Australia home. To date, Emmanuel has settled around 100 people in regional areas since 2016. At the same time, he is championing conversations with communities in regional areas on the strategies of welcoming and retaining migrants in the community and guiding research efforts in this field.
With the support of Scanlon Foundation and Regional Australia Institute, Emmanual has completed the development of “a community based national toolkit” which will guide the next generation of Regional migration.
The Enormous Horns will join us for Saturday night’s dinner dance and will feature the music you grew up with. Come dressed as your favourite musician, band or song. There will be prizes for the best dressed individuals and clubs. Let your hair down, drag out your dancing shoes and show Newcastle that “ROTARY ROCKS’.
The Enormous Horns are a fun party band with an emphasis on entertainment, quality musicianship and classy arrangements. The Enormous Horns are an 8 piece all singing, all dancing, party band from Sydney. The Enormous Horns can play anything from Rock, Pop and Soul to Big Band Swing and Rock ‘n Roll, from quiet dinner music before the party gets going, to fully costumed routines from the Village People, Blues Brothers, Rocky Horror and the Disco era.
Here is our new Rotary Foundation newsletter. I hope you find it interesting and informative. I wish you the best for the festive season and hope you have a good break and an enjoyable time with family and friends. As always, I thank Jim Wells for his publication of the newsletter.
We all know that large Global Grants from the Foundation make it possible to undertake high impact international projects – but did you know they can be used for local projects too?
A good example is the Hills Kellyville Club in north-west Sydney. They were able to invest US$10,400 of their own funds and deliver US$116,557 in advanced imaging facilities that their local children’s hospital needed to treat kids with serious sight impairment.
And there’s the Waikerie Club in South Australia. With a club investment of US$15,152, they’ve had grants approved that will enable them to provide a desperately needed US$152,945 dialysis unit in a remote indigenous community in the north-west of the state.
If your club has a vision to create a major project that will have a significant impact on people’s lives, consider Rotary Foundation grants – for international and local projects.
Foundation funding would not be possible without the wonderful generosity of Rotarians and clubs!
Rotary Matters is a weekly one hour community radio program on Triple H 100.1 FM. The purpose is to reach and engage interest from non Rotarians into the many causes, projects and people who make up Rotary. Subjects covered in recent months include Shelterbox, ROMAC, RAM, RYPEN, RYDA, Interplast, Pride of Workmanship Awards, National Youth Science Forum, Model United Nations Assembly, End Polio Now, Dementia Awareness, overseas aid and community building projects in Philippines, Nepal and India. Each program includes a What’s On of district activities hosted by Rotary which are accessible to the wider non Rotary public.
Clubs are invited to propose ideas for exposure on Rotary Matters. Suggestions include interviews with:
Someone recently returned from an overseas aid project.
A Pride of Workmanship Award winner
A beneficiary of a Rotary fundraising project (eg Lifeline which is a beneficiary of the Bobbin Head Cycle Classic)
A returned youth exchange student
Host of a regular Rotary fundraising activity
A prominent club member with an interesting life story
Clubs are also invited to include Rotary Matters on the distribution list for their regular newsletters, to provide content for the weekly What’s On segment. Triple H 100.1 FM covers Hornsby and Kuring gai but can also be picked up outside this area. Rotary Matters is keen to profile activities throughout the 9685 District.
We’re all mourning the loss of a wonderful man – a great friend and one of very few people who achieve the status of ‘a real life legend’ in their own life time …
He sustained a mild heart attack last Saturday week – few days in hospital – home last Thursday. I enjoyed three hour long discussions and he was VERY relaxed … full on as we covered Rotary in general, our mutual challenge with the Century of Rotary in Oceania, political correctness and – reluctantly – his condition. He was still sharp as a tack – only his mortal body was failing …
Paul knew his time was up – he chuckled as he told me his ‘parts’ had worn out and doctors said there was nothing more they could. He said he had a great life – blessed with a wonderful family and plenty of opportunities to make a difference …
He never stopped giving - from service as a 22 years old mortar lieutenant on the Kokoda Track in PNG to ‘looking after’ 80 years old legacy widows as a 90 years old legatee !
Never talked much about his war service but admitted every year he has enjoyed since was a blessing with clear memories of Japanese bullets whizzing past his head several times. He shared with me he had once lost the skin off the souls of his feet as a result of months of jungle warfare in sodden conditions!!!
My wife Ann and I talked long and hard before I decided to apply for the position of managing editor at RDU back in 1983 – but sometimes in life, one gets lucky! I got to share 35 years with the most amazing man I have ever met …
I knew he was special from my first day at the old building in Harris Park. Every staff member loved him! It was very easy for me to continue to drive the organisation from that lofty position …
From the outset, his caring nature shone through … he stayed with me for six months to ensure I was settled in the job – and then jetted off with Peggy for another Rotary Convention!
Paul was a brilliant journalist. In fact, more than a journalist, he was an old style English essayist! His grasp of the English language was perfect. He was a genuine leader of men, but usually from behind sowing the seed and allowing others to think they had a brilliant idea!!!
I could talk about my experiences with Paul for hours but I should let the facts of his amazing life speaker for themselves …
Born January 26, 1921 - Country boy with a rural background – educated at Leeton High School. Loved cricket – claimed he could not play very well …
1937/39 – junior clerk Woolworths in Sydney – copy writer/announcer – freelance journalist. Accepted by St John’s Theological College, Morpeth, NSW but entry in 1940 was deferred at outbreak of war.
War service – enlisted June 4, 1940. Officers School – Commissioned Lieutenant, December 1941 – active service in PNG – transferred to Officers Reserve January 1946.
University of Sydney 1946/48
1948/54 – social worker with returned service personnel, leader within several service support organisations, including editor of the Australian Legion newspaper.
1954/65 – launched and published his own newspapers – The Guardian and Newtown Daily.
Joined Rotary Club of Marrickville in 1955; later transferred to Rotary Club of Newtown due to proximity to his office.
1965/84 – Founding editor of Rotary Down Under – three year trial! Led the Rotary magazine world to achieve recognition by RI for all magazines to be an official alternative to The Rotarian. Finally achieved in 1976 after a three year trial and several surveys … now 31 magazines in 24 languages!
RDU went from strength to strength and a Merchandise organisation (RDU Supplies) followed …
Many other successful campaigns – part of team to established Probus in Australia and Probus Centre South Pacific; Sydney Legacy and Editor of Torchlight Magazine for Legacy movement in NSW.
Some of his favourite causes and projects –
RSL sub branch
Australian Association of Social Workers/Family Welfare
Marriage Guidance Council of NSW
Rotary Youth Leadership Awards – District and Regional
NSW Association for Mental Health – Hon Secretary
District Governor, Rotary International; various committees
Duke of Edinburgh Awards State Committee
Ranfurly Library Service
University of Western Sydney Human Research Ethics Committee
Jane Austen Society of Australia
Accomplished historical author –
Gift of God, Friend of Man – history of timber industry 1986
Seventy Five Years of Service – Rotary in Australia 1921/71
In Search of Health (2001) for Australian Rotary Health
With Health in Mind (2011) updated for ARH
History of Probus (2014) for Probus Centre South Pacific
Editor of the narrative poem I, Jane Austen by Mary Corringham (2001)
Centenary of Rotary in Oceania – current …
Awards –
Order of Australia Medal (0AM) January 2001
Australia Day Council Citizen Award 2001
The Australia Rotary Health Research Medal for 2006
Rotary Down Under Distinguished Service Award
TERTIARY EDUCATION
Diploma of Social Studies, 1948
Master of Arts (Coursework), 1992
Doctor of Philosophy, 1996
Master of Arts (Hons) (Research), 2016
Friends,
I don’t know how anyone individual could fit so much into one lifetime?
But I do know how much he loved this Rotary Club and all of the members within. He had the time of his life at our recent 50th anniversary celebration – loved the walk down memory lane, catching up with so many old friends, Greg North’s poem, and so many entertaining program highlights …
He truly was a real life legend – and his spirit will live on within our hearts and minds for many years to come …
Thank you – Bob Aitken AM, Rotary Club of Lower Blue Mountains.
Please click HERE to view - download the ‘Rotary On The Move’ Newsletter for December 2018. Please feel free to share and send us your great membership stories.
Ku-ring-gai Rotary Club has transformed a little used storage shed and some heavily overgrown waste ground into a bright new learning centre and vegetable garden, complete with chicken house for Clarke Road School in Hornsby.
The work included building garden beds, bringing water to different parts of the garden, including a cistern to ensure continuous water for the chickens. The group also assembled the chicken coop, cleaned out the shed, installed new doors, added a deck and stairs and installed potting benches, all in an area which can only be reached on foot up long ramps.
The new facility including the refurbished shed will enable children with intellectual disabilities to learn skills which until now have not been able to be taught at the school. It will help the dedicated staff provide more opportunities for senior students.
Joy Newling, President of Ku-ring-gai Rotary Club, said that members were inspired by the teachers and parents of “this amazing school”, and were proud to provide not just a facility but opportunities for students.
This wonderful project could not have happened without a District Grant from The Rotary Foundation for which the club is extremely grateful.
950 HOURS WORK BY ROTARY VOLUNTEERS ACHIEVE AMAZING CHANGE
The Council on Resolutions for 2018 has been finalised and the attached document provides the outcome of those resolutions which have been adopted and will go to the RI board
The resolution 18R- 08 which was filed by Central Blue Mountains, on behalf of the D9685 was successful. If passed by the RI board, then clubs will be able to record all volunteer hours including administration and fund raising.
Greetings everyone, I wish to bring you up to date with some developments with my DG Partners Project, which is Grace’s Place. For those of you whom District Governor Susan and I have yet to visit, Grace’s Place is a purpose-built project to assist the children who have been the silent victims of a domestic homicide. This is a project of Martha Jabour, the CEO of the Homicide Victim’s Support Group in New South Wales, who is one of our keynote speakers at the District Conference next March.
It had been planned for a ‘SOD Turning” to get the project underway at the land in Doonside that had been donated to the group by the NSW State Government and the Blacktown City Council. Unfortunately, when the initial inspection was made of the land, it was found that it contained a large amount of Asbestos which had been dumped there over years gone past. Blacktown City Council has now undertaken a clean-up operation in readiness for an inspection and a building application to be approved. It is now thought that the turning of the ‘SOD’ will be either just before or just after the District Conference next march.
For those of you who like to have a shot at the ‘SOD’, or DG Susan’s Official Driver, the turning of the SOD is purely a building term and not associated with me, but I intend to attend that event.
I wish to thank the following clubs and Rotarians who have donated funds to Grace’s Place so that we can fit out one or more of the therapy rooms in the complex in the name of Rotary District 9685. Those clubs are Brookvale, Glenhaven, Castle Hill, Kenthurst, Richmond and the Rotary E Club of Sydney. I would also like to thank Karo Haltmeier for her personal donation.
If you wish, you may meet with Martha Jabour at our District Conference in Newcastle where she will be selling ‘building blocks’ at a stall or you can EFT funds to the District 9685 Admin Account and use the Reference 9875 which will alert the District Treasurer that the funds transferred are for Grace’s Place. If you could also send me an email so that I can have an audit trail for funds raised. If you would prefer to use a cheque, please make the cheque out to the District 9685 Admin Account. If you make it out to Grace’s Place, please endorse the back of the cheque to pay the Rotary District Admin Account.
Once again, thank you for your interest and support of Grace’s Place which is named after Grace Lynch, the mother of murder victim Anita Cobby. Grace was one of the four people who started the Homicide Victims Support Group after the death of her daughter.
Governor Wendy Protheroe and her amazing team in District 9600 have just received the best possible boost from the END POLIO NOW team at Rotary Headquarters in Evanston, USA … a grant of $185,896.95 to fund hi viz safety vests for our brave volunteers in PNG!
The story goes back to early September and meetings with representatives of WHO and UNICEF who explained the urgent need for the vests to enhance the safety and security of the volunteers providing medical support for victims of vaccine derived polio in the remote outposts of mountainous PNG.
Cost of the vests was estimated to be in the vicinity of $200,000 – completely out of reach for District 9600 and resources available to WHO and UNICEF at that time.
After discussions with Governor Wendy and her team, I sent a request to END POLIO NOW campaign manager Carol Pandak in Evanston seeking special support for the vital requirement.
Carol and her team were on the job immediately and sought support from Wendy and her District leaders in setting up a leadership team, special bank account and other resources.
It was very opportune that the Governor was about to leave for her visit to PNG and she really hit the ground running.
Yesterday, Governor Wendy received official word that The Rotary Foundation Chair Ron Burton had signed off on the grant and $185,896.95 was on the way to the District 9600 Management team – District TRF Chair Darryl Iseppi, Assistant Governor Wendy Scholz and Governor Wendy Protheroe. Governor Wendy has agreed to accept stewardship responsibilities.
The team has commenced the next step – getting the vests printed with the current Rotary mark and necessary words, followed by distribution to all teams in various regions of PNG. The vests will ensure the safety of volunteers and it follows contribute to the health of PNG children.
Governor Wendy and her support team was able to visit children in hospital in PNG and became caught up in the emotion of the experience.
Please allow me to share her heartfelt thoughts with you all …
Thanks to all the Rotarians who donate funds to Polio Plus – and for making sure the vaccines are reaching the children of the world.
Thanks to Polio Plus for recognising that sometimes we need to look a little more broadly than just vaccines and that we truly do have the ability to respond to special needs in various parts of the world.
Thanks to Rotarians on the ground in PNG who are encouraging everyone to travel and connect their children with the vaccinating teams.
Thanks to all Rotarians in District 9600 – and I have absolutely no doubt that each of your will donate just a little more this afternoon as you remember why we live ‘service above self’.
Friends … I urge you all to share this story with EVERYONE in your respective Districts. It provides absolute proof that the fund raising support we have maintained for Polio Plus since 1987 is vital and can benefit people in all parts of the world – even our own back yard!!!
When you are asked ‘why are we still supporting Polio Plus?’ share this story – and how quickly our dedicated leaders at The Rotary Foundation were able to respond.
I encourage you all to use the story to maximise giving in your respective Districts as we move towards the completion of the first half of our Rotary year -
US$1,500 per Rotary club
Plan now for 20% of unused DDF to go to END POLIO NOW at year’s end
Maintain the search for major donors – US$10,000 each. They are out there waiting to be asked …
Please click HERE to view - download the ‘Rotary On The Move’ Newsletter for November 2018. Please feel free to share and send us your great membership stories.
Bookings for our wonderful celebration of our Rotary Foundation on Monday 26th November are coming in steadily now. It would be great to have a record attendance of D9685 and D9675 Rotarians, partners, and friends at our dinner with Past Rotary International President Ian Riseley as our Guest Speaker. PRIP Ian will also make a very special presentation to a Sydney based recipient of a Peace award which is only awarded in the year to one person world wide.
Bookings are closing on Sunday 18 November. Our numbers needs to be finalised for the catering, so I urge you to get those table bookings in for your club as soon as possible. And for those of you coming individually we look forward to you registering as soon as possible now.
Committee thanks all of the host families and clubs for the continued care for these students.
Mark your calendars for 20-26 June for an exciting opportunity to gather online with the family of Rotary for our first online convention.
A recent Australian Rotary Health (ARH) funded study has revealed that a new mental health program is effective in reducing the use of unhelpful coping strategies among children with dyslexia.
Our Australian Rotary District Governors have agreed to establish a central fund into which all Australians can donate to support the victims of the devastating bushfires ravaging our country.
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Former St Ives Rotarian Bhuvan Unhelkar, will be visiting Sydney Feb 18-26 2020. Now a university lecturer in IT in Sarasota, Florida, Bhuvan is very familiar with our District and would love to share his worldly experiences with your club. His favourite topic is “Global Peace: A Multicultural Rotary perspective”, however he can be persuaded to talk on almost anything. Please let Kalma McLellan know if you would like him to include him in your meeting program in Feb 2020.
With fires on top of drought, our northern neighbours are really struggling. If you and/or your club are in a position to support, there have now been a number of RAWCS accounts set up to manage your donations:
provides the following input to your questions:
The 17th awareness campaign on Prevention of Drug Abuse was conducted in the 18th October 2019 at “Raja Rani Hall”, Point Pedro Northern Province Sri Lanka. 110 students from Grade 12 along with 12 teachers actively participated in this awareness programme.
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In 2021, Rotary in Australia and New Zealand celebrates our first 100 years of service – and we need a powerful, engaging logo to help build our story.
'Judy’, the story of Judy Garland – ‘the legend behind the rainbow’ is the star attraction at the next Rotary Charity movie night at Glenbrook Cinema on Sunday, November 17.
“Since the event started in 2012 volunteers have removed more than 141,000sqm of graffiti, saving the community $10.4 million.
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school together at the Roseville Primary school. The major surprise of the morning came when Dick produced a cheque and donated $1 million to Rotary.
Oecusse, Timor L’Este.
Dear fellow Rotarians, 
Blood Service launched the Grolman Challenge.
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Dr Vera Sistenich is an emergency medicine specialist in Australia, where her areas of interest include Aboriginal health, medical education and the development of physician training in the field of international emergency medicine. She gained her medical degree at the University of Oxford, and a masters of public health at Harvard University. Outside Australia, she has clinical experience in China, DRCongo, Nepal, Peru, South Africa, Vietnam and the UK. She has also worked with asylum seekers both at the Christmas Island Immigration Detention Centre in the Australian Indian Ocean territories, and on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea. In 2013-2014, she was Health Policy Advisor to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva, Switzerland. She is currently the project leader for HandUp Congo's Emergency Medicine Project, in collaboration with Rotary International. 
Brian was raised and educated in Newcastle before moving to Maitland in 1979 to commence a 34 year career in law enforcement. After speaking at a Rotary meeting in 1999, Brian was asked to join the Rotary Club of East Maitland. Brian and Carol immediately engaged in Youth Exchange as host parents, before joining the District Committee as a YEO; today he engages inbound students in law topics.
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You are invited to the annual Welcome Home Youth Exchange Dinner for all our Returning and Inbound Students at Muirfield Golf Club, Barclay Rd, North Rocks
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Georgie Gardner is co-host of TODAY alongside Deb Knight and newsreader Tom Steinfort. 
Each club has received a Gnome from DG Susan, as she has visited your clubs, to decorate and bring to Newcastle, as the District 9685 Gnomes gather.
Kelly Fedor is Channel 9’s Chief Court Reporter and calls the Supreme Court her second home. During her six years with the network she has reported on the life sentence handed to the state’s most infamous detective Roger Rogerson, the jailing of former Labor MP Eddie Obeid, the trial of property developer Ron Medich and the arrest of Chris Dawson 37 years after his wife disappeared. She is also regularly in the thick of it, covering bushfires, floods and more recently the Sydney to Hobart race. 
William Chan is an urbanist and design strategist with a passion to create resilient and inclusive places for people. Educated in Australia and Italy, William graduated with the University Medal in Architecture and Convocation Medal from the University of Sydney. Supported by the Rotary Foundation Global Grant, he undertook further study at the Politecnico di Milano as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar in 2015-2017. His Dottore Magistrale thesis was unanimously awarded cum laude.
On Saturday Afternoon, we will walk from the Newcastle Town Hall down to and along Newcastle waterfront in raising awareness of Rotary’s campaign to End Polio. Rotarians will join together to walk from across District 9685 and other surroundings Districts. Members of District 9670 will be joining with us, local school children and the general public will also be invited to join with us..jpg)
Dominic commenced at PCYC NSW in November 2016. Dominic has extensive executive experience across Government, Events and entertainment, IT services and sporting organisations, with a 20 year career as an Army Officer which included representational and operational experience. He brings to PCYC NSW a strong values based leadership style, respect for the Police and history, and a passion to grow the legacy of PCYC NSW to deliver expanded empowering experiences to youth and the community.
Susan Templeman spent 1981 in Mexico as a 
Let’s begin with an activity that’s enjoyable, educational, and absolutely free.
If you like a good nature walk, family picnics and the wildlife – Blackbutt Reserve is a must-see for locals and tourists alike.
Winter or summer, Nobbys Beach remains among the favourite beach destinations in New South Wales. (It’s also considered the safest among Newcastle’s beaches.)
History buff or not, you’d be intrigued to know that Fort Scratchley fired on an invading naval vessel on June 8, 1942 and the fort itself has more than a century of history to boast.
Merewether is a quiet suburb of Newcastle known for its 100 metres by 90 metres communal yet well-maintained swimming pool.
Take artistic inspirations from exhibitions and collections at Newcastle Art Gallery.
A tour in Newcastle is incomplete without witnessing the trade that led to its economic boom: the coal transport.
corner of King Street and Union Street, Newcastle West, NEX is central to boutique accommodation, trendy cafes and bars, pristine beaches and the Port of Newcastle foreshore.
The 
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NOW team at Rotary Headquarters in Evanston, USA … a grant of $185,896.95 to fund hi viz safety vests for our brave volunteers in PNG!
