I hope everyone had a warm, restful holiday and is feeling refreshed.
Let's kick off 2024 with an exuberant welcome, filled with optimism and celebration. I am excited to continue our year of hope in collaboration and exciting projects.
Join us to start with our Fellowship Dinner Meeting on January 24th – an occasion to reconnect, share stories, and set the plan & intention for the next 6 months. Hardiman's Hotel, 6pm at Macaulay Road Kensington. DOWNSTAIRS!!
Mark your calendars for February 7th, 2024, as we launch into our first breakfast meeting with Katie Hester and Dr. Morgan from the Live for Lily Foundation.
As we organise catering for breakfasts, remember to update Melina on any absences at Rotaryopshop3031@gmail.com by Monday. This will ensure we keep our catering adjusted to attendance at all times and reduce wastage.
Note: The Op Shop re-opens on 1st February.
Here's to a year brimming with good health, contagious enthusiasm, and the fulfillment that comes from making a difference.
BOARD REPORT:
Board members met via ZOOM this week. Projects and budgets were set for the coming 6 months in each area of focus.
The Board has approved the following donations in the last month:
Farnham Street Neighbourhood Learning Centre - to subsidise the All Abilities Choir for 2024 = $3200 Cance fundraiser for Loredana - $1000
Back to school supplies, Try Manila streetkids - Lorry Rowe $500
The Public Image team are also exploring promotional materials to get our message out further. If you have any suggestions, please contact Drew Sheehan.
District are providing each club with a feather banner to be collected at the District Conference in April. Thank you Ron Payne and Sandi Fulcher.
Updates were provided on all projects. See below.
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PROJECT UPDATES:
1. EAHA - Eritrean Australian Humanitarian Association. Former member Anwar Alishek has asked for our assistance to run some fundraising BBQs in 2024 to support the school in the refugee camp in Kassala, South Sudan {we have supported this school with stationery and supplies previously}.
The first of these is a BBQ at the Moonee Valley Festival on Saturday 24th February.
Please advise Lesley of your availability on the day. Project leader Peter Cribb.
2. MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AIDfor members of the African community is set for Tuesday and Wednesday 5, 6, 12 and 13 March 2024 at the Djerring Hub. This course is being run over 4 half days to suit the mainly women participants who have childcare issues. Dr Francis Acquah will present {African background with cultural and linguistic knowledge}. See the attached flier - please distribute to relevant connections. Project leader Shraddha Sharma
3. Sri Lanka - medical. This project is to deliver beds and medical supplies to support stroke patients. Assistance will be needed to load the container at Donations in Kind when ready. Project leader Peter Cribb.
6. Nepal education project. A foundation grant application for this plan has been submitted for discussion and assistance to the District team. This project seeks to re-engage young people into education in rural Nepal. We are working with the Rotary Club of Tripurshwar, Shradd’s father’s club. This project will train teacher mentors, provide back to school materials for students and equipment for schools. It is based on a similar project recently completed with support from several USA clubs. Project leader Shraddha Sharma.
7. 1,000 stories project.Many thanks to Carolina and Mel who have
supported collection and delivery of picture story books to Rebecca, the Maternal & Child Health Nurse at Wingate Avenue recently.
Another 100 books will be delivered this week.
We are also supporting The Venny with books, coloured pencils and textas. Project leader Lesley McCarthy
8. RYDA -Rotary Youth Driver Awareness
Shraddha and Jeff are working on this project to connect students at MAC and Simmonds College , working with Anton at RYDA. The program is planned to go ahead in April-May at the Toyota Altona Centre. At this stage we hope to host 50 students. Project leader Shraddha Sharma.
Members are encouraged to speak to Shraddha or another Board member if they have a particular project idea they wish to pursue. All ideas are welcomed and we want you to have your ideas and passions addressed.
Haruka and a friend enjoyed Christmas Eve with Drew and his family. She also spent several days helping Jo Walker pack up her house - she is moving again.
Haruka is moving out of the student accommodation {it is very expensive} and is relocating closer to Victoria Market.
Anyone who can assist Haruka in finding part time work is encouraged to contact her.
She is also keen to see more of Victoria and visit some attraction. Can you help?
Haruka - harukanohat0@gmail.com
Mob: 0433 401 785
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RIMERN UPDATE:
RIMERN is back open for 2024.
As you know they are always short of wanted items like toasters, kettles, microwaves, vacuum cleaners and clean doonas and pillows. Susie had established a 10c refund drive is to provide spending money for these essentials that are in short supply!
Every 70 empties buys a kettle or toaster, the refunds add up fast and some charities that are getting very organised are banking hundreds of dollars a week already!
READ MORE:
Scan this barcode to allocate your refund to RIMERN.
Rotary International News: 2024-25 annual theme revealed:
Rotary International President-elect Stephanie Urchick announced the 2024-25 theme, The Magic of Rotary, at the International Assembly on 8 January. The assembly is Rotary’s annual learning event for incoming governors and leaders. Stephanie, a member of the Rotary Club of McMurray, Pennsylvania, USA, called on members to use the magic of Rotary to recognize and amplify the organization’s power to save lives.
She also called on them to make their Rotary clubs “simply irresistible. Read more and see the theme speech.
Rotary’s dramatically increased participation in the 2023 UN Climate Conference (COP 28) opened major opportunities for Rotarians to help accelerate global action on the climate crisis. In their Dec. 20 ESRAG webinar, ESRAG leaders who attended COP 28 put the spotlight on climate goals that Rotary is well-positioned to advance, including health, peace, renewable energy, regenerative agriculture, and food and water security.
Rotary sent its largest official delegation ever, including RI President Gordon McInally, Foundation Chair Barry Rassin, General Secretary and CEO John Hewko, and ESRAG Chair Yasar Atacik. Rotary’s International President Nominee Mario César Martins de Camargo also attended. In the Dec. 20 recap, Dr. Atacik and other ESRAG leaders referred to key COP 28 declarations and roadmaps which the Rotary family can draw on maximize our leverage. This article includes hyperlinks to the resources they shared.
For the first time ever, Rotary had its own pavilions at COP – one in the Blue Zone (COP’s official plenary and negotiation space) and the other in the Green Zone open to the public. These meeting spaces provided an unprecedented opportunity for Rotarians and Rotaractors with multiple kinds of expertise to negotiate with other stakeholders.
ESRAG has nominated 5 projects for the 2024 Earthshot Prize:
Earthshot wants to get as many nominations as possible put forward even if they are not ready to scale. They want to do this so that they can get a perspective of the sort of projects being run across the globe and the level of work being done to save our planet. They look to their Official Nominators from across the globe to put these projects forward for consideration.
Nominations are from across the globe, and as a nominator you can nominate projects from your own organisations. We have projects in the pipeline, and we will be looking to develop some of these to be nominated in 2025 as ESRAG projects.
The projects we have nominated for the 2024 Earthshot Prizes are at various stages of development. Three already have relationships with ESRAG. The Cape Cod Watershed Institute project includes ESRAG members and Rotary Districts from Cape Cod on the coast of Massachusetts to the Great Lakes. Bliss Natural and Carbosutra are both working with the Technoserve Foundation incubator which has a collaboration with ESRAG. The other nominees connected with ESRAG through either my LinkedIn post or the network of ESRAG Director Dr. Mina Venkataraman in India.
Each year, Rotary awards up to 130 fully funded fellowships for dedicated leaders from around the world to study at one of our peace centres.
Through academic training, practice, and global networking opportunities, the Rotary Peace Centres program develops the capacity of peace and development professionals to become effective catalysts for peace.
The fellowships cover tuition and fees, room and board, round-trip transportation, and internship and field-study expenses.
Choose from a 2-year Masters Degree or the Professional Development Certificate lasting 3 months. READ MORE
Applications open on 1 February and close on 15 May.
If you are interested please contact Past District Governor Dennis Shore at djshore@bigpond.net.au 0412 332 226
OR Bob Fels robertmfels@gmail.com : 0394 176 550
POLIO UPDATE:
Afghanistan: seven wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1)
Pakistan: three WPV1
Chad: one cVDPV2 case
Côte d’Ivoire: one cVDPV2 case and one positive environmental
ROTARY LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE:
This is an online program of learning about the history and programs of Rotary
and its areas of focus. Participation enhances your basic knowledge, understanding of the Rotary Foundation and how grants work, public image and the work done by Rotarians worldwide.
Led by PDG Julie Mason, this is held on 3 Saturday mornings: Feb 10, 17 & 24th
for 3 and a half hours all up, and a fantastic in-depth exploration.
ZOOM. Email Jane Pennington ASAP to book - Jane.Pennington@rotary9800.org
Public Image Chair will be running a session to learn more about ClubRunner and websites in general. For those who want to know how to use it and those who would like to learn more. This session is being run by the people from ClubRunner. For further information, contact Sandi Fulcher at sandi.fulcher@rotary9800.org
When: Saturday, 24 February Time: 10am – 9pm Where: Queens Park, Moonee Ponds
The Moonee Valley Festival is back in 2024 and returns to its original home at Queens Park in Moonee Ponds. The festival is the largest free community celebration and will host an impressive line-up of live music, market stalls, food, activities, performances, and entertainment for everyone to enjoy.
The festival will kick on into the evening, with the new “After Dark” event, which will feature incredible DJs, live performances, and fun entertainment that you won’t want to miss.
Moonee Valley Festival 2024
When: Saturday, 24 February
Time: 10am – 9pm
Where: Queens Park, Moonee Ponds
