- We had 17 participants with several apologies for our meeting.
- We welcomed a grounded Laith who had two meetings that night.
- We also welcomed a potential new member, Phillip Burger, to the meeting. We hope you enjoyed the meeting, Phil and we hope to see you again.
- Brian thanked members who had contributed to our ongoing Foodbank appeal. This has gone really well and Vicki took quite a lot to Foodbank Friday. Vicki also did a sheet explaining that it came from our neighbourhood and from the Kalamunda Rotary Club. More gear has arrived since then, which is absolutely lovely. Rotarians making a difference.
- Kaye updated us on the Anglicare project, raising $$ for tablets for students who are schooling from home who don't have the gear they need.
- Kaye also suggested following the Elizabeth Quay lead and trying a recipe online. This morphed into a possible virtual beer tasting with the Tap House. Both great ideas and it is (in my mind) really important to keep looking at possible projects and fundraising ideas. Thank you Kaye!
- John Mullan shared with us just why ANZAC Day is special to him. He has a very strong family connection going back to WW1. He said he would be at the end of his driveway on ANZAC Day for the Dawn Service which is ti be broadcast over the radio. (Vicki and I were also at the end of our driveway as were nearly all of our neighbours. It was beautiful and moving and a wonderful way to bring the community together at these trying times.)
- Paul shared a fundraising suggestion to raise money to go towards tackling COVID-19. Given that we are saving around $30 a week by having online meetings, Paul suggested that all those who can pledge $5 a week for 20 weeks. As a carrot, Paul will continue his weekly Bulletin pieces, BUT, he will ask a question each week and the winner gets his/her $5 back. It was agreed that this could be a bit of fun, as well as helping a very good cause.
As I write this, WA has recorded 4 new cases in the last week, with 4 of the 7 days having nil cases. Australia wide, the cases are under 7 000 and increasing by well under 1% each day. We have had just over 80 deaths. The US has almost a million cases and over 50 000 deaths. Our death rate is 3 per million people. The US's is 164/million. There are just under 3 million cases world wide, and over 200 000 deaths. Some restrictions are going to be rolled back from tomorrow (Monday) the number of people in WA who can gather together will be increased from 2 to 10. We will need to stay vigilant, but there is light at the end of the tunnel, thanks to people doing the right thing!