What Is your Rotary Club doing to focus on Maternal and Child Health in July 2024?
Every day mothers risk their lives giving birth and millions of children die each year from treatable, preventable causes.At least 7 million children under the age of five die each year due to malnutrition, poor health care, and inadequate sanitation. To help reduce this rate, we provide immunizations and antibiotics to babies, improve access to essential medical services, and support trained healthcare providers for mothers and their children. Your Rotary projects ensure sustainability by empowering the local community to take ownership of healthcare training programs.
President's Report
It’s with a good degree of pleasure that I provide this report. Firstly, I need to convey to the 2024-2025 Board my sincere thanks for all the hard work and commitment made to the Club and its members over the previous 12 months; much has been achieved and I believe the members are indebted to Frank and his team for their leadership and dedication over this period.
As the Club begins this new Rotary year, I hope we can continue on the path of service to the community – local, nationally and internationally. The work of Rotary is important and does change the lives of others in many positive ways. Rotary Clubs are service organisations and as such we are charged with undertaking work that provides service to others – Service Above Self. At times that is direct service by way of physical assistance such as the work Rotarians commit to in Cambodia when visiting there and at other times its through fund raising efforts that allow us to financially contribute to causes that positively impact people and communities. I never underestimate the impact we as individuals can have when we come together to work for a common goal; we are greater than the sum of our parts.
This weekend you will have received an email from me that includes the details of the Club visioning session we will be having at this Monday’s meeting.
Robert Bredin, who will attending our meeting is a respected and highly qualified facilitator who will lead us in visioning and where we want our Club to be in 5 years’ time. This is a valuable exercise and I’m hoping that as many members as possible will be at the meeting to participate in setting the goals of where we want to see our Club in 5 years’ time. It’s my hope that as we commence the process of thinking about our Club and any positive steps we can take to strengthen it as an organisation, to serve our community, and that we also experience the personal benefits this approach can have.
It was pleasing to see our Club’s contribution to the local health district acknowledged in this weeks’ edition of the Blue Mts Gazette (p 34). The three portable vaccine fridges will make a difference to staff at the Springwood, Katoomba and Lithgow hospitals and it is pleasing to be able to contribute in to these committed and hard work personnel in this way.
Valda and I also recently attended a meeting of the Older Women’s Network at Katoomba and presented the Club’s Large (is physical size) cheque. The Club’s donation to them will be utilised in their housing of older women program, that is being very successful to linking vulnerable older women to secure local housing options.
In closing I acknowledge and thank the Club members who have elected to serve on our Board this year. They are a dynamic team and I look forward to working with them and all members over the next 12 months.
Cheers Liz
Liz Roberts
President 2025-2026
The Rotary Club of Springwood
Latest News -
1. DATES TO LOOK FORWARD TO
Club Meeting on Monday 7th July - Club Visioning with Robert Bredin (see below)
Bunnings FundRaiser on Saturday 19th July
Yulefest on Saturday 26 July (see below)
Ronald McDonalds Meals From the Heart on Friday 1st August
Five years from now, you are writing the following letter to the RI President: Rotary International President Evanston, USA Dear President, On behalf of our club, I am writing to you in support of our claim for the GOLD distinguished Club Medallion based on our club’s achievements over the last 5 years. I understand that you will assess our club for the Distinguished Club Medallion purely on the information I now include. To allow you to easily measure our club against other clubs around the world, I have noted my observations in bullet point form against your criteria for this award. I hope you will excuse me for my boundless enthusiasm but I wanted you to know that over the last 5 years our club has excelled in its various endeavours and has reinvented itself into a vibrant, highly functioning club. It has been such a thrill for me to have been part of this time in our club’s history which has been so successful because of: forms.gle
3. YULEFEST
The Rotary Clubs of Springwood and Salamander Bay invite you to a Yulefest celebration on
Saturday 26 July 2025, 6.30pm for 7pm at the Ori café, 112 Macquarie Rd, Springwood .
Meals and drinks to be ordered from the menu. So let Liz know that you are coming and let's make this another Springword Rotary memorable event. It will be a great night of good food and fellowship.
Bookings are essential, no later than 30 June.
Email liz.roberts2783@outlook.com
4. LAUNCH OF GREATER BLUE MOUNTAINS ROTARY ON SUNDAY 27 JULY
Please find invite below for the Launch of Greater Blue Mountains Rotary on Sunday 27 July at the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Centre. Please purchase your tickets by Monday 21 July at this link:
Rotary stand alone stall will be held at the invitation of Buckland .All proceeds of sale from the Rotary stall, retained by Rotary. Light meals and drinks available at the on-site café.
We are seeking donations of saleable goods, including household items, furniture, antique/vintage items, new/near new clothing and general bric-a-brac.
During the week, you would have received the following email from the District Communications Chair. If you missed it, here it is again....
Please be aware that a number of phishing emails have been reported in recent days, with unscrupulous folks taking advantage of leadership updates in the new Rotary year to target our members.
We have alerted ClubRunner to confirm their systems are sound. If you receive an email from "ClubRunner" please look at the actual sending email address to check - i.e. this email will show a sender email of communications.rotarydistrict9685.org.au@clubrunner.email which is legit.
Please take precautions regarding any suspicious emails, especially in the coming days. Rotarians will not ask you to purchase gift cards nor share financial information via email. Please call people on the phone if you do require some action for club function.
You can learn more to safeguard your online activity at scamwatch.gov.au
Kathryn Dodd
Communications
2. BREAKING STIGMA TOGETHER: INCLUDING MEN AND BOYS IN THE CONVERSATION
At Days for Girls, we believe menstrual health education is more than just biology—it is a powerful tool for shifting mindsets and breaking down harmful stigma.
In a powerful piece she recently wrote for Women's Agenda, Mary, DfG Australia’s Chief Operating Officer, shared, “When we include men and boys—they become part of the solution. . . . [We] believe that lasting change comes when everyone is involved.”
By bringing men and boys into the conversation, we are creating stronger, more supportive communities and building a future where everyone can thrive with dignity.
Click on the Read More image below.
Acknowledgement of Country
We would like to acknowledge the Gundungurra and Dharug peoples past, present and emerging as the traditional owners of the land where our Club resides and pay our respects to them.
