Rotary Theme for July 2025: Maternal & Child Health
July 2025 is dedicated to Rotary International's focus on Maternal and Child Health, highlighting the significance of ensuring the health of mothers and children globally. Key points include:
Healthy Development: Early childhood is crucial for physical, cognitive, and emotional growth.
Empowerment of Families: Healthy mothers raise healthy children, strengthening communities.
What Rotarians can do in July 2025:
Increase Awareness: Organize seminars on prenatal care and nutrition.
Support Healthcare Facilities: Provide funding, donations, and volunteer support.
Implement Community Projects: Establish mobile clinics and vaccination drives.
Collaborate with Partners: Work with NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and local governments to align initiatives.
For more information on the efforts of Rotary, follow this link.
For information on the Rotary Action Group for Reproductive, Maternal and Child Health, follow this link.
President's Report
Hi all, well another good week for the Club with our community BBQ activity at Bunnings on Saturday; and I thank, Josh, Belinda, Donna & Rob Hildon, Frank, Suzette, Bruce, Deborah, Deana, Bev and Johannes for volunteering to do this event. The Bunnings BBQ has been a staple for our Club for some time, and I certainly appreciate the public profile it gives us and the fund raising dollars that then allows us to support many worthy organisation and causes.
This Rotary year the Club is taking an ‘all of team’ approach to the organisation and management of our fund raising community events. Several members have already volunteered to act as the managers of certain events and in the coming weeks I will be emailing you
noting who and what has been covered, and the events the Club is still seeking support from members to manage.Some of the administrative work will be undertaken by me for all up-coming events, this will include undertaking the advice and information required by the District to ensure insurance cover and the development of risk assessments for each event, which supports the provision of that insurance; so, some of the ‘leg work’ will be already done.
On Sunday Marilyn and I attended the Riding for the Disabled (DRA) fund raising Christmas in July lunch at Blaxland. The association between our Club and RDA is long standing and it was wonderful to view a plaque in the Club House that acknowledged our Past President, Ross Ingram OAM. Ross worked tirelessly for RDA and their relationship with our Club continues with their support of our annual changeover, Wellness Day, etc. – these community links are part of the fabric we weave in our community and certainly makes me feel proud of the work we do as a Club. It was also wonderful to sit with Pamela Noall, IPP of the Rotary Club of Lower Blue Mts – a great day was had by all, and I certainly enjoyed the day and the time with friends (human and horse alike).
Please also refer to the information Marilyn provides below in the weekly Springword for advice the District needs you to know, plus upcoming events etc that the Club is supporting. I’ve been asked to remind members of the Police Officer of the Year Awards that are coming up. This is always a wonderful event where we have the opportunity to recognise the significant work of our police force members. In previous years, our Club has organised a table and it would be great to see that support again this year. Please see the registration link below.
Also, I attended a zoom meeting with District Governor, Michele Ellery, and other Club presidents on Saturday. Michele highlighted a number of District initiatives that will shortly come to you directly from her office and I would ask that you read them. Michele is encouraging Club members to registered early for the District conference in March at Mudgee. It’s the perfect location for the conference with so much happening there; as a regular visitor to Mudgee, I can attest to the fact you would have a fantastic few days enjoying Mudgee itself, whilst having the full District conference experience which really shouldn’t be missed. Let’s meet Michele’s challenge to have our Club up there as ‘movers and shakers’ in our District.
Cheers…Liz
Liz Roberts
President 2025-2026
The Rotary Club of Springwood
LATEST NEWS …
1. MORE DATES TO LOOK FORWARD TO ...
Rotary Garden Care for July - Liz
2. FOLLOW UP BY OUR CLUB OF THE EMAIL SENT TO ALL REGARDING NEWS FROM DISTRICT 9685.
The following information has been collated as a Club response to the instructions as per the email sent to all members by our District Governor, Michele Ellery. Thank you to Rachel Pagitz, Public Image Chair, for preparing this analysis for us.
Effective 1st July 2026, Rotary District 9685 has officially launched its brand-new District Facebook page (@rotarydg9685). To ensure compliance with modern governance, insurance requirements, and child safety laws, all clubs must transition to a more professional standard of digital management.
Below is the essential summary of what every member needs to know.
A. Professional Public Image & Governance
Official social media pages are official District assets. To protect Rotary's brand, continuity, and insurance coverage, clubs must follow these rules:
The Two-Admin Rule: A minimum of two active administrators (e.g., the PR Chair and President) must hold login credentials. Never manage a club asset through a single personal account.
Cyber Security: All administrators must use strong, unique passwords and enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).
Neutrality: Official pages must remain strictly non-political and non-religious. Focus entirely on humanitarian and community service.
The 4-Way Test: All online activity—including personal accounts where you are identifiable as a Rotary official—must reflect the truth, fairness, goodwill, and mutual benefit of our core values.
B. Strict New Youth Protection Rules
Rotary maintains a Zero Tolerance to Child Abuse policy. The new Youth Digital Safety Protocol introduces mandatory requirements for interacting with individuals under 18 online:
Prior Written Consent: Never publish photos, videos, or full names of minors without a signed parental/guardian consent form secured before publication.
Zero Personal Tagging: Do not tag the personal profiles of minors in photos, videos, or comments on official pages.
Anonymisation & Privacy: If privacy is requested or required, use first names only or descriptive captions (e.g., "Our 2026 youth participants"), and blur background identifiers like school uniforms or car license plates.
Metadata & Location: Turn off automatic location check-ins and strip EXIF metadata (geographic coordinates) from images before uploading them.
DM Firewalls: Administrators must never engage in 1-on-1 private messaging with a minor via official channels. All digital interactions must occur in open threads or via official emails cc’ing parents or youth committee members.
Under-16 Engagement: Due to legislation barring under-16s from social media, expect absolute barriers when attempting to communicate directly with this demographic online.
C. Comment Moderation & Legal Liability
Under Australian common law, page administrators can be held legally liable as a "publisher" for defamatory comments left by third parties.
Handle Complaints Quietly: If a comment contains hate speech, defamation, or bullying, do not argue back. Take a screenshot, hide the comment (so it is only visible to the user and their friends), and use an objective template response to pivot the conversation offline via email or phone.
Escalation: If a digital issue escalates to legal threats, financial issues, or youth protection concerns, immediately notify the Club President, District Communications Chair, or District Governor.
D. Immediate Actions Required Today:
Update Your Links: Audit your club website footer, email signatures, and newsletter templates. Delete links to the old, legacy District page and replace them with the new authenticated link: [https://www.facebook.com/rotarydg9685] (https://www.facebook.com/rotarydg9685) See the District 9685 Facebook information in the section below with Stories From Rotary...
3. THE BUNNINGS FUNDRAISER BBQ, SATURDAY 18TH JULY 2026
Our bi-monthly BBQ occurred last Saturday with much fun and hilarity. Many tjhanks to all of our volunteers who helped on the day to make it the success that it was. We will need to review some of the new procedures introduced into the running of the BBQ before the next one to further improve it.
4. RIDING FOR THE DISABLED CHRISTMAS IN JULY, SUNDAY 19TH JULY 2026
President Liz Roberts and Marilyn Kenney attended the RDA Christmas event. The volunteers had taken extreme measures to ensure that everything looked great, all of the food (mountains of it) tasted superb, the band was fantastic and played almost every minute of the 3 hour event, the horses were beautiful, and theole event was a spectacular success. We were both deilghted that we had been able to attend, and were warmly welcomed by the RDA volunteers. They still remember, with immense fondness, our Club contribution of the building of the tea room due to the work done by our former member, Ross Ingram. Significant changes with the expansion of the main building have been made since that time, which provided the venue for the lunch today.
Marilyn Kenney was even able to greet a former student under her care in the early 2000's who is now a client of the RDA facility.
5. POLICE OFFICER OF THE YEAR - BLUE MOUNTAINS AREA COMMAND
Please find following the flyer for the 5th August Police Officer of the Year event.
There is a QR code on the flyer to be used for bookings. The Try Booking link for those who can't use the code is http://www.trybooking.com/DNIYA.
Looking forward to a great night.
Susan Wakefield OAM
Chair of Blue Mountains POOTY
This is a wonderful night of celebration. It is well worth the drive up to Katoomba RSL for the event.
STORIES FROM ROTARY...
1. DISTRICT 9685 FACEBOOK PAGE
Click on the image below to view the District 9685 Facebook Page.
2. DG'S MEMBERSHIP CHALLENGE
Click on the image below to view the PowerPoint presentation.
3. 2026 TRAIN RIDE TO END POLIO
Click on the image below to view the PowerPoint presentation.
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK...
The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time," by Thomas A. Edison, is widely celebrated as one of the most empowering quotes in history. It distills the essence of relentless perseverance, reminding us that failure is merely a stepping stone rather than a final destination.
... and now for something different ...
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.
