Hello members of Daybreak and welcome to Bulletin 48.
We are now into the season of winter and the month of June which is Rotary Fellowships Month on the Rotary calendar. Rotary Fellowships are international, independently organized groups of Rotarians, Rotarian spouses, and Rotarians who share a common vocation or recreational interest. Rotarian Fellowships give their members the opportunity to network and make new friends globally while enhancing their experience of Rotary.
There are many areas of interest covered by Rotary Fellowships and a Rotarian can apply to start a new Fellowship in an area that is of interest to them. Rotary International has established specific policies for forming a Rotary Fellowship and evaluates each prospective group before deciding whether to formally recognize it. Once approved each Fellowship operates independently of RI, with its own rules, dues and administrative structure. To learn about the fellowships currently recognized by RI visit www.rotary.org/fellowships
June also signals an easing of COVID-19 social restrictions in Victoria. Restaurants are now taking bookings for diners although limited numbers apply due to social distancing, a situation that looks like being with us in varying degrees till next year. Fortunately for Daybreak we will be able to have our Changeover breakfast meeting at The Lady Bay on Wednesday June 24 commencing at 7am. We will be seated in the Conference Room which will allow the required social distancing and our breakfast will be served to the table. We will be capping attendance at 40 people. Cheryl will be sending out the invites in coming days and we ask all members to RSVP as soon as possible. This will allow us to invite Presidents from other Clubs if our numbers permit.
At this stage it is unclear when we can resume our weekly meetings at The Lady Bay as social distancing may not be achievable in our normal meeting space and also serving from buffets is not allowed at present. We are negotiating with The Lady Bay in terms of how they may facilitate our Club meetings in the short term and we will notify members when we have clarity. For the time being, Zoom will remain our meeting format.
Care Program Update – Glenn has reported that there were three clients participating in the Care Program on Sunday May 31; this was pleasing news. We will seek advice regarding when we can resume our volunteer service for the Care Program and also Meals on Wheels.
Breakfast with Sam Neill – The Rotary Club of Rowville-Lysterfield (D9810) will be hosting a Zoom breakfast meeting with actor Sam Neill on Friday June 19 commencing at 7.30am. To participate and register for this zoom visit http://www.trybooking.com/BJUUZ
Rotary Meetings after Social Distancing – if you would like to be part of the discussion on what Rotary meetings might look like in a post-Corona virus world then you might like to join this zoom meeting to hear from clubs that already meet in unique ways. Sunday June 14 at 7pm, zoom ID 313 497 0027. The event is hosted by Rotary E-Club of Melbourne.
2020 Rotary Virtual Convention – A reminder that the Rotary International Virtual Convention will take place from June 20-26. This will be a great opportunity to participate in an event that will truly signal Rotary as Connecting the World and you will be able to do this from your own house. Please see the attached schedule of sessions which has been translated into AEST time. Sessions start each day at 11pm, 3am and 9am. To register visit http://www.riconvention.org/en
Foundation Update – Polio cases have dropped from 350,000 in 1998 to only 176 cases in 2019. There have been 61 cases reported thus far in 2020. In terms of funds donated to The Rotary Foundation, 92% of donations go to fund projects, 6% goes toward fundraising and 2% goes toward administration costs.
A gift to the Annual Fund helps Rotary Clubs take action and create positive change. Your contributions help fight disease, promote peace, provide clean water and sanitation, save mothers and children, support education, grow local economies and respond to disasters. To donate please contact our Treasurer Jan Read or visit www.my.rotary.org
Rotary Conference Speaker Series – John Millington from the Rotary Club of Nhill will be the next speaker in the D9780 Conference Speaker Series. This is a live event on Teams scheduled for June 10 at 7.30pm. John has a compelling story which has led to the forming of our Districts first Rotary Community Corps. Connect through to the event through http://tinyurl.com/y7wmtam6
Vale Anton Vandornik – Rotary members were saddened to hear of the passing of Anton Vandoornik. Anton was a member of the Rotary Club of Geelong East and was the driving force for Donations in Kind Geelong and therefore had contact with many Club members across Victoria including Tony Austin, Chris Preston and Ian Watson who have received mentoring from him in regard to the PNG Water and Education projects. Anton was Team Leader for the 2012 Sariri Village Project and has been going to PNG with his wife for the last 25 years to assist with Rotary Projects. By all accounts Anton was a true Rotarian and he will be sorely missed.
Have a wonderful week and stay safe and stay connected.
Liza