- Breakfast meeting opened at 7.00 am by Liz
- Apologies received: Ann Barker, Cheryl Bellman, Steve Bellamy, Mary Bouwman, Sue Cassidy, Peter Smid
- Barry introduced his guest, Rebecca Benny who is considering joining Daybreak and guest speaker CFA Captain Tom Woodhams of the Warrnambool Fire Brigade.
- Soup kitchen is closed until next week.
- Discussed the dispersal of funds with Glenn providing an overview. Motion by Jennie, seconded by Sandra, vote carried to disperse $4,000 of our funds as per the following:
- A Strategic Planning Committee has been established comprising Barry, Glenn and Jennie who will work with the broader group in the following weeks to develop a Daybreak Strategic Plan.
- Information provided on the NYSF. WDEA are sponsoring three students. Barry proposed that we provide $550 to a recommended student, William Gleisler of Emmanuel College. Moved Jennie, seconded Sandra, vote carried.
- Guest Speaker: Tom Woodhams
- Tom provided a comprehensive overview of the implications from the Victorian Fire Service Reform Act 2019 and the on-going challenges in supporting and finding appropriate roles for volunteers under the new arrangements in order to have capable surge capacity during bush fire seasons.
- Barry presented Tom with A Certificate of Appreciation for his excellent chain sawing support in Anne’s garden.
- Other announcements
- Lisa participated in a Climate/Peace Forum with topics covering the links between climate change/disruption and conflict and the impact of climate change on choice of crops. She will forward a link to the forum should it be made available. Liza mentioned she is attending an event at Deakin University on 7 September re the Hy Project. Jennie will also be going.
- Ian provided an update on the CARE program and circulated the roster for volunteers during August and September. The updated roster (Jennie doing) to be sent to Ian, Liza and Gerard. Glenn/Ian met with WCC who are looking at a tender process to supply, install and maintain washing/drying facilities through one or two main sites. Archie Graham will most likely be one.
- Quiz by Sandra, fines by Bob
- Meeting closed 8.20 am
How can you get involved with Rotary Fellowships?
- Visit the Rotary Fellowships page to browse more than 90 topics.
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Why not get your team, club, colleagues or friends together this October to celebrate Hat Day and support important research like Tracey's and Simon's? Even if some states remain in lockdown, there are some COVID-safe ways to get involved.
Find out more about their research in podcast episode 16 with Dr Simon Wilksch.
The club recently donated $2,000 to Australian Rotary Health and plan to do the challenge again next year.
ARH are extremely grateful for their support!
In 2009 the Great Australian Bike Ride raised almost $250,000 for mental health research, with cyclists travelling a total of 17,830km around Australia.
That same year, ARH joined with other organisations in the Beyond Bushfires five-year research program to investigate community health and wellbeing in the context of bushfires.
Celebrate #40YearsofARH by donating to our birthday fundraiser today.
"I want to play my role to ‘Bridge the Gap in Indigenous Health’. I want to be a part of facilitating better health outcomes. I want to fund more clinics and facilitate a culturally safe empowering environment for Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander people."
- Brianna St John, Indigenous Health Scholarship 2021 (Bachelor of Medicine)
Rotary - Mental Health Research - Building a healthier Australia
Around the World
Mexico
In Ciudad Juárez, one woman’s work to protect children from street violence has blossomed into Soles de Anapra, a center serving some 80 young people. Since 2014, the Rotary Club of El Paso, Camino Real, Texas, had been donating goods to Lourdes Contreras for the after-school program she ran out of a small house. In 2015, the club decided to find her a bigger, better space. With $25,000 donated by the 16 clubs in Ciudad Juárez and two partners in New Mexico — the Rotary clubs of Los Alamos and Silver City, frequent contributors and visitors to the center — and $10,000 raised from a 5K run sponsored by the Eaton Corporation, the club purchased a 6,000-square-foot warehouse in 2016 and went to work. In April, the club completed a refurbishment of the building, carried out even as the pandemic temporarily halted the after-school program.
United States
In October, about a dozen Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Eau Claire Morning, Wisconsin, along with some of their family members, used a product called Invisible Spray to stencil temporary, water-activated artwork on sidewalks throughout the city. Rainworks, manufacturer of the hydrophobic, nontoxic liquid spray, donated the product, which allows users to create designs that only appear when the sidewalks get wet. At a cost of about $130, 16 ounces can cover up to 110 square feet. “We thought in the difficult times of the pandemic, we could bring smiles to our community” and inspire other organizations to do the same, says Sarah Stackhouse, a co-president of the club. A “thank you” below an image of a firefighter’s hat was traced outside a fire station, while a drawing at the entrance to a theater featured musical notes and suggested “singing in the rain.”
France
The Rotary Club of Nice Riviera Côte d’Azur has tackled an outsize number of projects in France and beyond in recent years. It worked with a sister club, the Rotary Club of Norwich, England, to install a rainwater recovery system in Ho, Ghana, and has done fundraising for cancer research. The Rotarians also donated to a charity that purchased garden planters valued at more than $6,000 for local pediatric medical facilities in Nice. The club also raises funds for cancer research. At local grocery stores, in exchange for a donation of 1 €, club members offer tokens used to unlock shopping carts.
South Africa
When COVID-19 shutdowns heightened hunger in his country, Rex Ifechukwude Omameh turned his family’s living room into a sandwich assembly area to prepare food for those in need. Omameh, who is a member of the Rotaract Club of Blouberg and the Rotary Club of Blouberg, and his family members made the effort a Friday tradition. Fellow Rotaractors sometimes help prepare the sandwiches, and most of the food is given to the Milnerton Community Action Network for distribution. Omameh has spent more than $1,500 on food, and a bread company has also pitched in to provide some of the bread and soup. Omameh also received contributions to defray the project’s costs as a birthday present
Sri Lanka
With 11,000 followers on Facebook and nearly 3,000 on Instagram, the Rotaract Club of Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT) collects clicks when it takes on a cause. In September, the 331-member club wrapped up an initiative to use those social media platforms, as well as its YouTube channel, to promote pandemic-stricken businesses in and around Colombo, one of the nation’s two capital cities. The Rotaractors produced and posted 10 video interviews with the operators of various enterprises, including bakeries, an event-organizing company, and an auto parts supplier. “Many small business owners faced a lot of downfalls in surviving the crisis,” says Sharoni Anthony, a club member. “We hoped to make the public aware of them and their amazing products and services"
This afternoon Peter Cassady, Di and myself were at Surfside 2 for the Care Program.
Stephen Bellamy August 9
Peter Cassady August 27
Geoff Grec August 27