This will be a general catch up with members and is aptly titled Waffle with Wine, a name borrowed from another Rotary Club in the District (sorry, I can’t remember which Club). I have scheduled the meeting for Friday evening as prior to the current crisis and isolation restrictions this night of the week was usually when people gathered socially for a drink and catch up out of their work situation. I am hoping you can all join the meeting although I realize some members may not be familiar with such a platform or may not have the technical capabilities to join. If the meeting is successful I would like to meet in this format every Friday night while our regular breakfast meetings are in recession. In addition, the Bulletin will still be circulated each week via email and will contain other Rotary news.
Meals on Wheels – In last week’s Bulletin I addressed the situation of Meals on Wheels in particular that volunteers 65 years of age and older are no longer eligible within this current Covid-19 crisis to deliver Meals on Wheels. I also advised of some vacancies on the roster however Andrew and I have had no responses. This is totally understandable given the current situation and it has been relayed to Andrew that Meals on Wheels will totally understand if Daybreak wishes to withdraw our services for the interim period of Covid-19. Could those remaining volunteers on the roster please contact me or Andrew with your ideas on temporarily withdrawing from the program?
Executive Committee 2020-21 – The Board for the Rotary year 2020-21 has been finalised with the following members taking up positions.
President: Peter Cassady
Immediate Past President: Liza McCosh
Vice President: Geoff Grec
Secretary: Cheryl Bellman
Treasurer: Jan Read
Administration: Glenn Rundell
Community Service Projects: Ian Harper
Foundation: Sergio Bacchetti
Public Relations: Di Brown
Sergeant at Arms/Fine Master: Barry Moran
I thank these members for volunteering their services to the Club and would like to note that we still have a vacancy for the position of President Elect for the 2021-22 year.
Rotary Training – A gentle reminder to members that training modules are on the Learning Centre in Club Central if you wish to undertake training and prepare for your roles in Rotary. It is particularly important for those members taking on Executive positions for the 2020-21 Rotary year that you undertake some form of training in lieu of the cancelled District Training Assembly. The training modules for our Youth Protection Officer and also for Grants/Foundation are compulsory for Clubs.
Constitution – Secretary Cheryl has circulated the Constitution sent out by District and the Board’s motion to all Daybreak members. I request that you respond with a yes or no vote within 14 days from the date of the email. This is an important part of our administration process so please respond to Chez within the required time frame so that we can fulfil our administrative obligations.
Exchange Student Returns Home – The Rotary Club of Warrnambool have reported that their exchange student Johannes (Joey), has safely returned to his home in Germany and is currently self isolating.
List of Donations – It is disappointing that we have had to cancel our community service and fundraising projects for the foreseeable future. However, we must remember that we have been very active thus far in the Rotary year and have supported our community with several donations. Below is a list of donations we have either given or are committed to from July 2019.
Warrnambool Special development School $4,000.00
One Arm Point (school, freight of sport equipment) 149.30
Rotary Club of Bairnsdale – Drought Relief 1,000.00
Parkinson’s Walk 211.05
Clancy McCoy – Youth Program 500.00
Warrnambool Distribution Centre – Backpacks 4 Kids 500.00
Anglicare 500.00
Kalay Academy 500.00
PNG Water and Education Projects 3,000.00
Food Share 500.00
Rotary Club of Bairnsdale – Bushfire Fire Appeal 2,000.00
Warrnambool Community Soup Kitchen 250.00
Rotary Club of Bairnsdale – Bushfire Appeal – proceeds from WUNTA 1,500.00
Purple Truck – Presentation to DG (pending) 500.00
South West Health Care - proceeds from Long Lunch (pending) 6,505.30
South West Health Care – Specsavers (pending) 3,500.00
South West Health Care – Saputo (pending) 500.00
Seven Women (pending) 300.00
TOTAL to Date $25,915.65
Rotary Grants – In response to Covid-19 Rotary has made some changes to District Grants, Global Grants and Disaster Response Grants and applicants are encouraged to designate funds for a Covid-19 response. The District Grants which may be more relevant to Daybreak now has an extended application deadline of June 15. More details on changes to the various grants and the flexibility in responding to the current situation can be found on the RI website in the Coronavirus Impact page.
Anniversaries - Chris and Janey will celebrate their 14th wedding anniversary on April 8, well done Mr and Mrs Preston but you have a long way to go to catch Andrew and Betty Suggett who will celebrate their 54th wedding anniversary on the 9th of April, an amazing milestone! Congratulations to both couples.
On April 6th Gerard will celebrate 15 years as a member of Daybreak, congrats Gerard.
Brags - It seems like I am the only member bragging these days: after the last newsletter where I informed grandchild number eleven was on the way, I can now report that Grandchild number 12 is also on the way and due in October, that's an even dozen grandies and will cap off a very exciting year!
Flu Injections – A reminder to all our members that the flu injections have arrived in the local Chemists and also in some doctor’s surgeries. The Chemist Flu shot costs $15 and is not quite as strong as the free flu shots the doctors supply.
Remember that our Club may be able to provide some form of assistance to those members and their families who may be overwhelmed by their isolation in the current situation. If you are unsure of how to order in food or other supplies or how to contact other services, we have members who could assist you in understanding these processes.
Please call Glenn in the first instance on 0417 031 943 and if you can’t reach Glenn, Harpo can be contracted on 0427 941 198. Hopefully we can provide assistance or advice from afar rather than face to face.
Stay safe and stay connected as best you can with friends and family.
Liza
