Growing Rotary Christmas Trees - Bellbridge Lake Hume RC - These people grow the trees you buy for your homes
Our guest speakers, Trevor Jenner and Reg Hinton, are both long term Rotarians and now members of Bellbridge Lake Hume. Their club meets weekly on Wednesdays at the Thurgoona Country Club Resort at 6.30pm. There are 13 active and 2 honorary members, and the President is John Parry.
On 15 October the club will celebrate 40 years since being chartered. Its community service activities and projects include the Australia Day Breakfast, the Bellbridge Foreshore Walking Track 2 km in length (now maintained by the local council), Carols by Candlelight, Year 6 awards at 2 local primary schools and of course the Christmas Tree Plantation.
Right: L to R Trevor Jenner, John Wood, Reg Hinton & Alan Sharp
We bore witness this week to the homelessness situation in Wagga as presented by President of Wagga Women's Health, Vickie Burkinshaw and advocates for the homeless, Leigh Swansborough & Tim Verhoef.
When circumstances change, anyone can become homeless at any time. Little things add up and can quickly become an issue. The necessary support mechanisms don’t exist for men released from jail transitioning back into community, aging women following divorce or death of a partner, women and children escaping domestic and family violence and those couch-surfing staying with family or friends.
Currently, there are no motel rooms available in Wagga to provide temporary accommodation. These rooms are very short-term and have no cooking facilities, often curfew times to go to bed and restrict the number of bags to take with them. No pets such as dogs & cats are not allowed.
Housing & Homelessness
702 waiting • 1,195 social homes • 1 in 10 post‑war • 1 in 50 now • 7–10 yrs wait
Daily Reality
2,308 rough sleepers • Services 5 pm • Pack up 5 pm • Toilets 7 am
Possibilities to change the situation:
▪ Home Share: Spare rooms can change lives. Many people live in large houses with empty rooms. What if there could be a carefully matched, safe, supported arrangement between someone with a spare room and someone needing a safe, affordable place to live? ▪ Repurpose an empty building: An empty or under-used building could be a safe place to sleep, shower, cook, store belongings or a place to start again, it doesn’t have to be permanent to become life changing. ▪ Land could become a village: Just as occurred after the Lismore floods, small self-contained homes can become a village with a safe place to live, a kitchen and bathroom, communal space, gardens, laundry, onsite support, access to services – and - a pathway to permanent housing.
Spotlight on Our WWT2 Stars: Emma Sampson & Megan Gaffney
Wagga Wagga Takes 2 has always been about heart — everyday people stepping into the spotlight to raise money for causes that matter deeply to them. This year, two remarkable women are taking the stage with stories that are as inspiring as they are personal.
Guest speaker Emily Knight was given a brief introduction by Youth Director, Deidre Tome. Before getting into her presentation, Emily expressed her sincere appreciation to Sunrise Rotary for supporting her to attend the National Youth Science Forum in Canberra.
Phil Hoey - Defibrillator Training and Club Support
Fred Loneragan introduced Phil to the meeting and Peter Gissing thanked Phil for his excellent session ...... we look forward to our follow up on practicing CPR
A total of 15 Rotarians and 6 partners gathered at Wagga Beach around noon on Sunday 28th June for a catch up – with appropriate ‘social distancing’ of course. The menu was BYO lunch
Attendees were: President Jo (& Dennis) Wilson, Dave (& Donna) O’Grady, Max (& Sue) Chapman, Colin (& Alison) Wiese, Fred (& Rae) Loneragan, John (& Anne) Wood, Kim Baker, Anne Egan, Jenny Groch, Joan Skews, Dawn Smith, Sandra Rootes, Alan Sharp, Bob Martin & David Brady.
After all the great rain we have been receiving, the weather on the day was perfect for a winter’s day. Sitting around in very pleasant sunshine, everyone thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to catch up ‘face to face’.
President Jo provided some light hearted entertainment concerning how she & Dennis are coping (or not) with possums in their ceiling. Plenty of advice was forthcoming from various people as well as some recalling their own possum adventures from the past.
The beach gathering wound up around 1.30pm as the shade from the nearby trees turned the air a bit fresh. A few members however moved to a warmer sunny spot and continued with a bit more fellowship for another half hour or so before heading off. Overall, a great get together enjoyed by all
Music has been an important part of leading an ordinary life for students at the Music School for Children With Disabilities in Honor of Paul Harris in Lublin, Poland. Founded by Rotary members, the school serves 20 students with various disabilities, including Down syndrome, autism, and visual impairments. The Rotary Club of Lublin-Centrum-Maria Curie-Sklodowska has provided funding with help from Rotary Foundation Matching Grants and the Henryk Wieniawski Musical Society, which houses the school.
After their son Mateusz was born with underdeveloped eyes, Mariusz and Joanna Kania looked for ways to help him be active. When he showed an aptitude for music, they looked for a teacher and were thrilled to find the Paul Harris music school.
...For years, Angalia Bianca had slept in abandoned buildings throughout Chicago. She stole. She did drugs. She spent time in and out of jail for forgery, theft, trespassing, and possession of narcotics. But after she landed in prison for the seventh time, something changed -- Bianca knew she wanted a better life. She just didn’t know how to make it happen.
After serving her time, Bianca sought help from a local homeless organization, A Safe Haven, and moved to its shelter in the Rogers Park neighborhood. Bianca followed the program closely -- she attended all the required meetings, passed drug tests, and volunteered at every opportunity.
Throughout India and around the world, Rotary clubs are celebrating a major milestone: India has gone three years without a new case of polio. The last reported case was a two-year-old girl in West Bengal on 13 January 2011. To mark this historic triumph, Rotary clubs illuminated landmarks and iconic structures throughout the country with four simple but powerful words, "India is polio free."
The three-year achievement sets the stage for polio-free certification of the entire Southeast Asia region by the World Health Organization. The Indian government also plans to convene a polio summit in February to commemorate this victory in the global effort to eradicate polio.
After 2 years of faithful service to the club, President David Brady will hand over Chains to Simon Swan. 
Welcome Simon and enjoy the year ahead
...For years, Angalia Bianca had slept in abandoned buildings throughout Chicago. She stole. She did drugs. She spent time in and out of jail for forgery, theft, trespassing, and possession of narcotics. But after she landed in prison for the seventh time, something changed -- Bianca knew she wanted a better life. She just didn’t know how to make it happen.
Throughout India and around the world, Rotary clubs are celebrating a major milestone: India has gone three years without a new case of polio. The last reported case was a two-year-old girl in West Bengal on 13 January 2011. To mark this historic triumph, Rotary clubs illuminated landmarks and iconic structures throughout the country with four simple but powerful words, "India is polio free."