This time of the year is BIG in Rotary. Today is World Polio Day and normally many clubs would be out in the public with displays and awareness raising materials – but not this year. I hope clubs are acknowledging this important event in some way over the coming week. For information on District celebrations, see the items below.
For a short video to show in your club see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYMBMGrdUeE Ann Lee Hussey is a Rotarian, Past DG, polio campaigner and polio survivor. She talks about why and how she is an active polio campaigner.
Very important insurance information is contained in this newsletter. Be sure to read it, as it affects ALL clubs. An email will also be sent to all club Presidents and Secretaries for action.
I’m writing this on Saturday and hoping, like you, that some of our lockdown restrictions will be eased tomorrow. As we take the steps from where we are now to “COVID normal” (whatever that is), clubs need to be thinking and planning about what that will mean to them. For some important points and ideas, see the article below (a long way down – it’s the third last article in my segment!).
A couple of great project ideas in this issue could be inspirational for your club. I am now quoting RI Board member elect, Jessie Harman when it comes to Rotary projects and fundraisers by encouraging “Rotary R&D”. Research and Development? No, it stands for “rip-off and duplicate”. Perhaps “be inspired by” or “pay homage to” may be better terms, but for Rotarians, project and fundraising ideas are everywhere for the taking. Don’t wait for COVID to be over, get cracking with project ideas from wherever you can find them in the Rotary world!
See you on Zoom or in “Open Doors” next time.
Three District Events to Celebrate World Polio Day and The Rotary Foundation
Event 1 Monday 26th October at 6.30pm - Celebrate World Polio Day
An address to the District by Polio Survivor John Soe - "Living Positively - One Step at a Time"
John, a polio survivor and Rotarian, - is an inspirational speaker whose parents abandoned him at a hospital in Medan – North Sumatra, Indonesia when he was four months old - because of polio. He has been a relentless advocate for Rotary's End Polio Now campaign. John now lives in Jakarta and is the father of two children — a 30-year-old son, and a 22-year-old daughter, also a grandfather to a 3-year-old granddaughter. Everything happens for a reason, and it all comes from within you. If you stay positive, you move forward. And that is what he has been trying to do his whole life.
This Zoom event will be hosted by Rotary Manningham and is open to all Rotarians in the District. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Event 2 Sunday 1 November – Polio & Foundation Event
All Rotarians are welcome to attend the 7th Annual D9810 Paul Harris Society luncheon. Hear a trio of fantastic Rotary speakers.
Here is our line-up of special speakers:
PRIP Ian Riseley, Rotary Sandringham will open proceedings and introduce
PP John Nanni, Rotary Middletown-Odessa-Townsend, Delaware, USA
PDG Bob Aitken, Rotary Lower Blue Mountains, Zone 8 Polio Plus Coordinator
The event will last for one hour and pre-booked attendees should be online at 11.45am.
We will be commencing proceedings at 12 noon sharp.
There is no charge, but a donation opportunity to help “EndPolioNow” is available.
Event 3 Tuesday 10 November at 7.30pm - An Address by Past RI President and Foundation Trustee Ian Riseley
PRIP Ian, a charter member of Rotary Sandringham, is only the 5th Australian (and 3rd Victorian) to be RI President and we are greatly honoured to have Ian address Rotarians in D9810 on current and emerging issues impacting on all of us as Rotarians as well as shaping the future of our Clubs, our District and our Region. Ian will also launch Centurion week. This Zoom event will be hosted by Rotary Sandringham and is open to all Rotarians in the District.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
WASRAG Special Feature for World Polio Day
If you would like some real Rotary inspiration check this wonderful article by Mike Paddock of the Rotary Club of Milwaukee. Mike talks about his work with polio survivor and engineer Minaluhi who he met in Ethiopia after seeing an example of his work. This is a heart-warming story of Rotary in action, the parallels between polio and COVID and how adversity can lead to ingenuity. It’s certainly worth your time. https://portal.clubrunner.ca/50071/Documents/en-au/0afe56ed-2aa1-4fe3-a6c5-76f149e02147/1/
"We Care Packs" for Year 12 students at Emerald Secondary College
A Rotary Club of Emerald & District Youth incentive
Prepare and gift of 108 we care bags to the year 12 students at Emerald Secondary College. It was an idea that came almost too late just 2 weeks before they were due to start their preparation for final exams. It was a team effort by the club, some helped pack, some prepared letters of encouragement, some prettied up the bags and some helped deliver the packs to the school. As you can see by the photos the principal was thrilled and so were the students and we at the Rotary club of Emerald and District are so happy to be able to do this little thing that helped our year 12 students to understand that we are part of their lives. The message it takes a village to raise a child certainly has come to the fore during this epidemic. We are now planning on doing a little something for the year 6 students.
Public Image Presentation by Evan Burrell
The “Kickstart Your Day” PI and Membership Seminar was held earlier this month. For those who missed it or would like a refresher, the link to a recording of the Evan Burrell presentation is https://youtu.be/Qaz5zLlDDLA At the same event Rotary Board Member Elect, Jessie Harman talked about member retention and the seven actions to improve the retention rate. This video is still being edited but will be available soon.
Public Image at Schools linked to Rotary
If your club has close links to one or more schools, especially an Interact or Earlyact club, then you have a significant Public Image opportunity. This sign is just up the road from my house and clearly shows the import link between the school and the club.
Signs like this can be placed either permanently or temporarily to celebrate any school/Rotary event such as speech competitions, citizenship awards, RYPEN or NYSF participation.
Why miss a golden opportunity to promote Rotary?
Projects to “Tick all the Boxes”
Rotary Club of Manningham has a wonderful project about to get underway. It’s called “Rotary Cares: Manningham Shares”. The club will have shopping bags printed for the project. The bags will be delivered to residences in the area with a request to put in non-perishable food items and leave outside on a particular day. Club members collect the bags and deliver the donated goods to a local community service organisation which then distributes to vulnerable and needy people. Wow!
This project ticks all the boxes;
Provides benefit to the community
Provides opportunity for Rotarians to do hands-on work
While working, Rotarians get the opportunity to wear their club shirts and show the community that Rotary is made up of “people of action”.
Provides an opportunity for great public image pictures for Face Book, website, newsletters RDU and other publicity opportunities.
Takes Rotary “signage” right into people’s homes
If your club has a “ticks all the boxes” project and would like it to be publicised in “Open Doors”, please be in touch.
Insurance – Update
An insurance Summary has been added to the District Website providing a comprehensive overview of the 2021/2020 Rotary insurance Program.
A Covid19 Guidance Sheet has also been provided by the Rotary Insurance Brokers (AON) and has been added to the web site along with updated fillable forms.
You are reminded that prior to any cover being granted under the Rotary Insurance Program for ANY and ALL Rotary Activities and Projects, the following forms are required to be completed and sent to the District Insurance Officer for review and acceptance prior to the event or activity:
The Rotary Insurance Proforma Form
The Rotary Risk Management Form (and / or the clubs formal risk management plan for the activity)
Non compliance with this requirement could leave your club uninsured in the event of a claim.
With ongoing or reoccurring activities The Rotary Insurance Proforma Form is required to be completed and forward to the District Insurance Officer for acceptance every year.
Risk Management is the key to protecting our Rotary Insurance program and ensuring our clubs have affordable and broad coverage into the future.
The Risk Management Plan for ongoing or reoccurring activities should be a fluid document requiring regular review and updating by the committee.
Covid19 / Corona Virus is just another one of the risks that now needs to be considered and included in your Risk Management plan.
If you need a certificate of currency or have any questions regarding the program or claims enquires please contact myself, preferably by email.
The Post-COVID Future – An Address by John Hewson (Liberal Party leader 1990 – 94)
The John Hewson talk has been posted to the Rotary Club’s Facebook site.
Your chance to catch up on a great presentation if you missed it. Some very thought provoking observations from John about how we should be tackling the Road out of the pandemic.
With the possibility of a more liberal approach to COVID measures, clubs are starting to think about possible changes to their meetings and, perhaps, going back to face-to-face. Before you do, here’s some thoughts:
Make sure your members are truly ready to return. Ask them either on a one-to-one basis or through an email question. It can be hard to say you’re not keen on face-to-face meetings if everybody else seems eager to rush back.
Liaise with your venue to ascertain maximum numbers – your club may not yet fit back into its old space.
Be acutely aware of personal distancing measures. There can be no handshakes, no standing around in groups, no gathering at the bar – no usual Rotary behaviour! If seats are appropriately spaced in the venue then the rule must be “sit and stay”. Masks need to be worn except while eating and hand sanitiser must be available. There is a danger that when we go to familiar places we behave in familiar ways, so vigilance is a necessity. Clubs may need to appoint COVID marshals to remind members to act appropriately.
Don’t lose sight of the advantages of Zoom meetings (see “Open Doors” #4). Changing to a club that meets both in person and online could add significant flexibility to your program and activities.
Hybrid club or hybrid meeting? A hybrid club meets in person some weeks and on line others. A hybrid meeting is one featuring some people in the room and some on line. A hybrid meeting requires some expertise with technology and some specific equipment. For those planning to attempt hybrid meetings, there’s now a FaceBook page called Hybrid Rotary (https://www.facebook.com/groups/287835555517539 ) and here’s a guide to making it work well which was taken from that FB page. https://portal.clubrunner.ca/50071/Documents/en-au/83cb0373-f814-45a7-b633-b73bdca14025/1/
Shaping Rotary’s Future – A Move to regionalisation
The Rotary International Board meets in November 2020 and will consider a proposal by the Shaping Rotary’s Future committee to move toward Regionalisation. Governance would move from the current 527 Districts to 20-40 Regions. This would allow more Regional autonomy and provide more support for Clubs, Rotarians and Rotaractors.
In Jan 2019, the RI Board approved a petition from the District Governors of Zone 8 (Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands) to propose a Regional structure and approach to halt membership decline, provide a stronger Rotary voice and better partnerships with government, business and communities. Our work since receiving that approval means we are well placed to modernise Rotary in our Region, if the RI Board votes to proceed toward Regionalisation. There have been articles covering this in Rotary Down Under (Nov 2019, April and Sept 2020). Formal approval to establish Regional Pilots will be required at the next Council on Legislation in April 2022. The earliest implementation in our Region would be for the 2023-24 Rotary year.
If you would like to receive a copy of the submission by our Region or have any questions, please email the project team at rotaryregionalpilot@gmail.com
A Thirst for Fellowship
For Rotarians with a taste for very special beverages, there’s a range of Fellowships to consider. Check these websites for one that may suit you:
Vacancy: RAM Regional Supervisor (Southern Region) Position
The Southern Region RAM Supervisor provides oversight of six Rotary Districts (9780, 9790, 9800, 9810, 9820, 9830) with support from the National RAM Manager and Secretary. The appointment is for a three (3) year term beginning from July 1st 2021
We are looking for an experienced Rotarian / Rotaractor who is passionate about international service, has some knowledge of malaria (or willing to build that knowledge), and a leader who enjoys working in a Team. We provide orientation to and follow-up with all Supervisors. Specific to this role, we would expect the incoming nominee to take the opportunity to be mentored by the existing incumbent Gloria Hargreaves.
If you able to commit to the position, please contact our National Secretary Gloria by November 16th for the role description:egharg@netspace.net.au
One container, four countries and five Rotary Clubs…………
In the first week of December 2019 members of the Rotary Club of Doncaster Club helped select and load medical equipment and consumables plus second hand children’s books into a 20’ container at the DIK (Donations in Kind) warehouse in West Footscray. We were ably assisted by Di Gillies from RC of Balwyn, and Lawrie Fraser and Bob Glindemann from Rotary DIK Warehouse.
The medical supplies were for a newly constructed rural medical clinic at Gambo, a rural area south of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe (near a town called Plumtree check it out on a map – it’s near the Botswana border). The new medical clinic was financed by a Global Grant initiated by the Rotary Club of Borken in Germany and this included training nurses in Germany.
NewGen has got its own little mascot and done a cute bit of club promotion by adding a spoon to the Bayswater Spoonville.
Bill the spoon is decked out in glow sticks, and has a QR code on him which visitors can scan that goes to NewGen's Facebook page, so they can find out more about the club.
He also has a timely message on the bottom to promote the #EndPolioNow campaign.
You can go visit Bill and check out the other spoons at the SPC Factory Sales carpark on High St in Bayswater.
As you all may know, Knox Rotaract have been providing free, online small group tutoring for high school students over the last few months, to support students through this challenging time of virtual learning. Many students have felt the strain of this learning and having to quickly adapt to a large change, and we hope to help them in any way we can. We've had a small group of students who have regularly attended our tutoring classes, coming back week after week to get some extra help.
We're happy to announce that we will be continuing this tutoring for the rest of the year, over the course of term 4 as well.
I'm hoping that you all can pass on this message to whoever you see appropriate; whether it be any school contacts you may have, your own Rotary or Rotaract club and any personal relationships that you believe could benefit from this service. The more students we can help get through these times and lower any stress and anxiety levels they have, the better!
I've attached a small poster that you may also use to spread the word, with a link to our website where students can book inwww.knoxrotaract.wixsite.com/freetutoring. Also attached is apdf documentabout this initiative if you'd like to pass that on to anyone, and a sample letter that can be sent to schools.
Thank you in advance for helping support our project!
October is National Mental Health Month, with the theme of 'mental health matters'.
Rotaract Yarra Rangesencourage you to tune into your mental health and take some time to be present and reflect on how you are feeling.
We’ve posted a lot about things you can do when you feeling down such as meditation, going for a walk and the things you can control.
This week we want to challenge you to try and ‘talk yourself up’ see how it is you talk to yourself, listen to yourself and what you are saying. Is it negative or positive? Does this need to change? How can you change it?
Planning for Success and Environmental Sustainability
Would you like plan sizzling Rotary projects that deliver effective outcomes for people, the environment and your club? District 9810 Rotarians Pat Armstrong, Clare Caulfield and Liz Stinson will steer you through a five-step process to develop, plan, implement, monitor and evaluate, and sustain successful Rotary projects. We will also show you how to access online a comprehensive guide, practical templates, worked examples and other resources.
More details at www.esrag.org. Register for this free Zoom webinar here.
As part of the R100 theme where Rotary in Australia and New Zealand celebrates the First 100 years of Service in 2021, D9810 has been challenged to grow our Centurions in the District by 100 members.
NewGen's VP Kiel Egging has released his first photobook and is raising money for music industry workers hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak.
The book features pictures of more than 50 of his favourite acts and bands which he's taken at gigs and festivals over the years. Everyone is in there from Silverchair to Slayer, John Farnham to the Foo Fighters, and AC/DC to Aqua.
Kiel's donating $5 from the sale of every book to Support Act, which provides mental health support and services for struggling Australian musicians.
You can grab one for $20 at http://snappedbykeggs.square.site - and if you use the code 'FREESHIP' at checkout, he'll send it to you for free!
RDU Advertising Commission - Boost club funds by up to $7,000
Rotary Down Under is offering a 25% commission incentive to clubs and districts that secure advertising in the magazine. See information above and, for more, contact Judy Drake at RDU on 02 9633 4888
If your club has close links to one or more schools, especially an Interact or Earlyact club, then you have a significant Public Image opportunity. This sign is just up the road from my house and clearly shows the import link between the school and the club. 
