Welcome everyone to the 3rd edition of “STAYING CONNECTED”.
WOW what an amazing fortnight of Rotary it has been, I have attended 23 Zoom meetings in the last fortnight and loved seeing everyone.
They were:
18 Club meetings, including a 2:00am meeting with RC Bloomington in USA
3 new member inductions (now is still a great time to induct people into Rotary)
an inaugural meeting for the newly formed Knox Rotaract Club
an interest meeting for an Interact Club which will be charted by RC Emerald & District and RC Berwick (Yes, an Interact Club which spans two Districts (9810 & 9820), how special is that!).
Youth Exchange meeting with students who are currently overseas and coping really with the restrictions their host countries are facing.
ANZAC Day Service – Thank you RC Rowville-Lysterfield for a very moving service. For others they stood outside their driveways at 6:00am to listen to the Last Post and lit a candle. Very different from previous years, but just as moving.
District Changeover will be via Zoom this year, please make sure you save the date.
For those of you who read the Rotarian, yes, I am in the May edition.
I would like to update the members in our District on the programs going forward supported by Rotarians Against Malaria.
Malaria Awareness Day is April 30th. 2 Million people contract Malaria each year causing over 400,000 deaths.
There is an opportunity to work with Primary Schools in your area. The National RAM Primary School Video Competition is open until September 25th 2020. There is no money outlay from clubs. Further information, permission forms, 'props' such as bed nets will be supplied by your District RAM committee on request. http://ram.rawcs.com.au/
Due to the cancellation of the Rotary International Convention in Hawaii, the Malaria Symposium planned for the 5th June 2020 is also cancelled. The RAM annual conference has been deferred until September 2021
RAM is now working alongside the Ministry of Health in Vanuatu working towards Eliminating Malaria - For Good in Vanuatu. This has been set up by our District 9810 and District 9820 (the south east peninsular of Melbourne to the south coast). Support is now being sought to purchase bed nets and residual spraying kits. A global grant will see every $1 become $2 towards Eliminating Malaria. More information here
The position of RAM National Deputy Manager is vacant. Please consider this opportunity to work alongside the RAM National Manager and RAM National Secretary in supporting RAM programs and communicating with Rotary Districts in Australia.
DG Shia received the attached after attending the RC Bloomington (club in USA) Zoom's meeting and thought the update they had done to the 4 Way Test is very appropriate for our district.
The Rotary Club of Rowville-Lysterfield followed through with a suggestion made at one of its ZOOM Club meetings held in early April. Discussion centred on holding a ZOOM online Anzac service for members.
The seed was sown and a small group of members worked behind the scenes to make this a reality. As the week’s progressed so did the size of the potentially captive audience. “Why not throw the invitation out to other Rotary Clubs and even the wider community?”
President Rajeev Wadhwa set up a ZOOM meeting that allowed up to 100 participants. Members Murray Wilson (ex-army), John Williams (ex-navy), Marg Vesey (President Elect), Alan Lunghusen (PP) and Daryl Moran (DGN) joined Rajeev in the Anzac sub-committee.
Just under 100 people registered for the event with almost that number joining the service - Rotarians, Friends of Rotarians, Residents of Aged Care facilities and the general public were all on-line. The Mayor of Knox, Nicole Seymour, was one of the many participants.
People who joined the 11:00am service early were treated to songs from the war years prior to formalities commencing. Many could be seen on screen singing along.
Murray Wilson, who was MC for the service, represented the Armed Services.
Marg Vesey commenced proceedings with the reading of a beautiful poem.
Daryl Moran shared a very thought provoking reflection on the meaning of Anzac Day. He emphasised the need to:
Remember all Lost Lives
Remember to give Thanks
Remember to Look Forward
Daryl and Jenny Moran represented the Air Force, as both of their fathers were airmen during the war.
John Williams, representing the Navy, presented a very moving rendition of the Ode accompanied by the last post.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
The Club received many supportive chats online during the ceremony and emails after the event praising this new initiative.
Cr Nicole Seymour (Mayor of Knox)
Thank you Rowville-Lysterfield Rotary for embracing technology to deliver a touching service. I loved the sentiment you shared. Well done!
At an informal ZOOM meeting of club members following the event at which all diggers were toasted, it was agreed that the Anzac service should become an annual event. Discussion centred on improving the technical aspects and making the service available to a wider group, including Retirement Villages.
This year’s ride which took in the “Painted silos trail” in Victoria’s Wimmera region was a resounding success. The ride very nearly did not go ahead due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but managed to be done and dusted just before restrictions made such an event impossible. We had an excellent turnout of 43 participants and, thankfully, in spite of a few riding incidents, we all returned home well. A large number of the participants this year were not Rotarians, including 16 newbies, and of these some were amongst the higher fund raisers.
Many of the places visited along the way were grateful for the small boost we provided their local community economy, with many places obviously suffering from a major down turn in tourist traffic. What was also nice was the number of random donations we received from the general public as the passed through.
It is with great pleasure I can say we have, at the time of writing, raised in excess of $53,000.00 for Australian Rotary Health. An unexpected result considering the drain on fund raising sources due to the earlier fires, the generosity of people is amazing.
Many thanks to all the participants and the committee, made up of members from a number of Clubs within our district.
NewGen Rotary, a satellite club of Rotary Club of Nunawading in Melbourne’s east, has been helping a local café keep its doors open and giving those on the frontline of the COVID-19 outbreak a well-deserved caffeine hit.
The club donated $50 to Rise & Grind 3133 café in Vermont as a ‘pay it forward’ for 11 free coffees for nurses and health workers.
The initiative has since attracted further larger donations for more coffees from club supporters and Past Rotary International President Ian Riseley.
It also inspired the Rotaract Club of Yarra Ranges, also in District 9810, to do a similar initiative at a café in Croydon.
NewGen President Kiel Egging said the club wanted to support the café after it agreed to partner with them for its community library project that was put on hold due to COVID-19 restrictions.
He said the club had received messages of support and praise from clubs and Rotarians in Asia, the US and Oceania.
“It was a simple, small-cost idea that was easy to arrange and it’s been a great way for our club to continue to make a difference in the community in challenging and very restrictive times,” Kiel said.
Yarra Ranges Rotaract have adapted with the new challenges brought about from the COVID-19 restrictions, with many of us working from our new ‘home offices’, virtual classrooms and for a couple of members work is ‘business as usual’ with them still frequenting their workplaces.
We are staying connected by moving our regular meetings to ZOOM but also adding in a virtual social on the weeks we do not meet. We have taken part in Manningham Rotaract’s Friday Night Games and the District’s Netflix Watch Party of the Marriage Story.
We are paying it forward and saying thank you to our healthcare and emergency workers for all they are doing for our community during these tough times. We have donated to Night Fix Coffee due to their direct connection to our frontline workers and Littorio’s Café due to its proximity to the Croydon Police Station, Ringwood Private Hospital and Maroondah Hospital. Our contributions have allowed nurses and doctors to receive a free coffee from Night Fix and have bought 25 large coffees for healthcare and emergency workers at Littorio’s.
Night Fix Coffeeis a small business that operates with two coffee trucks and visits 14 different locations covering key hospitals across the Melbourne region. The ‘buy them a coffee’ initiative was born to provide our doctors and nurses with a coffee or tea through these donations. The buy them a coffee movement is present in all capital cities in Australia and rural areas in NSW including Orange, Dubbo, Bathurst and Wollongong. It has also made movements over the ditch in New Zealand. You can find out more information about this great initiative herehttps://linktr.ee/buythemacoffee.
If your club is looking for a way to stay connected to your community and make a difference, this might just be it! Join Yarra Ranges and NewGen Rotary and let’s get this movement rolling across our District.
Yarra Ranges Rotaract meets every 2nd and 4th Tuesday on Zoom, if you would like to join us at one of our meetings send us a message onFacebookor email us at rotaract.yarraranges@gmail.com
We're extremely excited to be kicking-off this newly formed Rotaract club in the 9810 Rotary District!
The Knox Rotaract Club had our initial kick-off meeting on the 16th of April 2020 over Zoom. This was attended by our 9 passionate members and various representatives from throughout the 9810 District. This included the District Rotaract Representative (Netania Lim), the Rotary District Chair (Michael Ellinger), the Rotary District Governor (Shia Smart), and Rotarians from the Rowville/Lysterfield and Bayswater clubs.
Our virtual kick-off meeting was an extremely positive experience. We are overjoyed to have the support of so many Rotarians in our district, and it was great to have the opportunity to get to know them and listen to their wisdom and enthusiasm.
Online meetings seem to have become the new normal - and though this brings a great many frustrations, it also brings opportunity. Some of our members mentioned they may struggle to attend in-person meetings, due to lack of transport or work/study commitments. When we took this meeting online, it gave people the flexibility to come on board without hesitation, allowing us to start our club with confidence and strong numbers.
This new way of functioning has also sparked ideas within the group, of ways we can help and support those in our community who are struggling to learn and function with everything being online. We hope to start our first initiative in the coming weeks, as well as supporting the other clubs in the district with their events as we learn the ropes.
We want to thank all the Rotarians and Rotaractors who have supported us so far, by attending our meetings or sharing their experiences, advice and enthusiasm with us. We look forward to where this journey will take us!
We would love to expand our club and find new members, so if anyone’s interested please reach out!
Noble Park Primary School: Yarrabah indigenous Primary School Cairns:
An annual Program of visits between Noble Park Primary School and Yarrabah Indigenous Primary School in far north Queensland began 3 years ago in 2016 when a D9810 Foundation “Local & International grant enabled a visit by students to Cairns that initiated the capacity to experience personal cultural understanding.
Reciprocal visits from Yarrabah to The Noble Park Primary School have continued also, enabling a further transfer of experience and knowledgeable understanding between students and teachers.
The grants have provided for this continuation of knowledge transfer: The relationship with the land, Indigenous art and its significance, importance of land care, boomerang throwing lighting a fire with a stick and handling a small crocodile all created understanding and wonder for the students from Noble Park primary school.
Noble Park Primary School was the overall winner of the Kevin Heinz perpetual Trophy for Victorian school Garden Awards for 2019. The Yarrabah indigenous school in far north Queensland have adopted the basics of this gardening activity example and are implementing it at their school.
An article in the Dandenong Journal featured an Indigenous art painting at the Noble Park school at the last visit by Yarrabah school in November 2019.
Noble Park Principal Mr David Rothstadt said he was buoyed by reading required student reports of their experiences and memories and observing the positive impact on the students.
The Bonds formed between students and teachers and the depth of understand developing between cultures has been greatly assisted by The Rotary Foundation support through these Local & International Grants.
He thanked The Rotary Foundation and the Rotary Club of Noble Park-Keysborough for their continued support in this important arena.
It has become clear during the COVID-19 pandemic that looking after our health – particularly our mental health – is more important than ever.
With social distancing rules in place, many of our supporters across Australia who would normally raise thousands of dollars towards mental health research, have been forced to postpone and cancel their fundraising events.
We can see that this virus is affecting our mental health tremendously. Therefore, continuing to support mental health research to learn how to best support our communities when unexpected events like these occur, is crucial.
We ask that you please consider donating to mental health research today to help Australian Rotary Health #Liftthelidonmentalillness in these uncertain times and ultimately improve the health and wellbeing of all Australians.
We have set a target to raise $200,000. Any dollars towards this will be greatly appreciated.
Please share this link with your family, friends and social networks.
Australian Rotary Health Podcast – The Research Behind Lift the Lid
Australian Rotary Health (ARH) has started a very exciting new project - our first podcast called 'The Research Behind Lift the Lid', hosted by ARH Promotions & Mental Health Research Manager Jessica Cooper.
In our first episode, we did a zoom interview with ARH Postdoctoral Fellowship/Mental Health Research Grant recipient Dr Louise Mewton from the University of New South Wales.
Louise talked about her research findings for her project: Preventing adolescent mental illness through brain training.
DGE Alma will be conducting regular virtual morning teas on Tuesday at 10.30 am. These are intended to be informal session for any Rotarian to join for a chat, to ask questions or even to do a little gentle boasting about their club’s success in the current climate. To join the session, please email Alma and she will send through the Zoom link information.
The timetable for club visits by the 2020/21 District Governor has been published and agreed by the current Presidents Elect. DGE Alma has decided that the visits will go ahead as planned whether that is in the virtual or the real world. Clubs are requested to ensure the visit is programmed appropriately into the club’s meeting plan.
The 2020/21 District Directory will be an on-line only publication. This decision has been taken in the light of the recent upsurge in use of technology throughout the District and the financial issues facing the District as a result of the cancellation of the 2020 conference.
The District team will ensure that all information currently published in the hard copy Directory will appear on the D9810 website. Contact information for fellow Rotarians will be accessible through the Club Runner smart phone app.
Clubs wanting tuition on using the website and the app should, as a first point of call, contact their Assistant Governor for 2020/21.
In this time of on-line meetings and international interconnectedness, some clubs are using the opportunity to invite very special people to join their meetings and provide new perspectives not usually available at regular club meetings.
Some clubs are using the technology to plan and hold special social events and fundraisers.
If your club is doing something special or different, don’t forget that the G-train members, your AG and other members of the District leadership team would be interested to attend. This is your opportunity to show off a little and let the wider District know how innovative your club can be.
What is your club panning for its changeover event? If there is an intention to go ahead with a virtual changeover, please remember that one of the G-train members (DG Shia, DGE Alma, DGN Daryl and DGND Ken) would all be delighted to receive an invitation.
District Changeover will be going ahead on 20 June as planned but it will move to the virtual world. An event committee has been formed and plans are being formulated. Details on how to book will be circulated as soon as they are prepared but please save the date now and look forward something very different from the traditional changeover.
There WILL be a District Changeover Event.
It WILL be Zoomed on Saturday, June 20th.
It may possibly commence at 7.30pm.
It may even go for about an hour or so.
Attendees WILL need to register online.
Attendees may even offer a voluntary donation to EndPolio.
There may even be a series of “after parties” organized in Clusters.
The incoming and outgoing DGs may separately Zoom in to all of them.
However uncertain all this reads there WILL be a District Changeover Event.
Stay alert for more information that WILL come to you soon.
Thank you to all Rotarians who have already registered for the 2020 District Assembly. It isn’t too late to register and details of how to do so appear in this Newsletter.
Thank you, too, to the workshop presenters who have agreed to move from in-person activity to on-line. It is fantastic to report that all the planed workshops will be going ahead.
At the Assembly it is usual for the DGE to have the opportunity to make a presentation of the new Rotary theme, the plans for the year and the partner’s project. As DGE Alma will not have the opportunity to address Rotarians in person but still wishes to make the presentation, a short video will be prepared as part of the overall District Assembly activity. All clubs are requested to make a short time available in their first meeting after 24 May to play the video. Exact length of the video will be advised as soon as it is ready.
Whilst the District Training Assembly as a physical event has been cancelled, we’re still very focused on supporting club office bearers in preparing for the year ahead. Now, more than ever, Rotary and the community needs strong clubs and well-prepared club leaders.
Our request is that before the 24th May, club office bearers and any other interested members undertake the online learning modules in the RI Learning Centre relevant to their portfolio. Then, from the week commencing 25th May, we will offer online Zoom-based workshops for each portfolio to consolidate learnings and share ideas and questions with your peer group across the District.
To facilitate this process, we ask that you register via Eventbrite if you haven’t already done so, so that we can arrange the relevant online workshops.
The registration link and details of the online learning modules can be found on theDistrict Assemblypage on the District’s website:
