Is it “back to the future” or “onward to the past”? Whichever it is, here we are back in lockdown – again! I don’t really find the thought of lockdown distressing - after all I have plenty to do – but my heart goes out to all those who must change plans at a moment’s notice especially those with significant investments. Think of all the restaurants and florists planning for one of the biggest days of the year and all the other businesses and shops faced with re-introducing lockdown measures at a few hours’ notice. Even here in Rotary District 9810 about a quarter of our clubs have had to cancel markets this weekend and the clubs planning in-person meetings on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday are going to find themselves back on Zoom. Let’s all hope that the five days is all we need this time and life will be closer to normal before the end of the week. To help I have added an item with some tips about resilience for us as individuals and for Rotary clubs (see below).
While I could, I have been out and about visiting Rotary club activities at the weekends. See the pics in Governor’s Travels.
For those who have been asking, Morning Tea with the DG is returning this week on Tuesday. The Zoom link is further down in this issue.
Other great things to read, see or do are;
Membership Inspiration with Jessie Harman
The Kindness Challenge
Using Survey Monkey
Polio Plus interview with Bill Gates
My Freedom Day with RAGAS
RI theme for 2021/22
… and, of course, lots, lots more.
Governor’s Travels
Mostly braving cold and wet weather (is it really February?) I visited the Lilydale Rotary Craft and Produce Market (top left), the Cheltenham Rotary Undercover Market (top right), The Rotary Club of Emerald Treasure & Trash Market (bottom left) and the Doncaster Hill Rotary Market (RCs Doncaster and Templestowe) where I caught up with members of Manningham Rotaract. With so many clubs still meeting on line, I find meeting up with Rotarians at outdoor events a great way to get to say hello and chat about Rotary matters.
Jessie Harmon on Growing Rotary – Membership Inspiration
Rotary International Board Member Elect, Jessie Harman, speaks about growing membership and retention of existing members. It goes for about 15 minutes. You’ll see some familiar faces at the start of the video, don’t give up as the recording will go to speaker view a couple of minutes in. Grab your note book before you start watching so you don’t miss any of Jessie’s great tips. This video could be used as an opener for a club discussion on membership and growth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsBiibYbphk
Inducting New Members
Ever felt that your club’s induction ceremony is a bit clunky and old-fashioned? Or perhaps it’s all a bit too casual to be meaningful. I came across a great updated version of the induction ceremony that says all that’s needful and appropriate but in more accessible and modern terms. If you’d like to take a look see here.
D9810 Rotarian Recognised with AOM
Ms Norma Kathleen SEIP Croydon VIC 3136 For service to community health through advocacy and advisory roles. Congratulations to Norma, who is a member of the RC of Box Hill Burwood. Rotarians of D9810 are proud of your achievement.
Kindness Challenge
Here’s an idea I found online; it’s from RC South Metro Minneapolis Evenings – set a kindness challenge. Of course clubs can tailor the challenge to their own projects, priorities and view of the world, but could be a worthwhile way to make us all feel better in these “interesting” times.
The Easy-Peasy Fundraiser with High Impact
Ron Brooks of RC Forest Hill (and another D9810 unsung hero!) sent me these pics of the foreign coins and notes collected and ready for bagging. All the proceeds go to UNICEF and this year are earmarked for Give Every Child a Future, the R100 project to vaccinate children in the Pacific Islands (a great Zone 8 effort!). Since this project began more than half a tonne of coins worth more than $23,000 has been collected. Your club (or just you) can join in this fun. Contact Ron Brooks to see how you can help.
Making Rotary Visible in the Community
Rotary Club of Mordialloc has been working for some time to install or update Rotary promotional signs at railway stations and their efforts have met with success. The club now has signs at Parkdale, Mentone, Mordialloc and Aspendale stations. The effort took some time especially in contacting the right people and deciding what to put on the signs. Fortunately for other clubs, RC Mordialloc, through member, Philip Maxwell, has shared the information. To see how it’s done, click here.
Using Survey Monkey for Club Review
Meeting virtually for most of 2020 prompted the Rotary Club of Rowville-Lysterfield to conduct their six-monthly Club review via Survey Monkey. This medium proved a useful way to canvass the opinions of club members efficiently and anonymously. The survey only took the participants about five minutes to complete, the novelty value of this medium provided impetus for members to respond and the program collated the responses into an easily read format for analysis, including graphs. The variety of formats available for responses enabled information to be gathered in a number of different ways. The data that was collected has provided a clear direction for shaping various aspects of the Club as we move into the ‘coronavirus normal’ future.
RC Boronia in RDU
Congratulations to RC Boronia for the great project write-up in RDU featuring Taveuni Island Secondary School Student Assistance Project. The project aims to help secondary students impacted by the devastating Cyclone Yasa to return to school.
If you haven’t seen the article, check page 12 of the February issue of Rotary Down Under.
Chinese ANZACS
The Rotary Club of Doncaster will host a special Zoom presentation by Leigh McKinnon of The Golden Dragon in Bendigo entitled “Chinese ANZACS”. This is a special event for ANZAC Day and will take place at 7.00pm on Wednesday 21 April. For more information, please contact Joady Barnes from RC Doncaster.
Top Tips For Resilience
As we are now in (yet) another Stage 4 lockdown, it’s a good time to think about our personal resilience and that of our clubs. Here’s some great information to help along the way.
See PRIP Barry Rasin and Bill Gates interviewed on the subject of Rotary’s campaign to eradicate polio. The interview is conducted by Devlin Thorpe and was recorded in 2019. About 20 minutes long and worth a look! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn8-Ij9KJ7Q
Your Personal Donation to End Polio Now
Did you know that only about 10% of Rotarians make personal donations to the End Polio campaign? End Polio is this year’s DG Partner’s project. Any Rotarian wishing to make a personal donation can do so by contacting Greg King of RC Manningham or Rob Byrne at the RISPPO office in Paramatta on 02 8894 9843.
Australia Day Event Recording
If you missed the central on-line event on January 26, the recoding is now available. Check https://vimeo.com/499557993/c7f57dc663 and get set for about 100 minutes of entertainment and information put together for this fantastic representation of “Reflect Respect Celebrate”.
Rotary Foundation Announces Policy Changes from 1 July
In a recent letter Trustee Chair K R Ravindran announced significant policy changes for the Rotary Foundation caused by a growing demand for grants and the low returns available for invested funds. The policy changes impact the Foundation’s contributions to the Polio Plus fund, the Foundations matching funding for DDF inputs, an increase in the percentage of funds required to administer the Foundation and some changes to the discretion District Foundation Committees have to roll-over DDF funds. To see the full letter, please click here.
My Freedom Day by RAGAS and CNN
March 16 is #MyFreedomDay
-- when students around the world raise their voices against modern slavery.
This year, even though the pandemic still grips much of the world, it is more important than ever that we continue to find creative ways to raise awareness of this issue.
We’re encouraging teachers and students to come up with their own ideas!
We want students to start Freedom chains on social media. Take the pledge and host an activity. Perfect for Interact clubs.
In the last issue I mentioned the countries encompassed by Rotary Zone 8. In a recent exercise DGE, Daryl Moran, created this graphic of our Zone. The display of flags really shows us how many countries are included in this part of the Rotary world and the number of opportunities there are to become involved in great international service projects in our own ”neighbourhood”.
WA Bushfire Appeal – A Message From the Front Line.
As you are aware, WA is again experiencing bushfire damage with a current loss of over 71 homes. The result of this will be long-term hardship for many and we seek your help in collecting funds so that we can provide the necessary support.
Rotarians have been in contact both locally and from around Australia, keen to be of assistance.
If there is any practical assistance required we will be in touch with our clubs. We have made offers to all the relevant shires and evacuation centres.
The Australian Rotary Health 2021 Facts Booklet lists all PhD Scholarship, Mental Health Research Grant, Postdoctoral Fellowship, Rural Nursing, Rural Medical, and Indigenous Health Scholarship recipients supported by Australian Rotary Health. This publication also provides information on the work that we do, as well as campaigns and events. The 2021 Facts Booklet is now available to read online on Issuu. To request a hard copy, email: admin@arh.org.au or call: (02) 8837 1900.
Hear about the research behind Lift The Lid in this fascinating series of twenty-nine episodes from researchers funded through ARH. Each talks about their particular project and the outcomes that are making a difference, especially in the lives of young people. A fabulous Rotary project. The site includes some short videos (1 or 2 minutes) which may be suitable to show n club meetings.
Newly recognized Rotary Action Group for Refugees, Forced Displacement, and Migration
Our new Rotary Action Group for Refugees, Forced Displacement, and Migration will assist clubs and districts with projects that support refugees, internally displaced persons, and vulnerable migrants. These projects may range from providing shelter and food to creating educational and employment opportunities for people in need. Contact the group’s founding chair, Quentin Wodon ( rotarianeconomist@gmail.com)
Debunking Five Myths About Vaccines from UNICEF
The spread of myths and conspiracies can be deadly when it comes to health. That’s why UNICAF has debunked the most common vaccine misconceptions.
The following five things are NOT true
MYTH 1: Vaccines are not safe
MYTH 2: Vaccines are toxic
MYTH 3: Vaccines cause autism
MYTH 4: Vaccines are unnecessary
MYTH 5: Vaccinated children cause outbreaks
Be a vaccine supporter and don’t be taken in by these myths. For more information see here.
Thanks to all the Rotary Clubs of D9810 for supporting PDG Shia's, DG Family Project - Books for Kids. The media release (see link) from Books in Homes, details how much was raised ($35,000 with $25,000 from Rotary and $10,000 Ansvar Insurance), lists the 25 schools in our District which are involved and are currently receiving their preview packs for the children to select their books from, and thanks our wonderful organisation for being involved.
Thanks again to all the clubs and individuals who supported this amazing project. Your generosity is very much appreciated.
For those clubs who are linked to schools involved, fingers and toes crossed that COVID stays away and we can attend the schools for the Book Giving Ceremonies.
Rotary Club of Noble Park - Dingley Special Project
During 2020, COVID has limited methods that Rotary clubs can raise money for the most worthy of causes.
Since October 2020, the Rotary Club of Noble Park - Dingley believed it could assist our local Noble Park Primary school with funds for a special Sensory Room aiding their students with autism and learning difficulties as our Rotarians believe everyone deserves a great education.
Our club decided to embark on a new method of raising funds through a social media platform called mycause.com.au where everyone in the community can donate. Our club designed the site, wrote the marketing script and appealed to anyone that could help us. The results even astounded us.
It has been an outstanding success with $12,500 being raised within three months. The club, the Teachers at Noble Park Primary and the students will proudly benefit from the purchase of brand new equipment and the room is off to its best possible start. This truly is Rotary in Action for our community.
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
Ms Norma Kathleen SEIP Croydon VIC 3136 For service to community health through advocacy and advisory roles. Congratulations to Norma, who is a member of the RC of Box Hill Burwood. Rotarians of D9810 are proud of your achievement.
Meeting virtually for most of 2020 prompted the Rotary Club of Rowville-Lysterfield to conduct their six-monthly Club review via Survey Monkey. This medium proved a useful way to canvass the opinions of club members efficiently and anonymously. The survey only took the participants about five minutes to complete, the novelty value of this medium provided impetus for members to respond and the program collated the responses into an easily read format for analysis, including graphs. The variety of formats available for responses enabled information to be gathered in a number of different ways. The data that was collected has provided a clear direction for shaping various aspects of the Club as we move into the ‘coronavirus normal’ future.
Congratulations to RC Boronia for the great project write-up in RDU featuring Taveuni Island Secondary School Student Assistance Project. The project aims to help secondary students impacted by the devastating Cyclone Yasa to return to school. 
Chinese ANZACS
See PRIP Barry Rasin and Bill Gates interviewed on the subject of Rotary’s campaign to eradicate polio. The interview is conducted by Devlin Thorpe and was recorded in 2019. About 20 minutes long and worth a look! 
If you missed the central on-line event on January 26, the recoding is now available. Check 
In a recent letter Trustee Chair K R Ravindran announced significant policy changes for the Rotary Foundation caused by a growing demand for grants and the low returns available for invested funds. The policy changes impact the Foundation’s contributions to the Polio Plus fund, the Foundations matching funding for DDF inputs, an increase in the percentage of funds required to administer the Foundation and some changes to the discretion District Foundation Committees have to roll-over DDF funds. To see the full letter, please click 
In the last issue I mentioned the countries encompassed by Rotary Zone 8. In a recent exercise DGE, Daryl Moran, created this graphic of our Zone. The display of flags really shows us how many countries are included in this part of the Rotary world and the number of opportunities there are to become involved in great international service projects in our own ”neighbourhood”.
Hear about the research behind Lift The Lid in this fascinating series of twenty-nine episodes from researchers funded through ARH. Each talks about their particular project and the outcomes that are making a difference, especially in the lives of young people. A fabulous Rotary project. The site includes some short videos (1 or 2 minutes) which may be suitable to show n club meetings.
All are probably aware by now that the Rotary theme for 2021/22 is “Serve to Change Lives”. To see some great animations of the theme go to FaceBook and search Rotary Public Image ( 
