The 'Thankyou' journey - a blueprint for turning ideas into reality
Driven, resourceful and determined, Daniel Flynn is one of Australia’s most successful entrepreneurs under the age of 30.
He is the founder and managing director of the social enterprise Thankyou, which has given more than $5.5 million to help end global poverty.
Thankyou’s 50 products are stocked by major retailers in Australia and 100 per cent of profits go to funding water, sanitation, child and maternal health and food projects around the world. In nine short years, Thankyou has directly impacted the lives of 755,538 people in 20 countries, including Australia.
Daniel is also the author of best-selling book Chapter One, a story that generated $1.4 million in sales in its first month using an unorthodox ‘pay-what-you-want’ model.
He is a genius at disruptive marketing and has received widespread media coverage for some truly unconventional and highly successful campaigns that led to Thankyou products being stocked by some of Australia’s biggest retailers. He is an engaging and thoughtful speaker and his talks offer a blueprint for turning ideas into reality.
Rotary Central Melbourne has a long-standing relationship with the International House, a college of the University of Melbourne providing student accommodation, primarily for international students. A key part of this relationship is the RCM sponsorship of the annual Fraternitas Award. This Award, voted on by the International House residents, recognises the contribution to the student body of a final-year student. It is a most prestigious award with the winner being held in high regard by both students and staff. This year the Fraternitas Award went to Sarah Quek. Sarah, a commerce student from Singapore, was presented with the Award by President Frank at our Meeting on October 24. Our congratulation to Sarah, we wish he well for the future.
Saara Sabbagh, Founder and Jessica Swann, Outreach Manager - Benevolence Australia
"Connecting Communities & Making a Difference"
Saara shared her stories about the racial myths relating to Islam; the impact of stereotyping and how Australian foreign policy has contributed to these problems. She sees three main challenges for society to get to the core of:
racism,
the attitude of ‘privilege; and
the lack of accurate knowledge of cultural backgrounds.
Jessica has an education and journalist background and has spent many years identifying the life of Islam in the modern world (post-9 September 2011). She also identified the difference between Islam and Islamism; the latter being something she feels is the greatest current and future threat to the Moslem way of life. In identifying how to deal with today’s issues, Jessica believes that we need to look at history. She referred to the Sykes-Picot Agreement, a secret 1916 agreement between the United Kingdom and France. The agreement defined their mutually agreed spheres of influence and control in Southwestern Asia and its impact is still mentioned today in relation to the region and its conflicts.
She identified the media mentality ‘If it bleeds – it leads’ as a contributing factor to the misinformation that the community takes as true. That is, the media promote drama because it sells.
Having recently hosted a the 2017 District Conference with the theme ‘Connecting Communities’, there is sure to be an opportunity for Rotary to be involved in helping to create a more inclusive and cohesive society.
When the Vocational team organised a visit to the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) our team had no idea how interactive and unique the experience would be, especially for a Tigers supporter who was like a kid in a candy store.
A stalwart group of 15 Central Melbourne members, extended family and an exchange student, made the pilgrimage to the hallowed turf of the MCG. The events of the big Richmond win the week before was all but a memory, with the goal posts out of the ground and lying on the boundary, and the centre of the MCG making way for the installation of the Cricket pitch for the upcoming season.
We were met by our very own walking sports almanac, Peter Duras, who had arranged for a special guided tour by Belinda, a long-time Melbourne Cricket Club member, and Sydney Swans supporter.
Belinda took us on a modified tour, including access to areas that were not generally part of the standard tour:
The interchange box on the boundary of the oval
The Cricket box where the players wait before they walk out onto the cricket pitch
The high-tech cricket training facilities
The various team change rooms and media interview rooms
MCC Long Room, Library, 150th Anniversary Tapestry
Ponsford stand balcony overlooking the sports precinct
However, the highlight of the tour had to be the rousing pre-match revving that "Coach" Frank gave to the team in the Tiger's briefing room. It appeared as though the MCG was waiting for Frank to arrive because the Tiger’s dressing rooms were still decked out with their various posters and decorations from the previous week's events. Frank was in his element.
After coffee Peter guided us in the Sports Museum, starting with a look at the latest addition to Peter’s Olympic torch collection from the Rio Olympics. We then got to explore:
The History of the MCG
Australia in the Olympics
Australian Rules Football
Sports Hall of Fame
Horse Racing; and
The sporting interactive section, Game On!
It was a truly satisfying (and exhausting) visit. Although the tour had officially ended (after 4hrs), some members chose to stay on in the Sports Museum to explore further.
Photos, including a video of President Frank’s rousing pep talk, can be found at https://goo.gl/y7xJe8.
Kevin Love presented on his work on the board of Phillip Island Nature Parks, presenting facts and figures.
There were approximately 1.5 million visitors to Phillip Island last year. Each penguin generated approximately $30,000 in the year, which is lot for a little guy.
Churchill Island was the first place in Victoria where crops were planted, in 1803. The island is named after John Churchill who had provided the seeds for the crops. The claim to lands was not made just by planting a flag but ‘improving’ the land by planting crops or the erection of buildings.
The Island has successfully eradicated foxes on Churchill Island and now Phillip Island. As a result, there has been the successful reestablishment of the Eastern Bar Bandicoot on Churchill Island.
A new visitor centre is being built and is a major focus of the Board at the moment, as they try to minimize disruption to existing services.
Lynne Webber, Researcher with Department of Health & Human Services and John Hutchinson, Hall Wilcox lawyers, both visiting us for the first time.
Victoria Ruiter is visiting from the Netherlands and will be in Melbourne until end of November.
Notices
Anne King is seeking prizes for the Paul Harris Breakfast on 21 November
Frank O’Brien reminded us of the ‘Guess who is coming to dinner’ Club function on 25 November and encouraged members to register.
Frank and Herb Greenwood thanked many for helping to make the Charity Auction a success, with approximately $16,000 being raised.
Alison reminded us of the Christmas Hamper drive and encouraged everyone to take a information sheet outlining what was needed and who the goods would be distributed to.
Member talk – Brett Jones
Brett shared his passion and interest in creating Maori woodcarvings, and treated us to examples of his work.
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Driven, resourceful and determined, Daniel Flynn is one of Australia’s most successful entrepreneurs under the age of 30.
Rotary Central Melbourne has a long-standing relationship with the International House, a college of the University of Melbourne providing student accommodation, primarily for international students. A key part of this relationship is the RCM sponsorship of the annual Fraternitas Award. This Award, voted on by the International House residents, recognises the contribution to the student body of a final-year student. It is a most prestigious award with the winner being held in high regard by both students and staff. This year the Fraternitas Award went to Sarah Quek. Sarah, a commerce student from Singapore, was presented with the Award by President Frank at our Meeting on October 24. Our congratulation to Sarah, we wish he well for the future.
Saara shared her stories about the racial myths relating to Islam; the impact of stereotyping and how Australian foreign policy has contributed to these problems. She sees three main challenges for society to get to the core of:
Belinda took us on a modified tour, including access to areas that were not generally part of the standard tour:
After coffee Peter guided us in the Sports Museum, starting with a look at the latest addition to Peter’s Olympic torch collection from the Rio Olympics. We then got to explore:
Kevin Love presented on his work on the board of Phillip Island Nature Parks, presenting facts and figures..jpg)
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