Seven Women Nepali Education Scholarships: The Perfect Christmas Gift!
Please help us fit our RIMERN warehouse
RAWCS Project - Calling For Volunteers
2023 Melbourne Rotary International Convention - Registration Guide for Members
Gallery
Meeting Responsibilities
Chair
Ebrahimi, Rana
Greeter/Zoom Host
FOWLER, Paul
Reporter
HICKS, Kerrie
Photographer
THORNTON, Roger
Door
Bulletin Editor
OEI, Nicholas
Social Media Editor
GANGULI, Puja
NEXT MEETING
Next meeting would be face-to-face meeting at the RACV Club in the CBD on 24 January 2023. If you would like to visit our meeting, please book directly through Humanitix by close of business on Monday, 23 January 2023. If you would like a more general discussion about attending a Rotary meeting, phone 0455-858-996.
The meeting will commence at 7:40am and conclude no later than 8:45.
Online meetings are scheduled on the last Tuesday of each month. Members can use the following Zoom link to attend these meetings. For security reasons, the password for the Zoom meetings will be circulated in a separate email closer to the date of the next online meeting
Heather Campbell: CEO of Bush Heritage Australia: We can achieve a Nature-Positive world where all species thrive
We all know the challenges that the globe is facing. Our climate is changing and we have continued, as a species, to impact the habitat of so many other species.From the devastation of the Black Summer to the floods in eastern Australia and the Kimberley. From the droughts and fires in California to now the storms resulting in landslides and floods. This is a common story of extreme ‘droughts and flooding rains’ across the globe. At the same time that storms are becoming more intense we continue to negatively impact upon the habitat of our native species. Whether this be through land clearing or the challenges of feral animals and weeds.
But there is HOPE! We can collectively change this trajectory and deliver a nature-positive world. Working together as individuals, corporations, not-for-profits, governments and society more generally we can move species further away from extinction towards a thriving planet. At Bush Heritage Australia we play our part by being a unified force for nature, grounded in science and culture to nurture all land for all life. Over the past 30 years of being active land managers doing our day to day work of fire, feral animal and weed management at a landscape scale we have achieved some really positive impact. We are seeing tiny honey and pygmy possums return to revegetated areas of south west Western Australia, the elusive Night Parrot protected in Queensland, the most ancient of birds the Plains Wanderer thrive in South Australia and a tiny Red-finned Blue-eye fish thriving in springs at our Edgbaston reserve in Queensland.
Heather has been the CEO of Bush Heritage Australia since January 2019. She joined the organisation with over 25 years of experience working in senior management and executive roles with a focus on risk, environment, sustainability and safety as well as core business management. Heather has worked in a broad range of industries including; paper and packaging, retail property, salt production, agriculture, research with CSIRO and was a previous CEO of Landcare Australia. She is also an active board director currently sitting on the boards of Arid Recovery, Australian Land Conservation Alliance, Midlands Conservation Fund and Eltham College. She is a previous Chair of Sustainability Victoria and has sat on the boards of Zoos Victoria, Melbourne Polytechnic and Earthwatch Australia. Heather has an Agricultural Engineering degree, a Masters in Environmental Engineering, attended The General Manager Program at Harvard Business School as well as completing a History degree. She grew up as a farm kid in the South Island of New Zealand but has called the different landscapes of Australia home from her teenage years.
Congratulations! We've made it through another challenging year. 2022 had it all, the third "unprecedented" year in a row, jam-packed with plague, flood, war and famine.
Despite these challenges, our club is doing very well serving overseas and local communities by:
Providing reusable menstrual kits to South Sudan to ensure girls receive the same education as boys
Providing clean water and sanitation in Cambodia to reduce diseases
Supplying clothing, educational and medical supplies to developing countries
Recycling household goods and helping people create homes to rebuild lives
Delivering donated clothing and footwear to people across Melbourne
Mentoring Victorian Police and Ambulance Officers to improve relationships with communities
Helping young musicians and scientists to realize their dreams
Helping children to remain engaged in education to maximize adult opportunities
Running Youth Mental First Aid workshops to build capability to deal with youth mental illness
Showcasing beautiful gardens across Victoria to raise funds for mental health initiatives
Raising funds for humanitarian work around the world
It was great seeing people coming together for our Christmas Breakfast. At the meeting, we were able to welcome Nicholas Oei into our fold, with more new members promised for the new year. The Harambee A Capella warmed our hearts and injected some of the holiday spirit that infuses all of us during this period. We again assembled a terrific collection of hampers full of food.
I hope that you have had an opportunity to recharge your batteries, step out into the sunshine (weather permitting) and indulge in food and good company.
Looking forward to continuing to make a difference in 2023.
President Rohan opened the meeting. After the Acknowledgement to Country Chair Roy Garrett toasted Rotary International. President Rohan welcomed guests Kerry Hicks and Patricia Poynton. Roy made the following announcements:
Member’s Birthdays
Darren PARK, 24 Feb
Steve HALLIS, 27 Feb
Partner Birthdays
Maria Fragomeni, partner of Ignacio INCHAUSTI, 24 Feb
Wedding Anniversaries
Russell & Heather ROLLS, together for 55 years, since 24 Feb 1968
Roger & Pippa THORNTON, together for 52 years, since 26 Feb 1971
Date Joined Rotary
Allan DRIVER, Rotarian for 27 years, since 28 Feb 1996
Roy Introduced Past District Governor, Dennis Shore who gave a presentation on the upcoming District Convention in Melbourne on 27 – 31 May. He made the following observations:
Conventions have been part of Rotary since 1910, and we held in USA until June 1924 when a convention was held in Canada. The first convention held outside mainland America was in Belgium in in 1927. The largest convention was held in Osaka, Japan om 2004 with 43,381attendees.
Melbourne last hosted a convention in May 1993 and Sydney held one in 2014. Australia has also hosted conventions in Sydney in 1971 and in Brisbane in 2003.
Melbourne beat London in the bid for the convention in 2016 – 2017, Neville John was Governor, however the event is a collaboration between all 5 District in Victoria.
There are currently 20 members of the convention team in Melbourne, fine tuning the event.
The opening and closing ceremonies will be held at Rod Laver Arena, as will the plenary sessions. The Melbourne Convention Centre will host the House of Friendship and Break sessions as well as various luncheons. The house of friendship is an exciting place to be as it will be a gathering place for Rotarian from around the world and there will be plenty of entertainment to keep everyone occupied.
A shuttlebus will be available from hotels and there will be extra shuttle trams between the two major venues. Public transport will also be free for convention attendees.
There are a number of people involved in the Host Organising Committee (HOC) from all 5 districts, with Mary Barry from RC Melbourne being the Chair of the committee.
Sponsorship opportunities are still available through Murray Verso, who can be contacted via the following link: verson@netspace.net.au
For visitors from interstate and overseas there are a number of tours and experiences which have been organised plus there are a number of events planned for attendees of the convention, including a golf day, visits to the home of the Melbourne Cup in Flemington and an opening dinner at the Melbourne Museum. There will also be home hosted and club hosted events.
Prior to the event there has been significant promotion, particularly at the Rotary Convention in Houston, the International Assembly In Orlando and the Zone Conference in Canberra. There are still opportunities to register to volunteer at the Convention through https://ricon23.volunteerlocal.com/volunteer/?id=54179 and now is a good time to register for the conference, before the cost and exchange rate goes up.
Announcements
Campbell announced that the Port Melbourne Bunnings BBQ raised a record $2,300, which in part was thanks to some drinks stocks being used and the donation of 30 loaves of Bread. He also thanked the volunteers on the day.
He also announced the next raffle, which will be drawn at our meeting on 28 March and proceeds will go to Medical Aid for Ukraine, an organisation which supplies much needed medical supplies via Germany.
President Rohan made the following announcements:
On Saturday 25th February there was a working bee at RIMEN and he thanked the volunteers Nev and Bec, Ignacio and Allan Driver. The next opportunity to volunteer will be Saturday March 25th. If any club members has goods to donate contact him and he will give information on collection or delivery of those goods.
There is also an opportunity for members to volunteer at the Melbourne Flower Show to help Travellers Aid to assist people with mobility issues. The Show will be held between 29th March and 1st April.
A raffle will be held for 5 tickets for the Rotary convention (if you have already registered you will get a refund) Entry to the raffle will be via donating amounts to the Rotary Foundation over the next month – one raffle ticket for every $20 donated.
It was wonderful to celebrate the reinstatement of the TAL Tree of Joy this year, with our community partners from Concern Australia STEPS Outreach Program and Uniting’s Lentara Asylum Seeker Welcome Centre each receiving 25 gifts for the people they work with.
Wednesday 14th December saw some real-life Christmas Cheer as the gifts were collected, and words of appreciation shared with the team at TAL Insurance who have been so supportive in the lead up to Christmas. For the first time in the history of this partnership, donation tags were also placed on the tree, with staff able to donate if they were unable to buy a gift. TAL will be matching donations dollar for dollar, which we know at this stage will see at least $2,000 donated to STEPS.
On Friday 9th December the Club collected a large donation of licensed clothing, footwear etc. from our very generous supporters at Caprice. Sizes ranged from infants to adults. Thanks to the efforts of Rotarians and partners these pieces have been detagged, sorted, allocated, packed and dispersed to the charities and Rotary Clubs listed below in time for Christmas.
Huge thanks go to those who answered the call for help, allowing us to get the goods out quickly and efficiently. As always Sue , Frank and Pauline with Sally, David ,Alan, Roy, Millie, Rohan, Rebecca, Neville and Cecily, plus Michael, Gaye and Luke from the Rotary Club of Essendon.
Over 2,300 items went out with a value exceeding $ 30,000
Big Group Hugs
Port Phillip Rotary
Caroline Chisholm
Father Bob Foundation
Exodus
Good Samaritan Inn
Lentara
Ukraine refugees
Rotary Echuca Moama
Warrnambool NFPs
Lighthouse
Through Cecily several cartons have been set aside for delivery to the Philippines early in the New Year.
Again, many thanks to everyone involved. Have a great Festive Season
I am pleased to inform members that Kerrie Hicks has submitted an application to become a member of Rotary Central Melbourne and that the Board has approved her application. Kerrie was introduced to Rotary Central Melbourne by Neville Taylor and Stella Avramopoulas.
It is proposed that Kerrie joins the Vocational Service Team and be mentored by Elias Lebbos. Kerrie's professional experience as a police officer and a leadership coach plus her involvement in the Victoria Police Leadership Mentoring Program as a mentee will enable her to make a significant contribution to our mentoring programs.
Do let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Rotary Inner Melbourne Emergency Relief Network (RIMERN) collects donated furniture, appliances & homewares and makes them available to people who have been experiencing homelessness, domestic violence, starting anew as a refugee, having just been released from jail or in need in other ways. We need to buy second hand pallet racking and a walkie stacker, can you chip in some funds to help?
Here's the link: https://gofund.me/290f98a2. All donations are fully tax deductible and will make a huge difference to our project! Thank you
April 12th 2023 the 15th voluntour for Umoja Orphanage Kenya departs Australia. Will you be on that flight? This is a project of Rotary Australia World Community Service (Project 51 / 2011-12,) See information in last week's bulletin.
We are after handymen and women or anyone who seeks adventure and a unique experience at a RAWCS project. The tour includes 10 - 11 days volunteering at the Umoja Project, then a 6 day wildlife safari to 3 national parks of Kenya.
Is this for you? Contact us, we'll send you info to help you decide, may be experience of a lifetime. cathy@umojahome
