Bob’s Blog
Hello Everyone
August is Rotary Membership Month. It is a time we should reflect on how we can build our membership base to ensure that Narooma Rotary continues to be a vibrant Club well into the future.
One of the ideas the Board has been discussing is to promote the idea of associate or friends of Rotary membership. Rod Walker has been doing some research and has checked out what is happening at other clubs to promote the Friends of Rotary concept. Click here to see what is happening at the Rotary Club of Castle Hill, maybe we can implement a similar system at our Club. If you have any suggestions for potential Friends of Rotary please let a member of the Board know.
At last week’s Board meeting we made the following decisions:
- To hold a combined Changeover/60th Anniversary dinner in August 2018. The new Board will still take over on 1 July 2018
- Operate the food van at the Old Falcons car rally on 15 October
- Allocate $1,000 to support Batemans Bay Rotary and RC Intramuros in Manila, Philippines in a water and sanitation project
- Allocate $200 to Narooma High School to support special education students
- Allocate $200 to the Bermagui Karate Club to support students attending international competitions
- Allocate up to $3,000 for food van repairs
- Invite Ron Finneran from the Sapphire Coast Arts & Sport Youth Development Fund (see below) to speak at our meeting on 14 September 2017 in lieu of a Club Assembly. Representatives of sporting, cultural and service clubs will be invited. The Board also discussed possibly allocating up to $2,000 per annum to the fund in there was agreement that such a fund was needed in the Narooma area.
We will hold our Mad Hat night on Thursday 12 October with partners and friends. Details to come. - Hold an international dinner on 30 November 2017
- Hold a Mad Hat night on 12 October during Mental Health Month in October to support Australian Rotary Health mental health projects.
- Reintroduce the International Toast at weekly meetings. Members will be allocated this task as a part of the weekly roster of duties. Members will research a club and provide a brief background to members about the club when they propose the toast
- Provide a letter of support to the VRA in their attempts to raise funds for the purchase of a rapid response vehicle.
Have a great week everyone
Bob
The Week that Was
It was an intimate gathering at last week’s Club Assembly with many still away. I think the Assembly only had an additional two members to the Board meeting. We’re looking forward to a return of at least two members this week.
The Board meeting reminded us there is a lot of interesting and some fun things happening in coming months. Please stay tuned. We were sad to hear that Ruby Christmass has withdrawn from the Rotary Youth Exchange program, but look forward to seeing her involved in other Rotary programs in the future.
Three Narooma High students are off to the Model United Nations Assembly (MUNA) in Canberra this weekend with Lynda Ord, Sandra Doyle and teacher Lachlan Reilly. The students will represent France and hope to visit the French Embassy on Friday morning before MUNA begins. What a great weekend it will be for them all. It will be a treat hearing back from them all.
Please note that we have reintroduced the International Toast as an allocated duty each week. The Board would appreciate it if whoever is allocated that duty actually researches a club and tells us a bit about it. It may be from somewhere in the news, one visited overseas, or just a random choice.
More on the Sapphire Coast Youth Development Fund
Bob mentioned the Sapphire Coast Arts and Sport Youth Development Fund. It supports local youth under 18 in pursuing their arts and sporting endeavours.* In its first year, the Fund gave out $12,000 in grants to 20 young people across Bega Valley Shire to pursue their passions which ranged from the viola to women’s rugby, swimming and stage production.
The fund was started in September 2016 by Ron Finneran, Steve Goodchild and several others. It’s run by volunteers and funded by donations from businesses and individuals across the Shire with a contribution from Bega Valley Shire Council.
Ron Finnernan has encouraged many across the Sapphire Coast to get behind the district’s talented youth by contributing to the fund. He said where they live is a long way for young people to travel for expert tuition and, while the Fund can’t always cover the entire costs, it can help out with fuel and travel costs.
Ron will be our guest speaker on 14 September. As Bob mentioned, we are inviting other local clubs and sporting organisations to hear what Ron has to say and to see if people think such an organisation is warranted in our area.
*Taken from an article in The Land http://www.theland.com.au/story/4795517/sapphire-coasts-young-talent-deserving-of-help/?cs=4963
ShelterBox changes
ShelterBox is no longer offering individual box sponsorship and tracking to donors. Reasons include the administrative cost of tracking and that they now supply other aid apart from ShelterBoxes. A note from ShelterBox says they will continue to deploy boxes when needed but can now supply a range of other aid to suit different conditions – tents ShelterKits to repair damaged homes or build emergency shelters, and a range of essential items like solar lights and water filters.
Over the past year, Rotary clubs around the world have over US$2.8m to help more than 20,150 families who have lost everything following some disaster. The funds enabled deployments to disasters in Afghanistan, Cameroon, Columbia, Ecuador, Fiji, Haiti, Iraq, Mozambique, Niger, Paraguay, Peru, Sri Lanka and Syria. Disasters included floods, political conflict, landslides, earthquakes, hurricanes and cyclones.
For example:
- ShelterBox worked closely with Rotarians and Rotaractors to assess communities affected by flash floods and mudslides in Peru. As a result, 2,000 solar lights and mosquito nets along with 1000 ShelterKits were distributed. The ShelterKits allowed some families to stay in their homes and temporarily fix damaged structures while the nets and lights were used in camps by families who had lost their homes completely in the floods.
- Since October 2016, approximately 900,000 people have been displaced in Iraq as forces battled to retake Mosul. ShelterBox and partners, including the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED), have been helping people fleeing the city. Over 6,000 families have received shelter and other aid items, with a further 2,000 families receiving additional essential lifesaving items. ShelterBox continues to work with partners to reach more families.
Whalewatching raffle tickets
The whalewatching season is nearly upon us, so the date of the draw rapidly approaches – 2 September. We are again indebted to Narooma Charters for their support.
Would everyone please bring in raffle tickets, sold or unsold. The Club has reduced the number of ‘raffles this year from three to two, in response to Members’ wishes. Funds raised in this raffle will go with those raised in conjunction with the Rotary Christmas Races on 24 December to support the Shire’s surf clubs.
Rotary Christmas Races
We need three or four of our members to help out at the Rotary Christmas races at Moruya on Sunday 24 December. Any volunteers?
Cheers
Laurelle