Last Monday we had a thought provoking talk from writer, Steve Mattews. Steve walked us thru the background to his book “The Skinny Girl”, which is a story of Domestic Abuse. Stats like there is a domestic violence call to the Police every Two minutes really opened my eyes. All money earnt from the $30 book goes back to organisations, like Women’s Safe houses. (more details below).
Before the meeting, Sue & I had a successful meeting with the Crows Nest Community Centre. They are keen to work closer with us, and the first possible project will be a Dementia Café, along the lines of the one currently being run by Waitara Rotary. We will be approaching other Rotary clubs in our cluster for assistance as well.
Angelo is still looking for someone to co-ordinate the Crows Nest Fair on Sunday 20th October. Please consider, and contact Angelo if you can help.
A big Thank you to those who assisted ion Wednesday’s Trifecta stapling working bee.
Have a great weekend, and look forward to seeing you next Monday.
Next Meeting Monday the 22nd of July 2019; Our Guest Speaker this week is Leonie Dillon from
OzHarvest
OzHarvest collects quality excess food from commercial outlets and delivering it directly to the needy
Leonie Dillon is a School and Community Ambassador for OzHarvest. She is also an Education Guide delivering school excursions with Sydney Learning Adventures in historic sites in The Rocks.
Leonie has an education background, teaching Food Technology at Burwood Girls’High School. When her family relocated to the UK in the early 2000s, she honed her presenting skills becoming an Experienced Guide at Kew Gardens, delivering general tours to tourists and later as a Kew Teacher delivering school excursions.
On returning to Australia, Leonie joined the Community Engagement team at the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney as the Coordinator of School Programs where her passion for the environment and sustainability grew. This combined with her other passion of food makes Leonie enthusiastic about the work OzHarvest does concerning their new FEAST program rolling out in primary schools across NSW and she relishes sharing this with others.
Last Monday's Meeting - Monday, July 15th.
Bill Lee proposed the International Toast to the Rotary Club of Kingston, Jamaica. This club was formed in 1959, but it's roots go back to 1931. Today, there are some 22 Clubs in Jamaica. The current membership of the Kingston Club now stands at 110, making it the largest Club in the island. The Club meets Thursday lunchtime, and are deeply involved in Environmental Projects locally.
Mark and Sue have met with Denise Ward from the CN Community Centre to see where we can work together. One potential area is the establishment of a Dementia Cafe, involving a weekly meeting place for a small group of people-living-with-dementia and their family caregivers who are still living within the community. Would need to involve other Clubs in our cluster group. There's is a D Caf Programme Co-ordinator in our District, who we will invite to come and talk at one of our Meetings.
With Angelo and Sue about to go on holidays for an extended period, we need a volunteer to run the Trifecta, plus someone to co-ordinate the activities for the Crows Nest Fair on the 20th of October.
Angelo has already started the Trifecta process, taking early orders, also there will be a stapling session at Cyril's this coming Wednesday at 2 pm. In addition, Angelo has appointed a new ticket printer, situated around the corner from our meeting room in Holtermann St.
Our BBQ on the 13th started slowly but was sold out by 3 pm, requiring an additional order of 70 sausages to complete the shift.
Next BBQ is the 27th of July, please check out the new roster for the second half of the year.
The last point of discussion was around the meeting venue. Some members had expressed concerns, and Ross will undertake to examine options in the Crows Nest area.
.Our Guest Speaker today, Steve Matthews, author and raconteur, gave a heart rendering story of his experience on gathering evidence with the assistance of his wife, Dianne, is an incredible example of domestic violence, very near to us. His book, "The Skinny Girl" is Steve's first adult novel, based upon real events, fictionalised, to provide a raw and thought-provoking look at domestic violence
My dear friends, Rotary leaders, and Rotaract leaders:
A new Rotary year is upon us, and let us say one final thank you to former President Barry Rassin for his outstanding leadership. Barry, we will miss you, but we know and appreciate that you will continue to lead Rotary in important ways for years to come.
I have spoken for several months about how Rotary Connects the World, and the time has now arrived to put our words into action. We have an exciting year ahead of us, a year when we begin to implement the new Strategic Plan, what I call the Rotary Action Plan and when we will celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the signing of the UN Charter.
That anniversary will underscore the ties we have and goals we share with the United Nations. We will host five special events—UN Day in New York, three presidential conferences in Paris, Santiago, and Rome, and a final celebration just before the Convention in Honolulu. This will help us achieve the first Action Plan goal of increasing our impact by demonstrating that Rotary’s influence in the world has only just begun.
The second Action Plan goal is expanding our reach. To achieve that, we need to grow Rotary – reaching out to new members, engaging current members, and creating more alternatives for membership for the next generation of Rotarians.
The third goal is enhanced participant engagement, making sure that Rotarians have experiences that are personally and professionally relevant and fulfilling. This is why I believe so strongly in building a more family-friendly Rotary -- one that welcomes children to our activities and that is considerate of families in our scheduling. Let us recommit to putting the needs, expectations, and growth of our participants at the center of all we do.
The final priority of our new Action Plan is increasing our ability to adapt. New approaches to our organizing principles do not threaten our sense of who we are. That is why I believe that Rotary must respect professional commitments and not require Rotary leadership to be a full-time job. We need to respect the time and responsibilities of young people who are building careers.
Together, we will harness the power of connection just as our organization has been doing for more than 114 years. We have a long, proud heritage. And we will continue to thrive because we are not afraid of change.
I look forward to leading you in this important journey, as Rotary Connects the World!
Yours in Rotary,
Mark Daniel Maloney President, Rotary International 2019-2020
