My dear fellow Rotarians, Friends and Our Rotary Family,
Two wonderful things happened to me on the 16th June 1970
First, I got my licence on my 17th birthday and second, I got inducted into the Rotaract Club of Katoomba. I am not ashamed to say that the only reason I joined Rotaract, was to meet girls and have fun and to party.
We were really lucky in District 969 for in those days we had 38 Rotary clubs in the District and most of them had a Rotaract club, so there wasn’t a night in the week where there wasn’t something happening to do with Rotaract: meetings, parties, service projects, picnics, car rallies and so on and on; so every spare minute I had was devoted to Rotaract.
I have a feeling that most of us were there for the same reason FUN, FUN, FUN and it wasn’t till I attended RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) did I realise that there was more to life than just having FUN. I joined Rotary in 1976 not for fun but for service and to do good in the world.
I think that most new members of ROTARY join for the same reason as I did in Rotaract, Fun and fellowship, but it is not long that they realise we also need something to keep them engaged and that is: SERVICE PROJECTS. We need to ask our new Rotarians what it is that they want to do in Service Project, and by doing this it is a way of helping them to see the Bigger picture of Rotary throughout the world and in their local areas.
When and if they do join and come to you with an idea, we must really listen to what they are saying, and do not say (NO, NO we tried that 5, 10 or even 20 years ago and it didn’t work so it won’t work now). This is the best way to make them leave disheartened and rejected, and they will probably never return not just to your club but to any Rotary club.
So this brings us to the BIG question, how can we get new members???
It is amazingly simple, all you have to do is ASK, ASK, ASK. None of us in rotary are here if it wasn’t for someone asking us to join their club. But first before we even think about asking, we need to make sure our club is worth joining, and to do that, we all need to do a Strategic Plan or a Club Visioning Project, so that we know where we are heading, and are a club that someone wants to join.
Your District has a great Strategic and Club Visioning team led by AG Robert Bredin from the Norwest Sunrise/Bellavista Club. So, if you want to take advantage of this free service please contact Robert at bredin@bigpond.net.au or 0425 233 783
As we move out of COVID restrictions, some clubs are starting to consider running their regular meetings as hybrid meetings. Giving members the option to meet online or in person has many benefits, including convenience, affordability, and choice. Hybrid meetings also open up the possibility for E-Members as an additional category of Rotary membership.
No matter what we do we must do something, please have a look at the graph below. It is only going one way and that is down, and if it continues at the same rate, within 5 to 10 years there will be no District 9686.
MEMBERSHIP is everyone’s responsibility not just the Membership chairs in each club, so let’s get out there and ASK, ASK, ASK someone to join our wonderful organisation.
And remember: If it stops being fun, stop doing it
Rotary nominates a theme for each calendar month. The purpose is to focus our attention on different aspects of Rotary service. November will be the month to focus on Our Foundation. It is a happy coincidence that this year marks 100 years of Rotary in Australia How about every Rotarian donates $100 to recognize the Centenary? Please talk to your Club Foundation Chair about doing this. It sounds like a good idea to me….
ROTARY AMBASSADORS ARE LOOKING WORK
If you would like to know more about the Rotary Foundation or if you need a speaker to fill a gap in your program, invite a TRF Ambassador to your next meeting! You will get informative content, advice of how to interact with TRF and possibly a good joke or 2.
Contact details are on the D9685 website. Just go to the Club Service tab, drop down to Foundation and find Contacts, or…
Look up Page 43 of the D9685 Directory (every Rotarian should have one!), or…
Give me a call
D9685 RECEIVES ANOTHER DISASTER RESPONSE GRANT
Our District has received a second DRG to support our Clubs that are working hard on COVID-19 assistance. The E-Club of Greater Sydney, RC Macquarie Park and RC Wahroonga are doing projects that assist international students who have lost their casual jobs. These students need this work to fund their living expenses and, due to COVID-19 unemployment, they are doing it tough. Up steps the Rotary Club, with vouchers that can be used for living expenses. In steps Our Foundation, providing $36,000 to support the Clubs. Well done and Thanks to the Clubs and to Our Foundation
Thank you for reading. Stay safe, keep your distance and wash your hands
ShelterBox has a long history with Rotary and is a International Partner of Rotary. Today ShelterBox is an Internationally recognised Disaster Relief Organization with our head office in Cornwell UK. We are now known throughout the world with ShelterBox UK, ShelterBox Australia, ShelterBox US, ShelterBox Canada and ShelterBox Philippines. All our Boxes and Shelter Kits for this region are now stored in the Philippines. Over the past couple of years we in Australia have lead the world by using TREKS as one way to raise funds for ShelterBox. Peter Pearce, Johanna Johns and Rotarians from WA and QLD joined the Nepal Trek back in September of 2018 where we raised $45,000.00 as a combined effort. Last year we did the Larapinta Trek in Australia which was successful and fully booked with 16 trekkers raising $60k plus for ShelterBox. For this year ShelterBox had planned the Kokoda Trail Trek but due to COVID-9 it was postponed to possibly April 2021. However we also have our Tasmanian Cradle Mountain Trek this year in November from the 7th to the 11th the Tassie Trek is still going ahead at this point. We have a few spots left for the young at heart and fairly fit Trekkers. This is a grade 4 trek, whereas Nepal was a grade 5. Should you or your club wish to support our Ambassador, and ShelterBox Representative for District 9685, Johanna Johns, for the Tassie Trek please follow the link below to her fundraising page or contact Johanna on 0407 315080.
Each week, radio program Rotary Matters includes an interview profiling a specific Rotary Club initiative from District 9685. We need your stories. Examples include support for international projects where we explore the needs, the solutions and the role of the sponsoring Club. Interviews with participants in youth related schemes like RYLA, RYPEN, RYEP, MUNA, NYSF, Science and Engineering Challenge, Conoco Phillips Science Experience and with recipients of Vocational Service Awards. Interviews are conducted by Zoom and after going to air they are posted to the Rotary Matters Facebook page and to podcasts which can be heard all over the world. If you’d like to promote your Club’s initiatives please contact the host of Rotary Matters, Ian Stuart, ian.stuart@optusnet.com.au or 0416 138 860. www.rotarymatters.org
Here are the links and descriptions for the latest three editions of Rotary Matters on Triple H 100.1 FM.
Keeping the Community Connected with Virtual Neighbours
Hippo Roller. A simple idea changing lives in the water crisis
What’s Happening at Wahroonga Rotary…meet the new President.
In October 2019, the UNB Rotary Club raised funds from bucket collections around Mona Vale, topped it up to $11,250 and sent it to the Rotary Club of Narromine, west of Dubbo (430 kms, 260 miles, NW of Sydney). Narromine Rotary, with funds from another Rotary Club, and topped up by the local Shire Council, were able to inject $24,400 into the local economy supporting 45 Businesses and 122 families suffering through the earlier part of the drought. This Rotary Club, together with the Country Women’s Association arranged events in the small farming communities around Narromine with those attending able to put in applications to access up to $200 worth of vouchers to be used in local businesses. One young farmer with young children commented “We may be spending $20,000 a week on feed to keep our sheep alive but, to open a $199 gift voucher, lifts your spirits knowing that someone out there is thinking of you and cares!”
An updated My Rotary that’s faster, easier to navigate, and accessible on your mobile devices launched at the end of July. What can you expect from this improved site? Quite a bit.
Click on the picture to find out more.
Expressions of interest to be on the R100 Batton Relay Committee
We are trying to get a committee together to coordinate and come up with ideas about running the R100 Relay in April 2021 which is the month Rotary started in Sydney.
We need about 5 people from all over the district to come up with ideas and help keep all clubs focused on the Great advertising opportunity this event will bring to Rotary in their area.
Greetings from Bob Selinger, Aboriginal Community Support Programs coordinator for 2020/21.
There are many fantastic programs which support Aboriginal communities and individuals in our District and beyond, some of which I have heard about and some I would love to hear about. At a time when we are very much aware of the lack of progress in long-standing issues it seems to me that we can “open opportunities” as never before.
I am canvassing ideas that we might consider implementing. To this end I have marshalled a group of mentors, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal. Along with the members of the boutique Chatswood Sunrise, we will hopefully present a proposal to the District for your consideration. Do you have an interest or connection with Aboriginal issues? Please contact me.
In the meantime, I would like you to consider the introduction of an Acknowledgement of Country to your meeting and your website (if you are not already doing so.) The DG’s newsletter will in the future include a form of Acknowledgement appropriate to such a publication. Chatswood Sunrise’s meeting opens with an Acknowledgement that mentions the Cameraygal people and “…the Land on which we meet.”
You can find a variety of Acknowledgements on the Web.
When shelves everywhere were devoid of hand sanitiser at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Rotary Club of Norwest Sunrise placed an order for 500 bottles. The search was then on to find the most needy recipients. Our then President Alex Hezari donated 320 bottles to Hills Shire Council to be delivered to Hills Meals on Wheels recipients considered in greatest need. Current Norwest Sunrise President Bev Jordan then organised for 125 bottles to be donated to Warrah for its home care service recipients living with a disability. The rest were donated to Hills Community Aid for its Hills CarPal volunteer drivers and The Sanctuary - The Hills Women's Shelter. All recipients were very grateful as at the time hand sanitiser was hard to find.
Alex Hezari said: “As a service club we were looking for a way of helping our community during this pandemic. We thought providing hand sanitiser would be a practical project that we could manage through the COVID-19 restriction period.
Hills Shire Mayor Michelle Byrne said: “I’d really like to thank Norwest Rotary for looking after our Meals on Wheels clients. “The majority of clients are aged 70 years and older which places them in the 'at risk' category for serious illness if they catch COVID-19.
Offer from Glenhaven Rotary:
Fabric Washable, Reusable Facemasks
Each mask has a sewn in filter.
Individually wrapped.
Available to clubs at 100 masks for $300 + $10 postage so they can either on sell or pass out to their communities.
The NSW Inspirational Women’s’ Awards (RIWA) were established to recognise and celebrate women across all communities in NSW who give outstanding service to their own community and to other communities around the world. The Awards are an initiative of the Rotary Districts and Clubs of NSW. The Awards being presented today cover several different categories. They acknowledge the time and effort that these diverse and inspiring women give to the community over and above their professional and/or volunteer role.
They exemplify Rotary’s motto of Service Above Self.
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