Stories

It is with immense gratitude and humility that I accept the role of the new Governor of District 9800. My experiences with Rotary have been nothing short of magical.

Growing up with dreams of being a singer, I eventually became an IT project manager and was introduced to Rotary by Stephen Lake (RC Melbourne). Initially hesitant and intimidated, I found my place thanks to the unwavering support of mentors like John Meehan and PDG Neville John. At Rotary Central Melbourne Sunrise (RCCMS), I struggled to find my fit until I became the Youth Chair, aligning my passion for youth engagement with Rotary’s mission.

DG Ron and DGE Michael invite you to their Changeover lunch.

To book, go to: www.trybooking.com/CRYMY

Bookings closed

Don't miss out - lunch with our world president.

Come join us. 

Guest Speaker: Professor Patrick McGorry

Special Offer: Box of 25 Centenary Coins for just $375 ($15 each).

• These coins are selling on eBay for between $25 to $39.95.
• These coins make a great gift for speakers.
• To order your box, email: parcher@archwaygroup.com.au

Hearty congratulations to the 16 projects from 15 clubs that were awarded District Recognitions for 2022-23 in the Rotary International ’People of Action’ categories. 

If you wondered what this year’s Hands On Volunteering With The DG events were a warm up for, Big Difference in Fed Square is your answer. 

Our booked-out Big Difference activation in Melbourne's Federation Square on Saturday 27 May capitalised on the community demand for what our clubs do well: meaningful, hands on, convenient volunteering. The energy, the shared purpose is real!

Teachers and students alike have responded enthusiastically to Bayspeak, a Rotary public speaking competition for Melbourne Bayside high schools, now in its third year. Teachers have praised the organisation of the competition and the very high standard of the speakers, qualities, they say, that have made Bayspeak the premier public speaking event for Bayside secondary schools. 

Rotarians and guests are invited to the opening by Lord Mayor, Sally Capp of the Rotary Peace Bells at Rotary Melbourne Peace Park.

RSVP Monday 22nd May to office@rotarymelbourne.org.au

Walk through beautiful Melbourne to End Polio Now. This is a RICON23 event to raise further awareness and funds to eradicate Polio and will be a pleasant way to spend an Autumn evening. 

Enjoy a 3-day pass free of charge to the House of Friendship, where you’ll be able to connect with thousands of fellow Rotary members from around the world; and have access to hundreds of Rotary project booths, vendors, food, and entertainment at the 2023 Rotary Interantional Convention in Melbourne. 

Saturday 27 May at Fed Square

District 9800 is partnering with the world-changing FORaMEAL to deliver 100,000 much-needed emergency relief meals to people in Ukraine, Turkey and Syria, while connecting with 1,000+ new volunteers in a high-profile, meaningful, hands on, convenient community event! In our very own Fed Square!

The aim is to connect with oodles of new volunteers, so we’re asking Rotarians’ help in two ways:

Rotarians from around the world will be in town for the commencement of Rotary International Convention, so let’s show them how District 9800 gets behind one of its own projects – FORaMEAL – to make a big, world-changing difference.

If your club is considering applying for a Rotary Foundation District Grant, now is the time to apply.

The District Grants committee has ample funds still available for this Rotary year.  It is possible to arrange District Grants through the District 9800 Humanitarian Grants Committee at relatively short notice. The Grants Committee has been able to approve grants and has done so quite quickly where grant applications comply with the terms and conditions of the Rotary Foundation. 

Rotarians and friends are warmly invited to the launch event for the Polio Plus Society in District 9800.

Rotary’s 7th area of focus was established to prioritise care for the environment and is the foundation for Rotary’s other 6 areas of focus. In celebration of World Environment Day, you are most warmly invited to join Rotarians from around the District and the Region for a luncheon, on 17th May at the Sofitel on Collins, highlighting a very special environmental theme: the Circular Economy. 

The Rotary Club of Bendigo South has been supporting Projects in Cambodia and assisting the Rotary Club of Phnom Penh for many years.   Our latest Project was to raise sufficient funds to assist the Club with the purchase of bicycles for poor families and libraries for school communities. 

The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity is conducting a study of an experimental influenza (flu) vaccine using new mRNA technology and is seeking healthy adults 65 years and older.  

Rotary’s Council on Resolutions and Council on Legislation give Rotary members a voice in how our organisation is governed. 

The deadline for submission of resolutions to the 2022 Council on Resolutions is 30 June. 

To meet the 30 June deadline for submission, clubs wishing to submit a resolution should let me know at least six weeks beforehand to enable time for a vote of the district’s clubs to be arranged. 

Donations in Kind (DIK) - What's it all about?  Find out at the 2023 Open Day, Satuturday 18th March 10am-3pm.

Discover what your club might utilise for local community projects as well as talking to DIK about container opportunities.

RAWCS has commenced fundraising activities to support the impacted communities resulting from the Turkey and Syria Earthquake and the New Zealand Floods. Rotary Australia World Community Service Ltd (RAWCS) will work with local and international Rotary networks to facilitate the distribution of funds raised. The fundraising campaign was launched last week to support the communities in need as these disasters continue to cause significant loss.

Over 1,000 mozzie candles donated to Rotary Echuca Moama via RAWCS (Rotary Australia World Community Service) will be free to the flood-affected Echuca-Moama community. 

It has been a busy first 6 months of the Rotary year in the Foundation space with lots of activity.  The Foundation Newsletter has a summary of these activities and an update of what is important in the coming months.

In April 2022, Rotary Club of Richmond received a call for assistance and financial support from Thomas Williams, Head of Music at Richmond High School.  The request was for funds to purchase a much needed baritone saxophone for the school, an item not provided to State Schools by the Ministry of Education.

Pictured are Thomas Williams, Principal Lars Andersson, Mark Dwyer, and Maria Makris with the baritone sax. 

BOOK NOW FOR THIS FREE EVENT, LIVESTREAMED 12.00-1.15pm 26th JANUARY 

URGENT APPEAL

WERN (Western Emergency Relief Network) is part of the City of Maribyrnong Flood Recovery Committee and is offering support in several ways. Many of the 400 families affected by the recent floods are struggling with financial and insurance implications of the devastation.

Do you have vocational skills with an insurance background that could help?  

After the Regionalisation Pilot vote in September, we announced that 90% of clubs voted yes to proceed with the pilot and 20 of 21 districts met the two thirds of clubs voting Yes threshold. The 21st district had a simple majority in favour but not the two thirds majority. 
 
The results were reported to the Rotary International Board and it was approved that we proceed with 20 districts. We will continue to work with the last district during this period and give them the opportunity to have another vote at a later time.

Wishing Rotarians, their Families and Friends

a Joyful and Safe Holiday Season

and a Happy, Healthy 2023

Rotary Members are invited to register for the next Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) program in March 2023.

October 8th was a chilly but clear Saturday morning for the opening of the new playground at Victoria Park Kew, and the spirits of club members in attendance for were high. Finally, they got to dedicate the fabulous new BBQ donated to the project as the club’s contribution to all the other projects undertaken by Rotary clubs around Australia to mark the centenary of Rotary in Australia in 2021. 

Rotary’s Council on Resolutions (COR) and Council on Legislation (COL) give us a voice in how our organisation is governed. 

The Council on Resolutions of Rotary International meets online every year to vote on resolutions proposed by clubs, districts, and the RI Board. Resolutions are requests to the Board or the Foundation Trustees to take an action that is outside the purview of the RI constitutional documents. 

The Year 11-12 Scholarship Grant program for 2022 is now fully subscribed, with all ten available grants snapped up by clubs eager to extend their support for students at local high schools.

Around 30 Rotarians joined together to pack over 4000 meals in one hour as part of the official DG Batman cluster visit. Held in the foyer outside Red Emperor restaurant, it took only moments for 5 random pedestrians to stop, enquire about who we are, what we were doing, pull on gloves and get involved! Hands-on volunteering sells itself and what a wonderful, impactiful introduction to Rotary for these new volunteers! 

It only took members of Essendon, Essendon North, Flemington Kensington, Footscray and West Footscray a record 13 mins 41 secs to pack 100 food parcels which were delivered to local food banks, feeding 500 people in need. Gateway East showed what was possible with a strategic production line and a determination to beat the previous record held by Westside at 15 mins. 

 One of our District’s best success stories, For-A-Meal has provided well over 500,000 emergency relief meals for free to for those impacted by natural disasters.  It was only natural that we hold a special volunteer with the DG day to support their mission. 

The Rotary Club of Richmond will hold a High Tea on Sunday 6th November to raise funds for the Rochester Community. 

For bookings click on the QR code on the invitation below. Please note that bookings will close on Thursday 3 Nov at 1pm.

 

This month's featured speakers are:

Prof. Janet McCalman, AC, a teacher and researcher in interdisciplinary history at the University of Melbourne

Richard Harrison, Australian author, speaker and cricket umpire.

If you have an interesting speaker at your club that you would recommend to other clubs, please contact Speaker Bank Chair, Jill Weeks (Hawthorn) via the Speakers Bank page: https://rotarydistrict9800.org.au/sitepage/speaker-bank (Available only to members logged on to the District website)

In October, under the direction of PDG Ross Butterworth, volunteers rolled up their sleeves for some Hands-on Volunteering with the DG at Western Emergency Relief Network (WERN). 

The two-day Global Congress Against Malaria brings respected malaria experts, governments, NGO's, corporates, Rotarians and non-Rotarians together in Melbourne, Australia, to share, educate and discuss how to Finish the Fight Against Malaria. 

 For the earlybird rate, available to 23rd February 2023: https://www.globalmalariacongress2023.org/registration 

The Hush Foundation's Gathering of Kindness for 2022 is a 'gathering with a difference' - for healthcare workers, patients, carers and supporters.

The Water for Education Project, providing four schools in Siem Reap with water filtration systems, has successfully installed a water filtration system providing one school with delicious clean, clear water. The water is available to both students and the wider community. Rotarians and friends from Australia, Cambodia and Singapore joined together to celebrate this project in action.

Brighton, Brighton North and Caulfield clubs had a very successful night building new friendships, sharing project wins and discovering ways to collaborate at the official DG Beachside Cluster visit. It was the first time the three clubs have met together and to quote many of the members, 'Let's make sure its's not the last time'! 

The passing of Lawrence Atley OAM was a sad milestone for the Rotary Club of Footscray. Lawrence was a dedicated and passionate Rotarian who enjoyed and valued his time in Rotary and the friends he made there. 

The full results of the Zone 8 Regionalisation Pilot vote were shared on Wednesday: 90% of Zone 8 clubs voted Yes. Within District 9800, the proposal secured overwhelming support with 98.44% of clubs voting Yes. I’m very pleased to note that every club voted.

The willingness of our members to embrace our evolving circumstances by trying new approaches is incredibly heartening, and inspires me with confidence for the future of our projects, clubs and movement. No doubt, this was envisaged by Paul Harris when he proclaimed, “This is a changing world, we must be prepared to change with it. The story of Rotary will have to be written again and again.” If ever we needed licence to have a red hot go at new approaches, this is it.

As soon as the Hobson Bay cluster members saw a table of soup kits waiting to be packed they jumped straight in - we didn’t have to ask! Before the meeting had officially started, 100 food packs were done waiting to be taken by the various clubs to local charities and food banks. It was so much fun to join members in a meaningful, hands-on and convenient project that everyone could get involved in. 

Volunteering runs through the veins of our Rotarians, and in September, Volunteering with the DG involved two shifts of volunteers helping the Afghan Community to sort, pack, and box household items donated from all over Melbourne.  

Do you believe that you can make a difference in the campaign to control the spread of malaria?  The position of District 9800 RAM Supervisor has been vacant for some time and RAM Southern Region is keen to hear from an interested party to assume this position on behalf of District 9800. 

Thanks to the efforts of Rotarians and volunteers from GlaxoSmithKline, the area at the rear of Kew Rotary Club's Fair Trade shop at 650 High St East Kew was transformed from a rather overgrown space into a potential haven for bees following an onsite working “bee”. 

On 27th September FORaMEAL food packs to make 100,000 nutritious meals were transported to Rotary’s Donations in Kind warehouse. The packs will be collected by the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and sent via Poland to the people of Ukraine.   The shipment will also include 6 pallets of medical and surgical supplies supplied and packed by the Ukrainian Association of Melbourne and DIK, and, as a special request, underpants, that were sourced from all over Melbourne.

DG Amanda Wendt recently joined Woodend Rotarians and friends to celebrate the opening of the club’s Rotary centenary project, Rotary Rocks on Five Mile Creek. The project is the culmination of two years’ work supported by the Rotary Foundation. 

The District 9800 Speakers Bank assists clubs to source interesting and diverse speakers to enhance their weekly meeting program.  There are many interesting and varied speakers on the list.

From October 1st to 31st Rotarians and friends are being encouraged, once again, to take action to raise awareness, funds, and support to end poliomyelitis, a vaccine-preventable disease that still threatens the children of the world today. 

As Rotarians, we know that when we engage people in meaningful, convenient and fun hands-on volunteering, we demonstrate that Rotarians are indeed “People of Action”. In mid-September, this message found an even wider audience when Rotary Inner Melbourne Emergency Relief Network (RIMERN) volunteer, Ros McMaster was announced as the Westfield Local Hero for the Airport West Shopping Centre, winning $20,000 for RIMERN towards the cost of its first van!

The GardenDesignFest is the biggest open garden weekend event in Victoria. Keep 12 -13 and 19-20 November 2022 free.  The popular bi-annual event is on again in 2022 following its cancellation during COVID. It is now more important than ever to get out and enjoy nature in a beautiful garden setting.

Heritage Cluster Clubs, Carlton, Fitzroy, Collingwood and Richmond liaised with secondary schools in their area to select 20 students to attend the Nelson Mandela Youth Leadership Summit.  The Summit provided a positive environment to empower the youth present to believe that change was possible.  This was borne out in the comments of Princes Hill Secondary College students: “Great opportunity to meet like-minded people to discuss some generational type plans and share hope and optimism.”  (Thomas, Year 10).  “So many different speakers leading the way on leadership, hope and optimism. Thanks so much. Awesome.”  (Celeste, Year 8)  

Members of Rotary Passport Melbourne and other Rotary District 9800 Rotarians were in attendance on the 7th August 2022 when Rotary District 3350 Governor Iida Mitsutaka inducted 54(!!) Rotaractors into the newly-chartered Rotaract Club of Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Rather than waste time, energy, and funding to develop own separate International projects, the Rotary Clubs of Keilor and Keilor East chose to become partners in an existing International Project.  The two adjoining clubs became partners in RAWCS Project No 114-2005-06 Tonga Dental Health Project, which also utilizes the quality material available from our Donations In Kind Store.  This is an excellent option for many Clubs as it allows them to be involved at a level that suits the Club.

Students need to know how to present themselves to secure a job interview, and have the skills to land that job once an interview is granted. Rotary Club of Richmond decided to invest in helping to prepare young people for a successful life. In collaboration with Melbourne Girls’ College, the club adopted the successful Mock Job Interview project, which has been going for around 20 years.

The Rotary SAFE Families website now has Guides translated in 6 languages. The Guides were created for YOU and YOUR Club to download, print and give to your neighbourhood migrant/refugee communities who may not be fluent in the English language.

Rotary Central Melbourne (RCM) member Mawien Ariik (known as Ariik) was born in 1989 in the village of Lou Ariik, South Sudan. At the age of eight, he learned that his father (Ariik Dut) had died in the South Sudan war along with millions of others while fighting for the freedom of his people. This tragic loss became Ariik’s motivation to continue the legacy of freedom that his father fought for, and to ensure those efforts were not in vain.

In the middle of a long Melbourne winter, Rotarians and friends of Essendon Rotary, in conjunction with The Living Room – Youth Projects were able to provide some warmth and comfort to the homeless in the city.  With the assistance of a Rotary Foundation Grant sleeping bags were distributed to 130 rough sleepers.

The Rotary world mourns the passing of Judith Durham AO and Paul Harris Fellow. Judith was a great Australian, generous with her time in caring for others and a friend of Rotary.

At an age when most singers have well and truly retired, Merlyn Quaife lived up to her aim of being a “fearless soprano” by celebrating a significant birthday with a demanding but astutely constructed program of art song reflecting her career-long advocacy of Australian music. Her fearlessness was demonstrated from the outset in Johanna Selleck’s The Prospect and Bower of Bliss, settings of texts by the Restoration poet and proto-feminist Aphra Behn, where she unwaveringly traversed the highly strung, sinuously chromatic vocal lines, while not losing sight of the score’s celebration of “sweet and ravishing” things.

After being contacted by Linda Widdup from Aussie Hay Runners seeking assistance to obtain a fuel subsidy from the NSW Government Rural Assistance for a Hay Run to support the farmers in Grafton affected by the devastating floods, Rotary Melton’s then President Dickson Heaney Dickson spent hours completing an application and was rewarded with $392,250.00 to assist with transport of the convoy just one way. Filling up with diesel at Temora on the return journey to Victoria cost us $1,940 just to top up and about $5,000 for the return trip. 

At the Rotary Club of Balwyn changeover in June, Chris Finely was completely surprised to be recognised with a Paul Harris Fellow. His citation included:

• six hour shifts on duty at the Camberwell Sunday Market
• dedicated mentor for one for our indigenous tertiary scholars throughout the scholar’s undergraduate degree
• volunteering at Rotary Inner Melbourne Relief Network and the Box Hill Mini Steam Rail
• collecting food from Second Bite
• volunteering at Alzheimer’s Australia
• does the Great Cycle Challenge for kid’s cancer research each year
• if that is not enough, he disappears in his caravan for a couple weeks from time to time to volunteer with Blaze aid

• How our vocational advantage can help convert volunteer participants into Rotary members
• Why clubs should partner with employers to supplement their employee value proposition and create a membership pipeline
• How this will help engage and retain existing, more experienced Rotarians

Rotary District 9800 is celebrating the relationship between a mentor and protégé that makes for effective mentorship, develops community leadership and instills our next generation of leaders with Rotary values, by awarding District Governor Mentorship Awards at Official DG Cluster visits.

We’re seeking nominations by younger Rotary members, who are being mentored by a more experienced Rotarian, of their effective mentorship, nominate at growmyclub.org/mentorship-award

Read more on Rotary's vocational advantage, here