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 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!

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.

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.  

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. 

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”. 

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. 

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.

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.