September is Basic Education and Literacy Month when Rotarians focus on the goal of strengthening the capacity of communities to support basic education and literacy, reduce gender disparity in education, and increase adult literacy.
Whilst there are many programs within Rotary that promote teacher training, student mentoring and adult literacy, education also crosses into a plethora of other fields. Education is the power that can break many of the world’s issues surrounding poverty, slavery and disease. Through education we can also reduce family violence and elder abuse and as Rotarians, set the example on gender equality and respect, and ensure our elderly live safely and with dignity.
I urge everyone to read the Rotary Safe Families piece in this edition and click on the links: Family Violence and Elder Abuse so that you can help with cultural change on these two vital issues.
The second Morning Tea with the DG is scheduled for this Saturday at 10.00 am, and along with a great line up of speakers, Alanna Brown from Open Table will also be giving a very interesting presentation on how to achieve zero food waste. In ten minutes, you will learn about Open Table’s No Waste Cook Club, how to prepare quick pickles and three easy ways to save herbs for later. It promises to be a lot of fun, so do join in.
This month, whilst in lockdown, is also an ideal opportunity to discover all that Rotary has to offer by visiting the Learning Centre via the My Rotary portal. The array of subjects available is vast and provides an exceptional learning experience. If you have any questions regarding learning and development within Rotary, please contact Keith Ryall, Chair Learning & Development, on keithfryall@gmail.com
Have a great week everyone…there is magic in serving above self!
Rotary Safe Families answers the questions many have around what we can do about the horrific statistics surrounding family violence and elder abuse. It provides a program that will assist Rotarians to be “part of the solution” and to spread the word “NO” to these appalling issues across your community, your Club and throughout Australia.
The Rotary Safe Families program is practical and professionally endorsed, and includes two films and a comprehensive manual.
As Rotarians, we must inform ourselves, find our voice and play a part in the solution – PREVENTION of family violence and elder abuse.
Rotary Safe Families asks that you click on the links to the 2 films, show them at a Rotary meeting online or privately. The powerful messages provide the “tools” for you to be part of the prevention.
“Our tree plantings are merely gestures of goodwill but they are intelligible to all the citizens of the various countries whatever language they speak”
Most Rotarians in District 9800 know about the great work that Western Emergency Relief Network does in supplying donated furniture and household goods to families located in the west who are in need. Many also know that the Eastern Emergency Relief Network does the same out in Mitcham for people in need in the east.
“Why isn’t there an Emergency Relief Network in inner Melbourne?” asked Rotary Prahran’s new Community Service Chair Mike Scott.
Mike is also the Community Services Manager at Uniting Prahran (formerly the Prahran Mission) and knows from every day experience the need of many people who are escaping domestic violence, are refugees, coming out of homelessness, or even starting out after a stint in jail.
Mike’s question spurred Rotary Prahran into sponsoring the set up of Rotary Inner Melbourne Emergency Relief Network, as a collaborative ‘Centenary of Rotary in Australia’ project for all inner Melbourne clubs if they are interested in getting involved.
“RIMERN will be to Community Service what Donations In Kind is to International Service” said Rotary Prahran President Susie Cole, “a powerful ongoing project that delivers real help in our own neighbourhoods, that clubs can get involved in as a real hands-on opportunity for service, and something to attract new members.”
District 9800 Community Service Chair Sue Foley will be telling clubs a little about Rotary Inner Melbourne Emergency Relief Network in coming weeks, but Mike & the steering committee want to move fast. They need to find a warehouse of around 500m2 in South Melbourne or Port Melbourne (or further out if it’s free or at a peppercorn rental), to provide a receiving point for the many offers of donated furniture and appliances that are already on the horizon and that will soon be needed as more homeless people are helped into affordable rentals post Covid-19.
Which Clubs are potential RIMERN foundation partners?
Albert Park, Carlton, Caulfield, Central Melbourne, Chadstone/East Malvern, Collingwood, E-Club of Melbourne, Fitzroy, Glen Eira, Glenferrie, Hawthorn, Kew, Melbourne, Melbourne Park, Melbourne South, North Melbourne, Port Melbourne, Provisional Club of Northside
Malvern, Richmond, Southbank, Toorak, Yarra Bend, plus clubs in the East not affiliated with the Eastern Emergency Relief Network such as Camberwell, Canterbury, Kew and North Balwyn.
What does foundation partnership involve?
Financial support
While Rotary Prahran is contributing $20,000 seed funding to the project, if rent free or cheap premises can’t be found then commercial rent will have to be paid (like at Donations In Kind) so Clubs are being asked to contribute $3,000 seed funding and support for 2 additional years of $2,500 pa. Warehouse fit-out and truck leasing has been budgeted for, local municipality and corporate grants are being applied for, but rent affordability is the key!
Volunteers
If foundation partner clubs can provide warehouse volunteers that would be great! If not, help with other roles such as fundraising, logistics, grant writing, recruitment and more will be needed.
Relationships
People in need must be introduced to Rotary Inner Melbourne Emergency Relief Network by one of the many support agencies operating in inner Melbourne and Clubs with relationships with these agencies can strengthen their ties and opportunities for service.
Want to know more? Email Susie.cole@rotaryprahran.org.au for the date & link to an information ZOOM or a short presentation for your Club.
What changes do you need to make to ensure your club survives and thrives beyond 2020?
All organisations, including Rotary Clubs, go through life cycles, just like living things.
When they are new, the Formative Stage, there is a “honeymoon” period where things are somewhat unknown but fun and very exciting. Those involved are anxious to learn more about their environment so that they can develop appropriate strategies to survive and thrive.
“By the seat of the pants” decisions are often made, cash is short and the organisation culture is highly adaptable and entrepreneurial. There are often risks early in the life of the organisation. There is no “normal” length of time for this stage: research and scientific groups, for example, might sit here for many years.
At some point the organisation will mature and, hopefully by then, will taste some success. The next phase, the Normative Phase, is born. Things become more certain and often the focus on the external environment and the beneficiaries gives way to more of an internal approach. The old flexibility is lost and conservatism and control move in, with emphasis on systems and procedures. Changes in the environment are largely ignored. The “S Curve” levels out.
Late in Phase Two, the risk is that the organisation will really close in on itself, resist change, lose the desire to hunt for new ways and will stagnate. Again, research shows no particular timeframe for this, but the organisation has reached “the wall”.
Some organisations sit at “the wall” for some time, stuck with their old products and services with sometimes steady, but declining demand. The need to change is indicated, but there is resistance.
There are three ways organisations get to “the wall”:
1. By shock. Key people leave, services become irrelevant, things like COVID occur, and matters beyond their control bring them to a panicked realisation that they won’t survive unless they act.
2. By evolution. What they have been doing no longer properly meets demands, environments change without them adapting and they become increasingly irrelevant.
3. By anticipation. Leaders understand that this process occurs, they monitor what is happening around them and, when timely, they take action.
Organisations are then faced with two outcomes: renew or die. Those continuing to do the same things without adaption will inevitably fall by the wayside.
So how do you renew, revitalise, rejuvenate your organisation? How do you enter a new “S curve”?
Faced with “the wall”, many commercial companies have changed their products and /or their markets and some even move into completely different industry sectors.
For renewal, Rotary clubs need to be open to change, experiment and rejuvenate their focus on people in need and their members. They need to bring fun back into their culture and make every single person feel valuable and valued.
They will probably need to find new Community Service projects and change meeting procedures to attract and retain members. They must continue to be seen as relevant. They might need to address new issues in society about which their public is concerned. They will certainly need to adopt changing technologies. Some more traditional and conservative people will find this renewal phase very challenging.
The club life cycle is a valuable concept to help you think about where your club is right now, and what needs to be done to ensure it remains viable with appropriate offerings through Club Service to members and through Community, Youth, Vocational and International Services for people in need.
Have a debate amongst members, and decide what changes you need to ensure your club survives and thrives beyond 2020.
I’m a pharmacist with a family vocation tradition of pharmacists, my son being a pharmacist and my two children having married pharmacists. One could say prescriptions are in the family!
My father was Charter President of Kyneton Rotary and suggested I join when returning from boarding school and University. I looked at other service clubs, but Rotary was my choice and I was inducted in October 1968. I have been club Secretary for three years and am a committee member of the Probus Club. I have great respect for “Mr. Bendigo”, Gordon McKern, a wonderful Rotarian who has been invaluable to us.
One club project that was particularly memorable to me was a ‘music hall’, inspired by a retired musician, who would move around tables at our meetings and choose singers to become the chorus. Even the new Principal of the local secondary college with a love of art and drama got involved. With wives, daughters and community members also active, it lasted eight years. Unfortunately the musician passed away and the Principal transferred elsewhere, so the initiative ended. The choir kept going for a few years and we still sing occasionally at club functions.
Kyneton Rotary’s Riverwalk project with local and State governments has beautified the Campaspe River and constructed a pedestrian walkway. One of our members, a carpenter, took some school-kids to start it. It is 3.2 kilometres long, stretching from one end of town to the other.
We also have a project in Kenya and, with other clubs, have funded women to make mud-brick latrines for school girls. That, and our community market project, should revive after COVID.
We have membership prospects, but are concerned, as many members are retirees. Our Interact Club will lose kids moving away from the area for tertiary education.
My prescription for success…accessing different member skills to deliver benefits to Rotary communities.
Inducted to Sunbury Rotary Club on 17th June this year, Sharon wanted to serve her community after recently moving to Melbourne from Canberra. She has a great appreciation for the value created when businesses come together to serve at home and abroad. Despite growing up in a ‘Lions’ family, as both her parents have been Lions club members, Sharon has found being a Rotarian creates some healthy family banter!
Sharon is a country Victorian who studied in South Australia before moving to Canberra for a thirteen-year career with the Australian Federal Police. Serving in various overseas locations, including a deployment in Afghanistan, she transitioned in 2013 to AusAID and in 2014 to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. She is now the Director of RedR, Australia’s Strategy and Impact unit.
RedR Australia is a Corporate Member of the City of Melbourne Rotary Club and provides humanitarian training at the Victorian Emergency Management Instituted locate at Mount Macedon. RedR’s technical experts work with communities, organisations and nations to plan, prepare, rebuild and recover from disasters and conflict. Whilst the COVID-19 crisis has posed a challenge for the organisation, Sharon is helping to improve efficiency and dedicate resourcing to help. RedR services have never been needed more than they are now.
Sharon loves to be out in nature and jump off mountains to paraglide. Whilst working from home in these times, her German shepherd brings her joy, as does being with family, sharing community and laughter.
With personal goals as a Rotarian to learn and get to know the local community, Sharon hopes to bring her law and justice background to future projects.
Sharon believes Rotary’s current challenges are also opportunities that can shape our future. She believes we have an increased ability at this time to connect with other clubs around the world, and to take this opportunity into the future.
Past District Governor Julie Mason AM (Member of the Order of Australia) leaves you energised. Conversations with Julie are motivational, and you wonder how much more you could have done in your life. To her, important things in life are paramount: family, education and her close nexus with Rotary to improve our world.
Julie received her AM in January 2020 for significant service to the community, and to education.
Julie was born in Western Victoria on a dairy farm. She attended Good Samaritan College and then Teachers College in Geelong. Her first school was Deer Park West. Her lifelong commitment to education began with her ‘magic moment’, when she knew she had actually taught a child ‘something’, and felt privileged.
Julie was subsequently appointed Principal of Baden Powell College and recently has chosen to become Assistant Principal to reduce her workload in preparation for retirement. The College has significant challenges with many migrant and refugee children and sixty languages. Currently under Covid, 1,180 students are engaged in remote learning.
Julie was Victorian Principal of the Year in 2005. She formed Earlyact and Interact Clubs at the school. She has a positive view of youth and she is happiest to be with young people who are confident of making a difference.
A member of Rotary Club of Wyndham, Julie sees a good Rotarian as someone who feels something in their heart about a project: someone “who is moved to do something for others”. Julie says that making that contribution “enriches your life”.
She believes Rotary can meet its challenges in gaining new members: listening to how they prefer to join and work within Rotary.
Key Rotary achievements have been the End Polio Campaign and the Peace Builder Movement (which she sees as vitally important to youth). Many students do not always understand peaceful solutions to conflicts, so a focus on peace is important.
In addition to education and Rotary, Julie loves spending time with her three grandsons (whom she has ensured support the Geelong Football Club) reading and walking her dog.
The township of Rochester in northern Victoria has a mixed rural and semi-rural community and with great pride, the Rotary Club of Rochester was chartered on 24th October 1964 with 30 inaugural members.
Almost 56 years later, the still proud, but somewhat smaller, membership of six committed Rotarians packs a punch well above its weight, taking on projects across international, national and community. One member, Noel Lucas is way out in front having been a member for 51 years. Coming second with 26 years membership is Heather Watson. Heather, who was the first female Club President back in 1997-98, is now in her eighth presidency and is really getting a feel for the job.
While the Club has been involved in wider Rotary projects including End Polio Now, building schools in Timor Leste, teaching English in Ainaro and a school group visit to Cambodia to name a few, the community of Rochester is the main focus of attention.
The Farm and Road Safety EXPO (FARSE) is in its 22nd year exhibiting safety on the farm, in the home and on the road, and is aimed primarily at educating school students and continues very successfully.
Since 2006, the Club has leased the former Rochester Court House, and from 2012 has been the property manager overseeing major renovations and improvements under a Heritage Grant. This enables the Court House to be the home of the Club, as well as being used by many Community and private groups for social nights, exhibitions of art and photography, Port and Pie nights and birthday parties.
The Club’s R100 project is to have the Court House become the “Heritage Court House Community Hub”.
Run by the Club and generously sponsored by The Rotary Club of Balwyn following the disastrous floods in 2011, the Community Bus is gratefully used by diverse Rochester-based organisations and individuals.
Clearly, Rochester would be a much lesser town without its Rotary Club.
Paul Harris, Rotary’s founder, regarded good ethical practices paramount to all of our endeavours, and forms a Rotary cornerstone.
The idea for a Fellowship dedicated to ethical practices originated at a Rotary District Conference in Brazil in 2012. A Committee was formed and, through forums and seminars directed mostly at youth and the general public, promoted the notion of good ethical practices. The success of these events resulted in many new Rotary memberships.
Rotary International approved the Ethics Fellowship of Rotarians in 2016, and it has become popular in many parts of the world, with increasing numbers of Rotarians joining it.
The Fellowship aims to build on the philosophy of ethical practices and good citizenship, thereby improving the image of Rotary, expanding the appreciation of Rotary, and encouraging people of good character to join Rotary. It also believes that education from early childhood on the principles of ethics, will contribute to a more peaceful and just world. By promoting ethical behaviour through their own actions as Rotarians and their pronouncements of ethical behaviour for a better world, the Fellowship believes this will provide the world with a better moral compass.
The Fellowship aligns closely with the United Nations’ “Global Objectives for Sustainable Development” through its goal of promoting peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, providing access to justice for all, and building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. Further, the Fellowship is committed to serving humanity, promoting Rotary programs and humanitarian projects, as well as encouraging people to practice the principles of ethics and good citizenship.
In the future, this Fellowship would like to become a Rotary Action Group… to use the expertise of its members and partner with Rotary clubs worldwide to work on a major project of world importance.
Are your club members reading to Primary School children? During Basic Education & Literacy month, it might be a good thing to start on Zoom, to be followed up face-to-face post COVID. It is a great activity for less agile members.
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September is Basic Education and Literacy Month when Rotarians focus on the goal of strengthening the capacity of communities to support basic education and literacy, reduce gender disparity in education, and increase adult literacy.
What changes do you need to make to ensure your club survives and thrives beyond 2020?
I’m a pharmacist with a family vocation tradition of pharmacists, my son being a pharmacist and my two children having married pharmacists. One could say prescriptions are in the family!
Inducted to Sunbury Rotary Club on 17th June this year, Sharon wanted to serve her community after recently moving to Melbourne from Canberra. She has a great appreciation for the value created when businesses come together to serve at home and abroad. Despite growing up in a ‘Lions’ family, as both her parents have been Lions club members, Sharon has found being a Rotarian creates some healthy family banter! 
By Ian Salek
Paul Harris, Rotary’s founder, regarded good ethical practices paramount to all of our endeavours, and forms a Rotary cornerstone.
