It was fantastic to see Rotarians getting together in person again for wonderful fellowship and networking last Saturday at the Multi District Conference District 9800 Breakout Session and Showcase. We all had a ball, especially during the Bollywood dancing class! There were approximately 50 stalls at the Showcase and these provided a wonderful opportunity to exchange ideas and build new networks. The speakers from the Conference also allowed us to think about reflecting on, and respecting what we have achieved over the last century, but also inspired us with ideas on moving forward in the next century, particularly through the Rotary Foundation Australia’s Public Benevolent Institution being able to attract donations from private ancillary funds and major corporates. This will give us the opportunity to do bold, large scale projects to build community resilience in homelessness, environment, mental health and youth development by working with key opinion leaders in philanthropic, government, corporate and community sectors. It is indeed an exciting time ahead for Rotary in Australia!
I would like to congratulate all the entrants and recipients of the District 9800 Recognition Awards held on Saturday at the Showcase. Rotary clubs never cease to inspire and amaze with the incredible array of innovative projects they undertake that make such a difference in the world. It has been a difficult year under COVID, but our District‘s clubs have shown just how resilient, creative and persistent they can be even under the most challenging of times. Every D9800 Rotarian should feel very proud!
To all those who helped with the organisation of the Multi District Virtual Conference and our District 9800 Breakout Session & Showcase, please accept my sincere appreciation for your amazing efforts.
I am delighted to advise that the ABC’s Gardening Australia presenter, Costa Georgiadis, has agreed to be an ambassador for Rotary to attract volunteers and donors who may then become members and people of action to help us with our projects, as we embark on our next century of giving.
As we have now entered the final two months of this Rotary year, I would like to encourage all clubs to focus on member retention and recruitment. With so much happening and so many opportunities ahead of us, we need more volunteers to help us. This link will take you to a document showing your club’s membership both historically and currently. If you need help with how your club can increase its membership please contact your club’s President, Assistant Governor or Membership Director Peter Frueh on peter.frueh@gmail.com.
Last Saturday, the District Recognition Awards were held as part of the District 9800 Conference Breakout Session.
It was commented that the applications for each category were outstanding and it was difficult to select winners.
However, the Award recipients were as follows:
Community Service
Macedon Ranges - You are Not Alone - This project gave comfort to aged care residents during COVID when the club mobilised the community to write letters and provide drawings to over 400 people in five facilities.
Camberwell - Myeloma Program - The club worked with Myeloma Australia to establish four support groups in regional Victoria so that no patient was more than an hour away from a support team. This has the potential to grow into a national program.
International Service
Richmond - Support for Edna Adan Hospital in Somaliland - This project involved the supply of Obstetrics and Gynaecology medical equipment through DIK and the upskilling of nurses. Rotary Brighton North has also joined as a partner.
Hoppers Crossing - Diabetes in Ghana - For four years the club has been helping to educate health professionals in the diagnosis, treatment and care of diabetes in Ghana. Over the last two years 109 health professionals have been trained, enabling the treatment of 27,000 patients.
Vocational Service
Brighton - Bayside Academy of Enterprising Girls - In partnership with Young Change Agents, the club hosted an event for more than 50 young women aged from 12 to 18 in social entrepreneurship skills.
Public Image & Communications
Wyndham Harbour - The Wave - The club commenced an e-magazine to increase awareness about Rotary, the club and issues such as supporting the environment in its local community. The uptake was incredible and the November 2020 edition was read in 33 countries.
Yarraville - 110 Acts 100 Times - To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Rotary in Australia, the club came up with this novel project during COVID restrictions. Some of the acts members identified were:
Cooking meals for the needy
Supplying food containers and used shopping bags
Donating toiletries to charity
Providing water to front-line workers
Making neck warmers.
Supporting the Environment
Bendigo South - Replanting after Bushfires - The club sources seeds from fire ravaged areas in Gippsland through Rotary Bairnsdale Sunrise and is propagating plants for replanting shelter belts and wildlife corridors on farms.
Flemington/Kensington - Recycled Playgrounds - In Australia playgrounds are regularly replaced and the old equipment is usually very serviceable. Planning with Rotary in Sri Lanka enabled shipment from DIK and the project now has support from all Rotary Districts in Victoria, Municipal Councils, Schools, manufacturers, contractors and other businesses.
Youth Services
North Melbourne - MUNA online - The Model United Nations Assembly is well known to Rotarians. Running it online during COVID was an unusual challenge around allowing reasonable opportunities for participants to speak and remain engaged during a long screen-only event. North Melbourne approached other clubs and schools and the e-Club was a key partner. The results were excellent.
Central Melbourne - Hope for the Future Scholarships - Working with Concern Australia, the club provided eight scholarships during COVID to keep students engaged with education through the provision of school supplies and support.
Membership
Southbank- Satellite Clubs - Satellite clubs are a way to preserve club cultures whilst introducing separate groups of new members doing different things, but using the existing administrative structures. Southbank has spawned two satellite clubs in the past 12 months resulting in strong membership growth.
Chadstone/East Malvern - Active recruiting, including the re-signing of previous members, has enabled this club to introduce eight new members so far in 2020/21.
Innovation During COVID
Canterbury - FORaMEAL - This activity, which has been successful overseas (especially in the Philippines), was extended during COVID in Victoria. For the last six months of 2020, 170,000 meals were delivered to needy families—largely migrants, overseas students and refugees—who were not being supported by government relief. Distribution was by Rotary and 26 other NGOs.
Castlemaine - Truck Show - The club acknowledged the importance of trucks through a history of transport photographic event, a truckies’ breakfast, a zoom event on heavy vehicle research and a truck convoy of 40 trucks. The event attracted great media attention for Rotary.
Special Centenary Award - Cross Category Project of Excellence
North Balwyn - Rotary Gardens Program - This program will have been running for 10 years in July, and ticks many boxes. It is a Community Service for elderly and disabled citizens in Boroondara; a Youth Service program because it involves secondary school students working under the supervision of Rotarians; an Image project because it has a visibly high profile in the community and with schools, welfare agencies and council; and an Environment project because the waste is recycled and spread as mulch on public parks and gardens. The program receives continuing excellent feedback from residents.
Rotary Southbank set to launch an online youth job search program
Entering the job market at any time in life can be a little nerve-wracking, but when it’s the first time you embark on this process, it can be even more daunting.
Rotary Southbank is addressing this issue through ‘First Steps’, an online resource that will guide all those new to approaching the job market through an interactive program that breaks down each aspect of securing employment into easy-to-understand segments.
The program also provides access to mentoring and coaching facilities, either through online or face-to face workshops, as well as a range of case studies that will provide insight to the various stages of the job search process.
Particularly aimed at young people about to embark on their careers, the program provides an easy step-by-step guide to self-analysis in readiness for a career, setting objectives, understanding skills and competencies regardless of work experience, identifying useful networks, where to look for jobs, how to really read job advertisements and respond accordingly, putting together a winning and tailored resume, understanding the interview process and preparing for it, readying referees and assessing a job offer.
Andrew, a young graduate who had been applied for many roles without success, embarked on a precursor to the program. He remarked: “I was going about it all wrong, but now I understand it from what the company is looking for, not just what I want.”
After successfully securing his first role, Andrew said he feels far more confident and committed to managing his career going forward.
‘First Steps’ builds confidence around the job search process and arms young people with the skills to approach many different potential work-related situations, including annual performance reviews and applying for promotions. They also learn effective listening skills and questioning techniques that will prove useful in all aspects of life.
Rotary Southbank is planning to launch the new program in June/July.
The Multi District Interact Conference Planning Committee is delighted to announce that there are two Conferences planned for 2021.
The first will be an Online Conference via Zoom to be held on Sunday 30th May.
The theme for this conference is skill development and connection. It is designed to be highly engaging and will present Interactors with interesting tasks within short deadlines to make sure they still retain information out of the online format.
Interactors should leave this conference with:
Clear frameworks for tackling projects with Interactors understanding how the ‘why’ of a project is important;
Public speaking and pitching skills to increase the confidence of Interactors in public speaking, particularly in team environments. Interact members will develop creative and critical thinking skills throughout and improve presentation skills;
Strong connections with other clubs. This will be a great opportunity for Interact members to network with other Interact clubs Victoria-wide and learn about their activities and projects. Interact clubs will be called upon to present reports on their club projects and activities and breakout rooms will be provided for in-depth discussions.
This Interact Conference is open to all interested Rotarians and clubs contemplating the sponsorship of a new Interact club.
While this is a Zoom event only, Rotarians participating must still be holders of a current Working with Children card.
To participate, simply use the following Zoom link, as no advanced bookings are required:
In the world of Human Resources, one of the most common responses from job interviewees is that what motivates them most in the workplace is being recognised—that simple ‘thank you’ seems to go far beyond monetary reward. It’s the same in Rotary. Whilst there will always be those who do not want recognition for the ‘above and beyond’ effort they put in, for many others, gratitude is incredibly motivating, especially when it is unanticipated.
Certainly within the workplace, implementing gratitude into company culture lifts employee ‘positivity’ and creates a flow on effect to others. Likewise in volunteer organisations such as Rotary, where people are giving without reward, spontaneous gratitude can have a powerful effect, including member retention, stronger bonds amongst members, and improvement in motivation to take on projects, roles or tasks. After all, those who go the extra make their clubs stronger, their communities better and more resilient, and they are making peace possible.
There are many ways Rotary clubs can recognise the work of their members from annual president recognition awards to Rotary International recognitions such as Avenues of Service Award (district recognition and RI recognition), Rotary Foundation Citation for Meritorious Service, Rotary Foundation Distinguished Service Award, Rotary Foundation District Service Award, Service Above Self Award, Service Award for a Polio-Free World, and PolioPlus Pioneer Award. Information on these awards can be found on the My Rotary website: https://my.rotary.org/en/learning-reference/learn-topic/awards
The most widely used acknowledgement or recognition of a person’s contribution to a club or their community is the presentation of Paul Harris Fellow recognition. Not an award, but a recognition, a Paul Harris Fellow is often incorrectly cited as the ‘highest honour that can be awarded by Rotary’. It is nevertheless a worthy form of recognition for those who go the extra mile. However, it should be remembered that a club is only able to make a Paul Harris Fellow presentation after it has made a USD$1,000 contribution (which may be cumulative) to the Rotary Foundation. Any Rotarian (or non-Rotarian) who also makes a personal contribution to the Rotary Foundation of USD$1,000 (also cumulative) is entitled to receive a Paul Harris Fellow recognition.
Recognising club members is very important, and so too is recognising non-Rotarians. There are myriad ways to do this that will not only thank someone for their support, but also build stronger relationships and even encourage membership.
By Rowan McClean, District 9800 Club Service Chair
Even though the Rotary Constitution and By-Laws were altered in 1989 allowing women to join the organisation, it didn’t strike Kerry Kornhauser that the organisation was so male-dominated when she joined some 13 years ago. There are more than 25,000 female Rotarians worldwide today—approximately 23% of global membership. In Australia, females represent approximately 28% of the total membership.
Kerry’s father was a Rotarian and she too was keen to join an active voluntary organisation. As her sister had been doing some work with Rotary Albert Park and spoke about it being a group of young people who have fun, Kerry decided to join the vibrant club. It had a large number of projects and a 50/50 gender balance that has been maintained. Kerry soon learnt that many clubs either don’t have a good gender balance, or are able to maintain one and so, Kerry adopted the mission of promoting women in Rotary.
With a change in work commitments, Kerry also needed to change clubs and her new Rotary home is Rotary Melbourne—a large club with a strong structure.
As part of her commitment to Women in Rotary, Kerry has been leading the International Women’s Breakfast event for ten years. She is planning to step down from this leadership role, although stay on the advisory group.
A new focus for Kerry is Women Can, an initiative she and a fellow Rotary Melbourne board member commenced with the aim of encouraging women to enter the trades, undertake a Certificate II and enter apprenticeships.
“We have negotiated with the unions,” advised Kerry. “And they are setting out to attract more women.”
Considering the way ahead, Kerry feels it is very hard to change club practices and many older male-dominated clubs emphasise fellowship. Whilst Kerry thinks this is fine, she however doesn’t think this culture suits most younger people, and that the answer could be in starting satellite clubs that can use the administrative framework of the existing club, but develop something fresh and exciting.
“We need to encourage people to bring their projects and their passion to Rotary,” Kerry says. “This might be the way to attract them.”
Kerry has been a great champion for women in Rotary, and indeed outside of Rotary. She is also a wonderful role model for emerging Rotarians.
Information provided by Jill Forsyth OAM, Rotary Kew
Early this month, devastating floods and landslides saw lives lost and homes and livelihoods destroyed throughout Timor-Leste. The images that have come through are heartbreaking and Rotary Kew is rallying to provide much-needed support.
With well-established projects in Timor-Leste, Rotary Kew has relationships with trusted administration already on the ground who are actively providing emergency food, house repairs and clean water to those in need.
The Club already has the infrastructure set up through RAWCS (Rotary Australia World Community Service) for tax-deductible donations to assist: https://directory.rawcs.com.au/71-2013-14.
Funds raised through RAWCS will firstly be used for emergency food and cooking equipment, followed by clean-up costs and house repairs that will be chosen on a needs basis with priority given to widows, families and the homeless. Those living in refuges are currently receiving food, but will need immediate support in order to restore their homes to escape from circulating COVID.
Many Timorese have also lost their jobs and income, so the Club is providing a ‘job keeper’ US$40 payment for basic food for unemployed project workers. Beneficiaries will be identified through Kor Timor, Rotary Dili, the Alola Foundation, Hiam Health and Permatil.
In addition, the Club raises funds for long-term sustainable projects in Timor-Leste through the Club’s Fair Trade and Gift Shop, as well as sending donated household goods, clothing and shoes from the shop.
Recovery from the floods will take time and the need is great, if not desperate in many regional areas, and Rotary Kew is well placed to direct all possible support.
Bayspeak is a Bayside secondary school public speaking competition facilitated by the Rotary Clubs of Brighton, Brighton North, and Sandringham with sponsorship from Bendigo Bank. The aim of the competition is to encourage and enhance the public speaking skills of secondary students at all levels.
Based on Wynspeak, the successful model developed by the Rotary Club of Hoppers Crossing, the competition will have two sections: Junior (years 7-9) and Senior (years 10-12). Prize money will be awarded to the individual winners and runner-ups in each section of the competition. In addition, perpetual trophies will be awarded to the winning schools in each section.
The students competing this year are from: Firbank, Star of the Sea, Brighton Grammar, St. Leonards, Haileybury and Brighton Secondary.
The preliminary competitions will be held at Brighton Grammar, starting 6pm on Tuesday 11th and Tuesday 18th May. The final of the competition will be held at Firbank on Wednesday 2nd June.
The aim of both Wynspeak and Bayspeak is to support schools with the preparation of their students with the necessary skills to be effective, confident public speakers to aid their future career development. The amazing success of this public speaking program is evident by the considerable expansion of the project in Melbourne’s western region and now Bayside—something Rotary clubs in other areas may find of interest.
By Henry Drury, Past District Secretary, Rotary Club of Hawthorn
One early reliable source refers to the Canterbury landscape as undulating, elevated and pleasantly well watered. ‘Well watered’ perhaps, but the sale of stronger fluids until recently were prohibited, as Canterbury was at the heart of the Temperance Movement’s ‘dry’ area of Melbourne.
Originally a part of Balwyn and mainly supporting market gardens and orchards, the locality was named Canterbury after Viscount Canterbury, Governor of Victoria, 1886-73. By 1891 nearly all the area was sub-divided for residential, but—except for some late Victorian boom era mansions such as ‘Frognall’ at 54 Mont Albert Road—it was not substantially built on until the early 1900s. Canterbury from that time has seen the steady development of many gracious homes in garden settings described in understated real estate promotions as ‘desirable’ just for starters!
Through the energetic promotion in the local business and professional community by Rotary Balwyn member Alan Thomas, who was the then-Special Representative (now titled Assistant Governor) for DG John King, Canterbury Rotary was chartered on April 7, 1987 with 36 new members.
President Tony Laycock aptly describes his club as having contributed “significant community and international projects and activities all undertaken with an approach embracing fun and fellowship”.
Youth is strongly supported in every acronym in the Rotary index including GSE, RYLA, RYPEN, NYSF and Rotaract. Community Service sees the club involved in community gardens, scholarships for local schools, Relay for Life and Camberwell market just to pick a few at random.
A signature program is the FORaMEAL project conceived by Past President Dr Doug Hawley OAM in his 2016-17 term. Enthusiastically supported by the club, this project involves coordinating volunteers from across the Rotary network to produce, box and seal approximately 150,000 nutritious meals for distribution to families in disaster-affected regions across SE Asia. The COVID pandemic and the lockdowns saw the club set a FORaMEAL goal of distributing 100,000 meal packs as “our club’s simple way of bringing hope” to the distressed and needy in our own community through the Stage 4 restrictions.
And consider this. “Without bees and other pollinators much of the world’s food supply would end.” Naturalist David Attenborough gave the world-wide impetus, but Canterbury is one of the founding clubs in the rapidly expanding ‘Rotarians for Bees’ program in Australia. For more details please visit the website at https://rotariansforbees.org
In summary, Tony concludes: “I am proud to be President of a club which celebrates diversity, has an energetic membership actively focussing on strong projects where we see there is need.”
SURF, as is the apt acronym for the Surfers Unite Rotarian Fellowship, was the inspiration of a Rotarian living in California, who believed believed that surfing would be an excellent way to engage the younger generation, something that Rotary is eager to do.
Rotary International recognised this dynamic Fellowship In December 2017. Rotarians, Rotaractors and Interactors are all welcome to join, which is free for Rotaractors and Interactors, but Rotarians are required to pay a membership fee.
Members of the Fellowship are wide-ranging in their interests, from beach enthusiasts, body boarders, body surfers, kite surfers, stand-up paddle boarders and wind surfers to those who would like to learn one of these activities.
Whilst members enjoy fun and fellowship from the numerous activities in which they participate throughout the world, from the start, this Fellowship has had as its mantra an important emphasis on providing service for the community. Some of the Fellowship’s service projects include shoreline river or beach clean-ups, support for polio eradication, support for the disabled and the Boys to Men Mentoring Foundation to name a few. Considerable funding has also been raised by SURF for these many community projects.
SURF is a popular Fellowship with currently more than 900 members in 33 countries, including Australia, with its keen surfing culture and excellent beaches. Their website is definitely worth checking out, and they have an active Facebook page as well. https://surfersunite.org/
How can your club increase awareness and involvement from the youth in your community? Have you considered starting an Interact club at a secondary school in your area?
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It was fantastic to see Rotarians getting together in person again for wonderful fellowship and networking last Saturday at the Multi District Conference District 9800 Breakout Session and Showcase. We all had a ball, especially during the Bollywood dancing class! There were approximately 50 stalls at the Showcase and these provided a wonderful opportunity to exchange ideas and build new networks. The speakers from the Conference also allowed us to think about reflecting on, and respecting what we have achieved over the last century, but also inspired us with ideas on moving forward in the next century, particularly through the Rotary Foundation Australia’s Public Benevolent Institution being able to attract donations from private ancillary funds and major corporates. This will give us the opportunity to do bold, large scale projects to build community resilience in homelessness, environment, mental health and youth development by working with key opinion leaders in philanthropic, government, corporate and community sectors. It is indeed an exciting time ahead for Rotary in Australia!
I would like to congratulate all the entrants and recipients of the District 9800 Recognition Awards held on Saturday at the Showcase. Rotary clubs never cease to inspire and amaze with the incredible array of innovative projects they undertake that make such a difference in the world. It has been a difficult year under COVID, but our District‘s clubs have shown just how resilient, creative and persistent they can be even under the most challenging of times. Every D9800 Rotarian should feel very proud! 
Rotary must make haste even to keep up; but we must do more, we must lead.
Sunday 30th May 2021, 12.30pm until 4.30pm
By Past President Tricia Reardon
By Rowan McClean, District 9800 Club Service Chair
Information provided by Jill Forsyth OAM, Rotary Kew
By Geoffrey Dobbs, Rotary Club of Brighton North
By Helena Wimpole
How can your club increase awareness and involvement from the youth in your community? Have you considered starting an Interact club at a secondary school in your area?