Melina led last week's meeting, sharing important Rotary news updates from August. We had a glimpse into our action-packed September calendar, promising an eventful month ahead.
Reminder: Stay up-to-date with club activities on
Club Runner to ensure you don't miss out.
Special Guests today were Malia, Gerard and Josh from the
Abbey Solo Foundation. The club gave a donation to them earlier this year. We were honored to host them.
Malia, Abbey's mother and the founder, emotionally shared Abbey's vibrant and friendly nature, leaving an impact on everyone present.
She and Gerard shared valuable insights into the Foundation's noble mission. The Foundation was founded just a day after Abbey's farewell, and it aims to bring hope and practical support to families dealing with childhood cancer. They focus on providing timely assistance tailored to the unique needs of these families, alleviating both financial and well-being stress.
Our deepest appreciation goes to Malia, Gerard, and Josh for sharing their inspiring story with us. Their dedication to helping families dealing with childhood cancer is truly admirable.
ABSTAR Youth Committee are young members who have joined hands to raise funds for Abbey Solo Foundation, please join them on Sunday the 1st October at Kensington town hall "Spring Market".
The day was brilliant and had a spectacular turnout. In attendance were esteemed guests, including Maribyrnong MP Bill Shorten, Member for Essendon Danny Pearson, Sheena Watt, MLA, Moonee Valley Council Mayor Pierce Tyson, Councilors Rose Iser, Katrina Hodgson & John Sipek.
The opening of the Djerring Flemington Hub was marked
by a heartwarming smoking ceremony, and heartfelt notes from Mayor Pierce Tyson, and Ministers Danny Pearson and Bill Shorten fit for such a momentous occasion.
During the inauguration, it was deeply moving to hear the reflections on the pivotal role played by our own member and former councilor, Nicole Marshall, and our supporter the late Jim Cusack, in securing funding for this remarkable hub.
In recognition of the unwavering dedication of the late Jim Cusack to our community, the foyer of the hub has been named in his honor—a fitting tribute to a true community champion.
Our team was out in full force to contribute to the festivities. Melina, Juan, Alex, Jeff, Karolina, Haruka, and Shraddha took charge of the BBQ. With the incredible turnout at the opening, we managed to serve a whopping 600 sausages to our delighted guests.
We extend our thanks to Justine, Pania, and John from the Djerring Hub team for the opportunity to serve our community. We are eagerly looking forward to leveraging this brilliant space to carry out numerous community initiatives.
We are very excited to report that our car will be launched on Friday 22nd at the Youth Festival at Queens Park. Mayor Pierce Tyson will be joined by our own District Governor Ron Payne at the unveiling.
With Rotary logos on the doors, this will be a mobile advertisement and acknowledgement of the work we are doing for young people i Moonee Valley.
Emma Phillips from MVCC will join us on Wednesday 20 September to speak more about the car and join with RYDA and the program coordinator Anton Hockey.
Congratulations Melina and her team. The shop looks fantastic and there has been some spring cleaning and rearranging to freshen up the look.
Mel has welcome new JobFind workers as well as 2 young men from Simmonds College on Work Experience.
The Food Pantry is well stocked and a benefit to many of our residents.
Mel has also extended our relationship with JobFind and they are running a toiletry drive for us at their centres.
Haruka's update:
Haruka attended her first Rotary BBQ at the opening of the Flemington Hub last week.
She has also had lunch with Edith and will be going to the Royal Melbourne Show with Alex.
We are very grateful to Ching Chan, teacher of Chinese and Japanese at Mount Alexander College for her warm welcome to Haruka. Ching has extended an invitation to Haruka to visit her Japanese classes and work and speak with students in Term 4.
Members are encouraged to take Haruka along to any events or activities they have planned. She is keen to see more of Melbourne and Victoria.
Please contact Lesley, Shraddha, Edith or Drew for her contact details.
Edith was born and raised in Taipei, Taiwan. Her maternal grandma was with them, and she had a bound feet which Edith only saw from the exterior. She walked with a stick which made “Dong! Dong! Dong!” sound on the wooden floorboards. I was a little runner at home to get medicine for her. Sadly, without knowing, I visited her at her hospital bed where I normally would be stopped at the hospital doorway. On that particular day I was allowed to enter. She passed away soon after before I turned five.
Edith's parents were from the mainland. She spent most of her time with Taiwanese speakers who did domestic services at home. My mother spoke her dialect with our domestic head who cooked for us and with her relatives which was a language I used to understand but not now. Her father was educated in Japanese and lived in Taiwan in his younger days, so he was fluent in both Taiwanese and Japanese. Taiwan was a Japanese colony during 1895 – 1945 and my upbringing had some Japanese influences though not in language.
Her mother had the fortune not to do anything domestically and financially. From her, I had always wanted myself to be self-sufficient and self-resilient. Interestingly, she always emphasized how important it was that her children must all be educated, and I believe I have done so. My education and my willingness to work had helped me to gain my financial independence since I was 20. She retired early but was able to make my following focus in community.
Donations in Kind:
We were saddened but understanding to hear that long time champions at DiK, Bob Glindemann and Laurie Fisher will retire at the end of the year. They have been integral to the successful operations of the store for many, many years and have contributed to so many magnificent international projects. Plans are underway to train others to take on their roles albeit in different sections and ways.
There are a variety of ways that Flemington-Kensington Rotary club supports local children and young people. In some instances, we subsidise places on camps, courses and retreats. We also offer scholarships to a range of students and schools. At the moment we can offer some of our traditional supports. We are also looking at starting up a youth service organisation – Rotaract. Rotaract is like Rotary for students and young people as a way of giving service to their community.
We also have various requests from our local schools. There is an interest in having mentors from some schools and we will be looking for volunteers for our upcoming L2P program. This will hopefully operate in conjunction with the RYDA program which we heard about with our guest speaker Anton at our September dinner meeting.
Below are some of the upcoming programs, requests and ideas for programs floating around the club. We have lots of great ideas – now what we need are some volunteers to help us put these ideas into action! If you’re interested in becoming involved in some of our projects, camps or to help out with administration, please get in touch with Jeff Weitzel.
In the past, we have sponsored students to participate in Rotary leadership and development programs such as MUNA, RYPEN, RYLA, NYSF, Science Experience. We have also assisted with Careers Days and vocational support.
The club also funded a Youth Mental Health First Aide course earlier this year with plans to run this again in 2024.
and youth development programs on the Tall Ship Alma Doepel.
Schools have also requested assistance with mentoring, facilities upgrades.
To discuss, be part of or take on a role, contact Jeff.
RIMERN:
RIMERN is a wonderful hands-on service activity for all Rotarians and friends. Our club's rostered day is the 3rd Thursday of each month 11-3. Unfortunately, due to illness and family issues, our members have not been able to participate as much as we would like.
If you have hours to spare and would like to volunteer in a wonderful, warm and friendly activity, contact Lesley.
SEPTEMBER IS BASIC EDUCATION AND LITERACY MONTH IN ROTARY: I delivered another 100 books to Rebe4cca, the Maternal and Child Health Nurse at Wingate Avenue this week. That is 500 books this month!
ROTARY LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE aka RLI - save the dates!
It's on again in October. A fabulous Rotary learning experience led by
PDG Julie Mason.
Learn about some of Rotary's history, how clubs, districts and zones work. Develop some additional leadership knowledge and practical ideas t help, find out how to get Rotary grants, how the Foundation works and ideas and tips to build public image and promote your club and what you do. Sessions are run over ZOOM: Saturday the 7th 10-12 noon Saturday the 14th 10-11 am Saturday the 21st 10-11am. Link
MOONEE VALLEY COUNCIL - Free Grant Writing workshops
If you’ve never applied for a grant before or you want a better understanding of the grants process, we strongly encourage you to attend one of our free grant writing workshops.
Grants are a competitive process so it’s important to understand the process and sharpen your grant writing skills. In these interactive workshops you will learn all about what a grants process usually looks like from start to finish, how to write a great grant application and how to prepare a budget that will impress assessors. 18 September 6pm-8pm
Additional writing workshops are available, if you can’t attend this event be sure to check out other available sessions.
Bunnings BBQ - our first Bunnings BBQ this year Saturday 30 September at Maribyrnong - Rosamond Road, Highpoint West.
We need 4 people at each shift minimum!!
Shifts are 9-12.30, 11-2 and 1-4pm. RSVP to Lesley.
http://rotarywalkwithus.org
From Rotary Founder Paul Harris:
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.”
w JobFind workers as well as 2 young men from Simmonds College on Work Experience.
ful to Ching Chan, teacher of Chinese and Japanese at Mount Alexander College for her warm welcome to Haruka. Ching has extended an invitation to Haruka to visit her Japanese classes and work and speak with students in Term 4.
Edith's parents were from the mainland. She spent most of her time with Taiwanese speakers who did domestic services at home. My mother spoke her dialect with our domestic head who cooked for us and with her relatives which was a language I used to understand but not now. Her father was educated in Japanese and lived in Taiwan in his younger days, so he was fluent in both Taiwanese and Japanese. Taiwan was a Japanese colony during 1895 – 1945 and my upbringing had some Japanese influences though not in language. 
I delivered another 100 books to Rebe4cca, the Maternal and Child Health Nurse at Wingate Avenue this week. That is 500 books this month!
