President's Ponderings:
Last week, a group of us had the pleasure of attending a dinner with Jessie Harman at Wendy Hill, organised by the Rotary Club of Strathmore.  
Our newest potential members Abdi and Mohammad, along with Karolina, Yvonne and I were in attendance representing our club. The dinner, which took place on Thursday, February 16th, was a wonderful opportunity for us to hear from Jessie about her experiences and insights into her role as a Rotary International director.
 
Jessie discussed the importance of putting our members at the centre of our club’s focus. Having so many volunteering options available for members to join other community services, the only way to differentiate our offering is understanding each of our members ‘Why?’ This the key to growing the club.
We learned about the challenges and opportunities that face organisations like ours and came away feeling inspired and energized to continue our work. I particularly resonated with her approach and drive to be a more inclusive club to represent the community we serve in; this is a value that our members have also reinforced & will continue to be at the core of the Rotary Club of Flemington Kensington's mission.
President Elect Training weekend - PETS
I spent this past weekend attending President Elect training.  It was an information packed weekend, focusing on the Rotary Action plan for 2023.
Last year, when I took on the role, I’d said we need to Rest, Pause and Reset. I think in the last 8 months, while continuing to deliver on our ongoing commitments, we’ve also as a group collectively pondered on ‘where next?’
 
As we now look into the future, it is important we have a clear vision for the work we want to do and the impact we want to make. Rotary's Action Plan is a road map that outlines the key priorities and areas of focus, it has 4 main priorities:
Increasing our impact: We aim to expand and strengthen our work in the six areas of focus, which are: peace and conflict prevention/resolution, disease prevention and treatment, water and sanitation, maternal and child health, basic education and literacy, and economic and community development
Expanding our reach: We aim to grow and diversify our membership, strengthen our clubs and districts, and increase our visibility and reputation in the communities we serve.
Enhancing participant engagement: We aim to foster a culture of engagement and empowerment, encouraging Rotarians and Rotary participants to take an active role in the organization and the work we do.
Increase our ability to adapt: As People of Action we seek new perspectives and new ideas that can strengthen our club and make lasting change.
 
As a club, we will continue to organise ourselves in the coming term to commit and align our own goals and priorities with the Rotary Action Plan. I believe that by working together and focusing our efforts, we can make a real difference in our immediate community and achieve our shared vision of a better, more peaceful, and more just world.
 
I encourage all members to familiarize themselves with the Rotary Action Plan and to consider how they can contribute to its goals and objectives. Please know I am only a phone call away, should you wish to talk about this at a more detailed and personal level.
 
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NOTES FROM THE BOARD MEETING:
Donations were approved to:
The Abby Solo Foundation $1000
Kensington City Soccer Club sponsorship was renewed.
Food pantries at Ascot Vale and Kensington Neighourhood House were approved for funding $25pw each.
Tour of Duty event for the Seniors festival pre ANZAC Day was approved at Maribyrnong Park.
Membership was extended to Barbara Ryan and Alex De Bortoli.
Membership interest was received from Nina Farmer who will volunteer in the Op Shop on Saturdays.
 
Mark your calendars: Monday 29 May 5.45
Planning for the Musical event as our club's RICON hosting for the Rotary International Convention is progressing well with representation from the Rotary Clubs of Essendon (Vera Maljevac), East Keilor (Debra Sloggett) and Footscray (Maria Silber) along with members from our club:  Sandy Belcher, Anne Heyes, Lesley McCarthy and Shraddha Sharma.

As we plan for this event, we want to extend a call for volunteers to help make it a success.  There is an opportunity to register your interest with Sandy at our breakfast meeting on Wednesday 1st March.
We need ushers, volunteer at the welcome table, for the buses etc.
Please note there is no charge on the night for those who are volunteering. Finally, we encourage all members to extend the invite to your friends and family & book their tickets as soon as possible to ensure they don't miss out on this fantastic opportunity.
Book through Humanitix
FOOD PANTRIES:

Members have expressed their concern at food poverty in our community and have been support the pantries at Ascot Vale and Kensington Neighbourhood House.  We also assisted the Flemington Mission with a donation before Christmas.

Edith, Anne, Shraddha and Lesley have been delivering items to AV and KNH for some months now and it has been agreed hat we support each pantry with $25 of food items weekly. 

KNH has asked for long life milk on a regular basis and this week Lesley delivered 16 cartons.    Other items need on a regular basis are toiletries, canned foods, pasta and rice, tea and coffee. 

A Food Pantry is being established at the op Shop and will be managed by Melina and volunteers.  

Items can be brought to any meeting or dropped off at the Op Shop.

 

We are now seeking volunteers to take the responsibility for buying and supplying on a roster basis.  The club will reimburse you on receipt of a docket. 

Let Lesley or Shraddha know of your availability.
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COMING EVENTS:
Wednesday 1 March - Breakfast meeting at Mama Bear Cafe.  7.30 for a 7.45am start.
We hope to welcome our newest prospective members Abdi, Mohammed, Nina, Barbara and Alex.
 
Wednesday 8 March - MVCC International Womens Day breakfast at the Clocktower.  6.45am for a 7am start.International Women's Day | Get Involved | UN Women Australia
We have invited students from MAC and KCHS to attend with us.  
RSVP to Lesley ASAP so we can book enough seats.
 
Wednesday 15 March - Dinner meeting at Cucina Il Divo, 1 Ascot Vale Road.
6.30pm.
Guest Speakers: Catherine Johnston, our Australian Rotary Health PhD Scholar on her research into children's mental health.
Sarah Briggs and Jules Borghouts on RYLA.
RSVP to Shraddha.
 
Wednesday 1 April - Breakfast Meeting, venue TBC.
Club Planning meeting.  All members encouraged to attend and help develop our plan for 2023-2024.
 
Wednesday 15 April - Dinner Meeting at Windy Hill, Essendon Football Club.
Dinner in the bistro 6:15 to 7:00 before the meeting which will be upstairs.
All Rotarians and volunteers helping at the RICON Musical Event are joining us to discuss the event and get to know each other.
RSVP to Shraddha.
 
Friday 21 April - Tour of Duty musical presented by Retro Entertainment.
Maribyrnong Park Bowling Club. 1pm - 3.30pm with afternoon tea.
This is Sandy's project and is presented as part of Seniors Festival.
All Rotarians are invited to assist with afternoon tea and ushering as well as to enjoy the performance pre ANZAC Day.
A flyer will be available soon.  RSVP to Anne.
 
Sunday 7 May - Community Launch of Filter Your Future - the musical
Wednesday, Thursday & Friday 3rd-5th student performances.
The Floridia Club, Wellington Street, Flemington.
This is Yvonne's project and will present the concept and information in a fun way.
All Rotarians are invited to assist with afternoon tea and ushering on the Sunday and, provided you have a WWCC, assist with student performances on the W-F.
A flyer will be available soon.
RSVP to Yvonne.
 
Saturday 20 May - Wildlife Corridor Planting and rejuvenation #3. 10am to 1230pm.
Fairbairn Park will be glad of our help following the flooding event last year.  We will be planting, replanting and tidying.  Council staff will predrill holes and provide mulch, water, guards, gloves and trowels.
This is International Bee Day - protect our pollinators.
 RSVP to Lesley.
 
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MVCC - L2P Program
The club is partnering with Moonee Valley Council to assist with their purchase of another car for their programs: DriveLink for newly arrived migrants and L2P for young people to obtain their hours and license.
No photo description available.
This vehicle will be housed at the Ascot Vale Leisure Centre, a good location for earners
and volunteers.
 
Remember Peter Cribb and our club's efforts on RoadSTART?
 
Do you have 2 hours a week to offer?   Register or obtain more information here.
Member Behind the Badge - Lyn Borghouts
Welcome to "Behind the Badge" where we speak with our members to learn more about their lives and what brought them to where they are today.
Today, we'll be speaking with Lyn Borghouts, a long-time engineer, dedicated mother, friend and a valued member of the Rotary Club of Flemington Kensington.
 
Though she’s too humble to mention, it would be amiss if we didn’t incorporate Lyn’s contribution to the Rotary Overseas Repurposed Playground (RORP) project. She designed the coding process for harvesting the playgrounds & because of this simplified method the project is adapted with such ease by clubs all around Australia. For more information on the project visit the link here
 
Interview::
Can you tell us a bit about your background? Where were you born and raised, and what was your family like?
"I was born in Hitchin, England, and moved to Australia with my family when I was just two years old.
I have three older sisters, and my father was a Nuclear Physicist who worked as an engineer in various industries. In his desire to spend more time with family, he explored options to move and that got us here to Australia. We’d first stayed in Adelaide, then moved to Bacchus Marsh.
My mother was also a physicist who worked as a physics lab tech but after she got married, she stopped working due to the ‘Marriage bar’ law in those days. Later, in Melbourne she worked as a bookkeeper at Granny Smith Bread Company”
 
VOLUNTEER AT RICON23
  • Provide a friendly face and smile to delegates attending from all over the world.
  • Demonstrate our impact of embracing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion by having a diverse workforce of Volunteers. 
  • Connecting with thousands of like-minded people – and the opportunity to develop friendships outside of your Club, District and Zone.
  • Most shifts are for four hours.
  • You do not have to register for the Convention to volunteer, provided you choose a shift outside the Convention venues. However, by registering as a delegate to attend RICON23 you can also share the load by volunteering for a shift at the two main Convention venues
    For more information contact volunteer coordinator Jane Pennington at
     Jane.Pennington@rotary9800.org
  • Register at https://rotarymelbourne2023.org
 
District 9800 has an enviable record of successful applications for both the Masters Degree and Certificate Courses.
Apply here - or for further information contact Dennis Shore at djshore@bigpond.net.au
 
Plese send this notification to anyone you know who may be interested and appropriately qualified.
 
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Birthdays & Anniversaries
Member Birthdays
Shraddha Sharma
February 5
 
Matiu Bush
February 17
 
Edith Chen
February 29
 
Anniversaries
Matiu Bush
Graeme Kane
February 20
 
Join Date
Edith Chen
February 1, 2013
10 years
 
Anne Heyes
February 7, 2018
5 years
 
Matiu Bush
February 20, 2019
4 years
 
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