Rotary News March 10 (Mar 10, 2023)

President's ponderings:

It was an amazing event at the 12th Annual Moonee Valley Council Mayoral breakfast organised for international Women's Day. Today's event theme focused on celebration and promotion of gender equity and technology.

The panelists' impressive backgrounds and experiences provided valuable insights and perspectives on the theme of DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality.

We had a students from MAC join us, including teacher Maddy and principal Danni. We also had members and volunteers from the Op Shop attending.

This was a great opportunity for networking, connecting with students and other like-minded individuals. The panelists discussed the increasing importance of technology in our daily lives and the rapid pace of digital transformation which provides for wonderful opportunities to transform our world. However, as the world becomes more digital, it is important to ensure that everyone has access to and can benefit from the opportunities that technology presents.

Unfortunately, there are still significant gender gaps in the technology industry, from the underrepresentation of women in STEM fields to the gender pay gap in tech jobs.

By focusing on innovation and technology for gender equality, DigitALL seeks to address these disparities and promote greater inclusivity and diversity in the digital space. More specifically, there were conversations on the lack of curriculum in the primary years to introduce and encourage the engagement of students in STEM in an inclusive way.

On this International Women's Day, I want to extend my warmest wishes to all the incredible women on our team. May you continue to inspire and empower each other as you work towards achieving your goals and making a positive impact in the world. Let us celebrate the achievements of women and renew our commitment to advancing gender equity and creating a more inclusive and equal world for all."

Dinner meeting Wednesday 15 March

We are gathering at Cucina el Divo, 1 Ascot Vale Road at 630pm.

The owner has kindly offered Shraddha a 30% discount on our meals!

This will be a big evening.

We are inducting 4 new members - Alex De Bortoli, Nina Farmer, Abdi Hassan and Mohammed.

We also have 3 Guest speakers this week:
Catherine Johnston, our Australian Rotary Health PhD candidate speaking on her research in children mental health;
Jules Borghouts and Sarah Briggs will update us on RYLA and their experiences last December.

Report from the Board Meeting:
Project proposals were received from:
1. Yvonne Farquharson for filming of the Filter Your Future musical. This was approved and a District Foundation grant is to be applied for.
2. Abdi Hassan for a container of medical equiment to Jarribam Puntland, Somalia. This was approved in principle awaiting a budget and risk assesssment.
3. Final arrangements were agreed on for the Tour of Duty musical performance at Maribyrnong Park Bowling Club on Friday 21 April.
4. Club planning day will be held on Wednesday 5 April at Flem-Ken Bowls Club. 730am.
5. A report was tabled following a meeting with the Clocktower for the RICON23 musical evening on 29 May. A RICON planning meeting will be held on Monday 13th at 530pm.

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ALMONER'S REPORT:
We send our best wishes to Alex De Bortoli, Melina's daughter, who is about to fly out to Canada for a 2-month holiday. Have a great time, Alex.

Lovely to see Samara looking so grown up in her Lowther Hall uniform at the IWD breakfast.

Several of our members and friends have had health issues recently:
Fran has dental issues, Tiffany our Chen scholar has had thyroid surgery, Edith has had COVID and a bad knee restricting her walking/cycling,Josie has been unwell.

Lesley has been hit with back and heart problems and is undergoing treatment.
Nicole's father is very unwell.
Tony, our Assistant Governor, tore his hamstring at golf last week and is stuck at home.

Happy Birthday Danny Pearson - the big 50!

Congratulations to Peter Shepheard from Rotary Altona who has been selected as District Governor 2025-2026. Peter has a wealth of Rotary experience including as an Assistant Governor, being the man behind multiple District Conferences, District Assemblies and the Foundation and Youth Exchange committees.

The G-Train is now DG Amanda, DGE Ron Payne, DGN Michael Lapina and DGND Peter.

Filter Your Future - the musical

Yvonne Farquharson has gained support to run the program at the Floridia Club in Wellington Street for local schools

The show will run Wednesday to Friday May 3-5 with a community launch on Sunday 7th May.

All members are invited to assist on any of the days - with your WWCC in hand.

Pleae RSVP to Yvonne.

RORP Port Blair

Shraddha was delighted to report that the container of playground equipment shipped to Port Blair, India has arrived on the Andamon Island.
This was a project initiated when Shradd visited India 2 years ago whilst staying in Nepal with her parents. She attended one of their meetings and had discussions with President Dinesh.

Click Me!

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. We need ushers, volunteer at the welcome table, for the buses etc.

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.

FOOD PANTRIES:

A Food Pantry is being established at the Op Shop and will be managed by Melina and volunteers. The official opening will be Wednesday 15th at 11.30am.

Several members have expressed their concern at food poverty in our community and have been support the pantries at Ascot Vale and Kensington Neighbourhood House.

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. 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 15 March - Dinner meeting at Cucina Il Divo, 1 Ascot Vale Road.

6.30pm. RSVP to Shraddha.

Wednesday 5 April - Breakfast Meeting, at Flem-Ken Bowling Club 730am
Visioning and planning for 2023-2024.

We ask that every member makes an effort to attend and participate please.

Thursday 16 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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DONATIONS IN KIND OPEN DAY - SATURDAY 18 MARCH 10am to 3pm

Some people see the Donations in Kind store at West Footscray as nothing more than an overstocked junkshop. However other more enlightened people, see it as a vast treasure trove of goods for all manner of local and international Rotary projects. They are like kids in a big toyshop – their eyes sparkle with ideas and opportunities.

But don’t take our word for it, come and see for yourselves.

Tea and coffee will be available all day and it would not be a Rotary activity without a Sausage sizzle.

We know that many Rotarians, both new and old have not seen what the store has to offer, and they are amazed when they visit for the first time.

Discover what you might utilise for local community projects as well as talking to us about container opportunities.

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Brighton Rotary’s BeeLIVE Project
*BeeLIVE seeks to address the worldwide threat to local bee populations and climate emergency - to protect and enhance Bayside's natural environment and benefit locals. This Rotary Club of Brighton initiative aims to create better environment outcomes supporting local bee and pollinator populations plus engaging professionals to build ongoing capacity through education, active community involvement and strengthen volunteerism with intergenerational groups

Brighton Men’s Shed are building two additional beehives which will be installed at the RAW Garden. We will be running a workshop on March 27th from 10am to midday to educate on Bees for Biodiversity at the RAW Garden, run by Helen Charles, who works at Parks Victoria, is passionate about Sustainability and runs Friends with Honey.
We would like to invite any interested Rotarians and friends to attend this free workshop, learn more about biodiversity and see how garden grows.  Bees for Biodiversity Workshop

When:   Monday March 27 from 10am to 12 noon
Where: RAW Garden, 325 South Road, Brighton East
Cost:     Free (although donations for the upkeep of the RAW Garden will be very welcome)
Other: Please email jokwok.rotary@gmail.com and info@raw-australia.org.au to attend

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