From the District Governor
Posted by Paul Mee District Governor
Oh, just a minor interruption to my start for the Rotary year. Like many of our club members throughout the District, I was also “suspended” for a 7-day isolation period due to - guess what! The remaining 3 weeks have been busy and enjoyable, attending many Club changeover functions and making a start on my schedule of DG club visits plus heaps of administration. Adele and I have been made very welcome at clubs and we continue to be amazed by the fabulous community activity and humanitarian work of our clubs in D9820.
Many clubs are actively exploring opportunities to strengthen their club diversity by looking to increase connections with local cultural groups. There are leaders in our communities who would make great Rotarians. I am scheduled to visit all clubs in the District before the end of November.  I will speak more on this subject at my club visits.
 
District Merger (9820 and 9810 will combine to form D9815). DGE Linda Humphries and I plus our colleagues in D9810, DG Ken Miller and DGE Ian Ballentine have commenced work to merge both Districts by 1st July 2024. This is a huge task and will involve many of our District Leaders and experienced Rotarians over the coming 2 years. I will keep you posted on progress at the various stages.
 
District Governor Nominee (Nominations).  Earlier this month I sent a note to club members calling for nominations to fill the roles of DGN (District Governor 9815 2024/25) and DGND (District Governor 9815 2025/26). We encourage suitably qualified Rotarians in our District to apply. Interviews will be conducted in September.   All enquiries to DG Paul, please. 
 
Upcoming events: 
 
MUNA (Model United Nations Assembly – Secondary College Students). 
Event day (UN Debate) Saturday 20 August 9.00am.
Nossal High School, Berwick (contact Di Harrison)
Visitors welcome.
We have 20 teams registered, therefore, 20 countries are represented.
 
  • RLI (Rotary Leadership Institute)
    Saturday 27th August 8:30am
    Saturday 17th September 8.30am
    Gippsland Rotary Centenary House, Traralgon (contact David Hanlon)
    Registrations welcome.
    This is a 2-day seminar to learn more about Rotary today. It’s of value to new members, incoming Presidents, Office bearers, or longer-term members, if you want to be up to date with what Rotary has to offer.  Please register.
     
  • National Tree Planting Day 31 July. Trees are obviously a very important aspect of our planet. Please consider planting a tree this week or has your club arranged a tree planting day?
     
  • Club Runner + Rotary.org – IT training for Rotarians. This is still on the agenda for September 22.  I will keep you posted on this.
     
  • Tony’s Trek project – (Rotary / SES) – Walk in October 22 – Dandenong to Mallacoota – (D9820 Lead coordinator is Kerrie Schmidt) - This is a joint project between Rotary & SES. Tony Pearce is the Inspector General of Emergency Management Victoria and CEO of Emergency Services Foundation. The ESF is a not-for-profit organisation that supports Victoria’s emergency service agencies to improve mental health outcomes for the 125,000 people who help our communities prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies. Most of those people are volunteers from communities like yours, and sadly, too many of them are psychologically harmed by the work they do to protect others. The purpose is to raise awareness of SES.  He will walk through our District from Dandenong to Mallacoota via the Princes Hwy from 1st to 26th October . We are encouraging all clubs along the route to please get involved. Contact your Assistant Governor for more details on how you can get involved.
     
  • Regionalisation Pilot. Club presentations programmed for August 22  
    If you are unable to join your club presentation, please consider joining one of the Zoom webinars on 4th + 9 + 12th August.
    (Contact your Club President for Zoom registration details)
To quote our very inspiring RI President Jennifer Jones. “You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. Acting on a dream is a choice.  It’s our choice to make these dreams a reality, where we get up each day knowing we can make a difference.  You do not imagine yesterday, you imagine tomorrow”.
  • Imagine a world without polio.
  • Imagine a world with clean water for everyone.
  • Imagine a world free of disease. 
  • Imagine a world where every child learns to read.
  • Imagine kindness and hope and love and peace.
Please stay safe and well everyone. COVID is not over yet, but as “people of action”, we find a way to continue to do good in our own communities and internationally.
 
Adele and I look forward to visiting your club in the coming months.
 
RC Bairnsdale Sunrise changeover RC Casey DG visit and new members
RC Langwarrin changeover   RC Trafalgar changeover
RC Frankston Sunrise changeover RC Warragul changeover
                                                         
                                                  
News from West Gippsland cluster
 
BUNYIP-GARFIELD
Paul Harris Fellows: Harry van den Broek received a Sapphire Pin, his wife Jo received a PHF recognition. Jo is not a member of Rotary but attends with Harry to almost every Rotary meeting. She also assists with fundraising etc. Hence the award. Harry is a Foundation member of our club and has been a tireless worker throughout his membership.
Wheelchairs for Kids (WFK): For the past several years the Junior Red Cross students at Bunyip PS hold a ‘Wheels Day’. On this day students are encouraged to ride, skate or scoot to school and make a gold coin donation to WFK. A Rotary member pops in and chats with the Junior Red Cross members to explain what WFK is about.
Money raised is then matched (and more) and each year around $600 is handed across to WFK. The wheelchairs are manufactured in Perth by the Rotary Club of Scarborough and sent to various countries. The wheelchairs are basically an all-terrain version of a normal wheelchair and are given to recipients free of charge.
Our next “giving” date is July 27th with another $300 raised by the students and topped up by a matching amount from our club.
 
DROUIN
Farm World Field Days 2022: This was our major event in late March, where we had 33 Rotarians helping over a 4-day period, monitoring gates, car parks & driving a tractor complete with a trailer (set up as a bus to ferry people around the Lardner Park site). A donation of $6000 was presented to our club.
 
Tools for East Gippsland: It has left the front pages because of COVID and floods, but this doesn’t mean that the victims of the fires are no longer in need. Over several months we publicised and collected tools from across our District, everything from shovels to power tools, with help from the Drouin Men’s Shed. This resulted in two large trailer loads of quality tools being delivered to East Gippsland that will be stored in shed in four different locations for those in need to access. Kevin Roberts led this collection effort.
  
 
Food Parcel Deliveries: Teams of Drouin Rotary members are entering the third year of Friday deliveries of food parcels from the Longwarry Lions Food Bank which started 17 July 2020, to some of those in need in Longwarry, Drouin, and Warragul. We deliver around 200 kgs each time. From its peak of six teams, it dropped down three but is again on the rise. A sign of the times.
 
 
WARRAGUL
Farm World Field Days Marketing: Warragul Rotary President Diane Carson proposed a stand at Farm World to promote Rotary and the clubs in our cluster and beyond, over the four days on the event this year. Although not the greatest success in immediately attracting members this year, it was a most enjoyable time for Rotarians from clubs in the cluster and beyond who participated, and lessons have been learnt for improvements in 2023.
 
 
KooWeeRup-Lang Lang
Show ‘n Shine: The biggest ever Lang Lang Show ’n Shine/Motor Mowing Races and Swap Meet was held in February after several years cancellation due to Covid restrictions. The huge crowd of participants with 750 automobiles and 150 stalls and 4000 visitors were testament to how popular its return was. Ensuring Covid protocols were actioned lead to long delays, very long lines of traffic going off in all directions, more than a few boiled engines BUT, all in all, a great day and highly profitable for the club and the community groups that joined in to help.
 
Hazelwood
‘Christmas in July’ or October or perhaps even December: Due to Covid restrictions and shutdowns, our Christmas in July function was finally held on 10 December 2021 at "the real Christmas time". The function was a joint venture for Rotary Century House & Hazelwood Rotary club. Eighty-eight people attended and helped produce a total profit for the night of $6110.40…plus money was raised from a raffle and an auction held on the night.
CHRISTMAS WRAP: A principal fundraising activity for the club is the ‘Christmas Wrap’ at Mid Valley shopping complex. Covid impacted last year but the club, and other thirteen organisations enlisted to help, managed to raise a total of $5,639 which was returned to the community in various ways.
Recognition for a generous donor: Carol Crew was given PHF Ruby recognition for her ongoing and generous support or our Rotary Foundation. The ruby pin was presented by District Foundation Chair and PDG Mark Humphries.
 
DIK is now RARE
Posted by David Clark - Rotary Australia Repurposing Equipment (RARE) National Manager
Hi All
I hope you have already been told about the new name for DIK or HEERA but if not?
At the RAWCS Board meeting last month, it was decided to accept the change of name from DIK (Donation in Kind) which is a registered name owned by West Footsgrave and HEERA (Health Education Repurposing Activity) A bit of a mouth full to:
RARE (Rotary Australia Repurposing Equipment)
Please stop using DIK and HEERA and if you have to please use the word formally in front of the name and the say Now,  Rotary Australia Repurposing Equipment (RARE)
Medishare is a program concentrating on partnering with the health departments in NSW to obtain medical equipment and for them to have RAWCS as their first point of contact.  
Can you please let all clubs and everyone know of this name change as it is very confusing for people to call the same activity with different names?
I thank you for your co-operation in this very important name change.
Cheers
PDG David Clark JP
Rotary Australia Repurposing Equipment (RARE) National Manager
A project of RAWCS
District 9685 Governor 2021/22
Rotary Club of Blackheath NSW
 
For further information about RARE, click on the link.
 
Disaster Aid report
Dear DAA Friends,
 
After a tough couple of years due to the Pandemic we are starting to move out of survival mode and into planning for the future.
 
This has been helped by considerable amount of funds received in the last three months of this financial year which has meant our income for the year is just over $290,000.
 
This income means we are now able to commence work on the following two ‘Safe Water for Every Child’ projects in the Philippines; Bangsamoro Health and Peace, and Mindanao Safe Water. For these two projects we have received sponsorship for a total of 15 SkyHydrants with the first 10 units due to be sent out in July.
 
Five of the units have been sponsored by a $25,000 grant obtained Perpetual Impact Philanthropy, the first time we have been successful in a philanthropic grant application.
 
Our reserves are also now starting to recover which means we will have funds to respond quickly to the next humanitarian disaster that occurs
 
Aid delivery
The last 7 SkyHydrants for the Bhutan 2020 project were prepared for sending. (Although they were not picked up until the 6th July)
 
We are currently still holding $9,000 on behalf of DA Europe while they work with their contacts in the Ukraine to determine the local requirements. This may be sent as SkyHydrants or funds for local purchase.
 
Max Bird, from WA has completed an installation in a Timor Leste Orphanage.
 
We handed over a SkyHydrant to Safe Water for Every Child Myanmar for their assistance to the Karen people.
 
DAA promotional activities 
We hosted a visit by Julian Hill  the Federal Member for Dandenong to make him aware of the aid being delivered from his electorate.
 
With the Rotary International Annual Convention to be held in Melbourne in May 2023 we are starting to plan for that event.
 
Guest speaker events and Vocational visits 
  1. We hosted Vocational Visits to our Office for 2 Rotary Clubs.
  2. Presented as guest speaker at a Rotary Club
 Communications
  1. Our principal web and facebook activities was based on encouraging donations before the end of the Tax, and Rotary years.
 DARTs
With COVID restrictions much reduced we are planning training with the first session on SkyHydrants planned for July 23rd
 
Administration
  1. Working on preparing for end of financial year.
  2. We continue to develop our use of Supporter Hub
  3. Refining our Bhutan SkyHydrant Database
  4. Submitting BAS statements.
  5. Compiling information for 2022-3 SkyHydrant Projects in Philippines
  6. Liaison with supporters
 
Other
SkyJuice has expressed an interest in our GEM Rapid Response Kits and ordered 5 of the GEM Units (Sales of the units generates a profit which goes into our aid budget) We have also assembled a SkyHydrant Max RRP.
 
 Dates for your diary
Disaster Aid Australia Conference 12th November.
 
Interplast teams head back to the Pacific
Posted by Kay McCauley, District 9820 Interplast Chair
This year, Interplast’s volunteer surgical and healthcare teams are once again preparing to travel to developing nations across the Pacific to deliver life-changing surgery and care. 
 
Since 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has restricted Interplast to remote support for clinicians and patients in developing nations, for the first time since Rotary co-founded Interplast in 1983. Over the past 2 years, Interplast has reached thousands of clinicians across 35 countries with essential training, as well as sending vital equipment and funds to hospitals desperate for resources.
 
But now our focus is turning back to mobilising teams.
 
There are adults and children living with debilitating but treatable conditions – cancer, burns, congenital defects, and traumatic injuries. They have been forced to live with disability and stigma, waiting for Interplast teams to visit again.
 
In 2022, other patients in desperate need like Rockson was, (pictured before and after his Interplast surgeries), will once again be able to access free, life-changing, surgical care from an Interplast team.
 
If you or your Rotary Club would like to support Interplast's life-changing work, or would like to organise an Interplast presentation to your club, please contact District 9820 Interplast District Chair Kay McCauley at kaymcce@outlook.com.
East Gippsland Tool Sheds
Posted by Peter Sindrey PP RC Lakes Entrance
 
 
The ‘Tool-shed’ project took a further step forward this week when another shed was erected on site at Club Terrace in the east of the Shire. The project was devised by East Gippsland Rotary Fire Aid, to assist smaller communities affected by the Black Summer Bushfires.  Small sheds were constructed by apprentices at the Trades & Engineering Facility of Swinbourne University, under the watchful eye of the Rotary Club of Croydon & Montrose.  At the same time the Rotary Club of Drouin started collecting new and used tools.
The concept is simple.  Place ‘Tool-sheds’, full of tools, in remote communities and residents can have use of the tools available, just like borrowing a book from a library.
The task has grown so that 6 sites have been identified, and a seventh site is now being considered.
It has been a great project and Rotarians from Lakes Entrance and Orbost were on site this week at Club Terrace to complete construction of the shed.  They were aided by local residents who were only too happy to lend a hand.
Cranbourne Shed Project
Posted by Iloma Shaw Secretary RC Cranbourne
Cranbourne Rotary Club was approached by Chris Gobel of Gogel Industries who had 24 sheds available for donation. Some sheds had been assembled for an advertising photo shoot and others were still flat packed. The largest shed was 3m wide by 10 m long and 2.5 m high, others were smaller in size. Club members dismantled the sheds and arranged the transport of all sheds to Bemm River. Garry Mogford, a CFA volunteer firefighter, had been photographing the sheds and suggested the project to our club.  Garry has since passed away, so we consider this project a legacy to his lifetime of service.
The Bemm River Fire Brigade erected one shed over their generator and fuel storage and have made a workshop out of another. Other sheds went to the neighbouring Fire Brigades and were erected for use as workshops and storage.  COVID-19 restricted our ability to assist in erecting the sheds, but Fire Brigade captain, Russell Pardew said that they were in good hands and have made a huge difference to communities affected by the devastating bushfires of 2019-2020.
The Cranbourne Rotary Club welcomed the opportunity to make a difference in this way and the project was extremely well supported by all members. Many Brigades in Gippsland also lost sheds and equipment and this project made a lasting difference to their continuing operations. Our club thanks Garry Luxford for his work as Project Coordinator.
Nesting boxes for Briagalong
Posted by Robin Stewart Environmental Sustainability Chair
 
The Rotary Club of Maffra and Upper Avon Landcare have recently combined to construct and erect twenty nesting boxes in the Red Gum Reserve in Briagolong.
The nest boxes were cut out by Ted Mitchell from the Rotary Club of Maffra with timber donated by Peter Young of Briagolong. They were assembled by members of the Friends of freestone Creek group, Upper Avon Landcare group and members of the Briagalong community at a workshop held at the Recreation Reserve in Briagalong.
The boxes were erected in the Red Gum Forest by the incredibly talented team of Matt and Pat from Agile Tree Works. The boxes will accommodate several species of birds, mainly Eastern Rosellas and Crimson Rosellas, but they are also suitable homes for Ring Tailed Possums. Other boxes in a different design were purpose built for microbats. The boxes can be easily seen from the footpaths through the forest and will be constantly monitored by Landcare.
August is Membership and New Club Development Month, when Rotary Clubs, around the world focus on membership in Rotary. Does your club have a plan? Are you executing your own plan to invite your friends and business associates to join your Rotary Club?

It’s time. Time to celebrate your Rotary club, your members, and the good you do in your community and around the world......

Zoom meetings from around the world
Click HERE
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Tony's Trek 28 September 2022
Posted by Kerrie Schmidt District Community and Vocational Chair
 
 
 
Tony’s Trek is a walk of over 1,400 kms to be undertaken by the Chairman of the Emergency Services Foundation (ESF), Tony Pearce. Tony will walk through many of the areas of Victoria that were afflicted by fires and other disasters over the last two years, commencing on September 28. The aim is to raise interest and funding for the programs that target support across Victoria for the ESF. Their objective is to initiate innovative preventative and educational programs to sustain the mental wellbeing of 100,000 + volunteers through the traumas they experienced in responding to emergencies across our communities.
 
Starting in Melbourne, Tony will walk to Mallacoota then head north over the Alpine Range to Wodonga and back to Melbourne, travelling through areas affected by Victoria’s 2019–20 Black Summer bushfires. He will be acknowledging the mental health impacts that those fires had, and continue to have, on emergency workers.  This will be a  journey of 1440km over 54 days.  The walk will aim to raise funds to enable ESF to deliver two important pioneering programs to help prevent the incidence and impact of mental health conditions for people sector wide.
 
Districts 9800, 9810 and 9820 are coordinating activities. For more information https://esf.com.au/tonys-trek/
 
Tony's itinerary can be viewed and printed here: https://esf.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/TT-PDF.pdf