Last Friday President Elect (PE) Mandy Van hosted a ZOOM meeting in which she set the rules of Toastmasters- like practices in public speaking . There hasn't been easing of social distancing rules yet so we will continue our ZOOM meetings on a semi-regular basis.
PP David Martin spoke about apologies and news of our fellow Rotarians who could not join our meeting. PP Pam Wood kindly offered to assist in preparing our Annual Report and Treasurer Sandeep Rathi spoke about club finance.
I apologised to Dr Wendy King of Macquarie Hospital who was scheduled to speak to us on 8 May, she is willing to speak to us face-to-face in the future. I also emailed Emily Moloney who asked for our endorsement to attend NYSF, following the Board's decision that we were unable to support her application this year.
Our multicultural members gave their opinion on the following issues :
What word would describe our club when you talk to non-Rotarians ?
What do you like in characteristics of a foreign culture ?
What types of foreign foods you like ?
We'll have a ZOOM Board meeting on 22 May. I hope all will keep safe.
TRF Fund Development Manager Mark Anderson reports the rapid turnaround in Grants in relation to Covid-19. While there appear to be no DRG’s approved for Australia or New Zealand, the Philippines has fared well with 7 of the 10 Districts receiving Grants. These are changing times and it is great to see the rapid response of The Rotary Foundation and Rotarians to this Pandemic. As you can see over US$13m spent so far.
Grant type
Number
Total funding
Global grants (new applications)
92
$8,642,032
Global grants (repurposed funds within existing grants)
35
$372,334
Disaster response grants
163
$4,046,539
Donations to The Rotary Foundation continue to be a priority as the end of the year approaches. And whether your preference is for the Annual Fund, End Polio or this Disaster Fund, you know that each $$ you and your club donate is going to be multiplied and managed for the best possible outcomes. So enjoy these amazing choices as the year comes to a close over coming weeks!!
MONTHLY FIGHTING FUNDS
How is your fundraising going? It is certainly tricky when we are all locked away indoors, but it is not impossible.
Our weekly Rotary meetings have been cancelled. Every Rotarian no longer spends $20 $30pw on lunches/dinners/breakfast. As mentioned in a previous newsletter, why don’t we create Fighting Funds where Rotarians divert what they would have spent to help others and create velocity of money that helps everyone. The R100 celebration team make the following suggestions:
Buy the technology to run meetings electronically
Buy R100 centenary banners from Minuteman Press in Prahran; a Rotary business that we need to keep alive
Give $500 to a Rotarian that loses their job
Fast track bushfire, flood and drought relief into village shops
Hire refugees to deliver food and toilet paper to disadvantaged folk or those who are self isolated
Engage with Rotaractors to shop for the elderly
Whatever helps Rotarians and fast tracks Rotary projects that impact our communities
Do it every week until we are allowed to meet face to face again
Collect the money electronically and spend every cent before we are allowed to gather face to face again
The thinking is that by taking such action:
It costs no more than we currently spend each week
It keeps Rotarians engaged and focussed
Every club/cluster/district already has the capacity to take action
So please give it serious consideration as we take on yet another month of separation.
4WAYS TO ENGAGE ONLINE
Are you looking for ideas to engage members while we’re physically distancing ourselves from each other? Has your club started meeting online? Here are some of our favourite resources to help (CTRL click the embedded links):
Watch membership webinars and speeches from recent conventions and the International Assembly in the new Club Programming collection on Vimeo.
The season is fast approaching and no doubt you and your club members will be wondering what the options might be and how the party might look this year.
A D9800 Rotarian Stephen Sennett from the Melbourne e-club recently produced this excellent article on Virtual changeovers.
The Rotary Districts of ACT and NSW Emergency Services Community Awards nominations for 2020 are now open.
The Emergency Services Community Awards are an initiative of the Rotary Districts & Clubs of ACT and NSW. In keeping with Rotary’s motto of“Service Above Self”, the Awards acknowledge and celebrate the selfless Community Service of Emergency Services Personnel while supporting two important Rotary initiatives: Australian Rotary Health, PhD Research Scholarship investigating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Emergency Services Personnel Emergency Disaster Preparedness Rotary Vocational Training Teams to Developing Countries in the Asia Pacific.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR THE AWARDS Nominees must be an appointed paid or unpaid volunteer/member of one of the State/Territory Emergency Services who perform Community Service above and beyond the call of their normal duties.
To nominate a member of the Emergency Services in either ACT or NSW for these awards please go to https://resca.awardsplatform.com complete the nomination form in its entirety (the compulsory fields) and then submit same for judging.
To log in you can use the account details that you set up during the 2019 Awards period.
A Winner of these Awards previously as a Volunteer of the Year and/or Officer in Paid Capacity, is ineligible to be nominated.
A Finalist in these Awards, is ineligible to be nominated again within a period of 5 years.
A Nominee not selected as a finalist can be nominated again and in the following year.
We are excited to announce that Zoom 5.0 is live, and wanted to take a moment to highlight some critical information regarding this latest release.
When: On April 27, 2020, Zoom released Zoom 5.0, setting a new standard in video communications security. Beginning May 30th, 2020, Zoom will be enabling GCM encryption across the entire Zoom platform, providing increased protection for meeting data.
What: Please begin updating all your clients to Zoom 5.0 now. After May 30, 2020, all Zoom clients on older versions will receive a forced upgrade when trying to join meetings as GCM Encryption will be fully enabled across the Zoom platform.
How: Please refer herefor more information on updating your endpoints. Zoom admins, visit our 5.0 IT administrator page for more detailed instructions.
Together, we’ll still experience the spirit of Rotary, be inspired by innovation, celebrate our resilience, and explore how clubs are addressing COVID-19. Experience Rotary in action during our Flag Ceremony, witness the power of connection during our general sessions, learn new ways to engage with Rotary during our breakout sessions, find inspiration from our global speakers, and much more.
We have never needed Rotary — and we have never needed each other — more than we do now. We hope to see you online, because Now More Than Ever, Rotary Connects the World.
On April 6th Cyclone Harold made landfall in Vanuatu as a Category 5 cyclone, bringing devastation to the northern provinces. The provinces of Sanma, Malampa, Torba and Penama are most affected. It is estimated that up to 90% of buildingsand houses in Sanma are either damaged or destroyed. Communications are still down in most areas and, coupled with the remote nature of many communities, the full extent of the damage or casualties is still unclear. 160,000 people are thought to be affected.
Vanuatu is mercifully COVID-19-free and the government would like to keep it that way. As such, we are unable to send in a Response Team. Our Operations team have been working tirelessly to find a way to assist the people of Vanuatu, working with the National Disaster Management Office and locally based NGO's
FACTS ABOUT CYCLONE HAROLD 🌀
Cyclone Harold made landfall in Vanuatu as a Category 5
There is a shortage of emergency shelter items in Vanuatu and in-country partners are turning to Shelter Cluster partners for assistance
Although the COVID-19 pandemic is restricting direct SRT access, ShelterBox has identified a potential partner in CARE Vanuatu
Based on the needs assessment, we are looking at providing IFRC spec Shelter Kits (tarps, tools and fixings) plus additional IFRC spec tarps and rope; solar lights. The caseload would be 3000 households
If you have recently donated, please accept my thanks on behalf of the families you have helped.
Your support is CHANGING LIVES!
EFT: Bendigo Bank: ShelterBox Australia: BSB 633 000: Account no. 166 780 163 (please email office@shelterbox.org.au to notify us of your donation and receive your tax receipt).
Cheques can be mailed to: ShelterBox Australia, PO Box 254, Parramatta, NSW, 2124
$120 could buy a Shelter Kit
In every emergency, there is an urgency to act. TheCOVID-19 pandemic has complicated and slowed any response in Vanuatu but also allowed us the time to liaise with partners on the ground and get a better understanding of needs of the affected population. With your support, we can help ensure that families have safe shelter from the elements and potentially, the virus.
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