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President's Message
Rob Webster
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As you all know Neelam Badve has been nominated for membership and we hope to induct her very soon. Neelam works with the State Department of Communities which for the last seven years has been running the Christmas Presents Drive to bring joy to the lives of children and young people in state care. She has written to us seeking support for the 2018 Christmas Gift Drive. It is a very worthy cause which involves sponsoring a gift for a specific child at a cost of about $30. See Neelam's letter below for all the details and please support her if you can.  
 
And while on the Christmas theme, Club Director of Community Service, Ashley West, reminded us that he would again be seeking support in cash or kind for Manna and will provide more details when he hears back from them. Manna provides meals for the homeless and has recently been under some financial pressure and so needs all the help it can get. 
 
It was a delight to have a very bronzed Anna back with us from her trip to Sydney which (apparently) she thoroughly enjoyed. She climbed the bridge, sailed the harbour, dined at a sky high restaurant and generally had a great time. Since then she's been to Mandurah and will shortly be going to Bali. However the most significant thing is that she has just turned eighteen and so it was only right and proper that we sing her Happy Birthday and present her with a gift or two. 
 
 
A further highlight of the evening was the presentation of and by four budding scientists, Brett Nigli, Mutia Daruso, Bianca Stevenson and Mihan De Silva from Willetton Senior High School (WSHS) who will be sponsored by us to attend the National Youth Science Forum (NYSF). You can read all about them below.
 
Club Director of Youth Service, Simon Cubitt, was also delighted to announce that fifteen (15) WSHS students have been identified to attend the ConocoPhillips Science Experience conducted here in Perth during December and January; that Josephine Santosa and Luke Warlik will be sponsored to go on the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) camp at Jarrahdale in January 2019; and that some 380 WSHS Year 10 students will be attending the Rotary WA Driver Education (RWADE) course at Claremont show grounds on either Thursday 29 November or Friday 30 November.  
 
It's great to see all the ways the Club is succeeding and Club Foundation Chair, Stuart Diggins, had another to report. That was the Charity Dinner on Sunday 25 November in aid of widows who have lost their husbands in the prolonged Civil War in Sri Lanka. It was attended by 71 people and raised well over $6,000 towards the funds needed before the Club can apply for a Global Grant from the Rotary Foundation. The Club was represented by Erwin Biemel, Stuart and his daughter, Ric and Leesa Davies and Ian and Jenny Ross. 
 
We will be having our Christmas breakfast on Sunday 3 December 2018 at the Pagoda Restaurant in South Perth. Director of Club Service, Greg Hamilton, is the organiser of this event and also the visit on 6 December to Campbell Barracks. Greg has done a great job with the programme this year and we have a lot to thank him for.  
 
Toward the end of the evening we held our Annual General Meeting (AGM) and I thank Secretary John Erkins, Treasurer Richard Ibbitson, Simon Cubitt (who stood in for Richard) and David Honeychurch (who stood in for John) for making the AGM so easy to run. We have achieved a great deal over the past twelve months and our results, both pastoral and financial demonstrate this. 
News
INTERNATIONAL TOASTS- FROM CESKY KRUMLOV, CZECH REPUBLIC TO PALMERSTON NORTH NZ
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FOUR FABULOUS BUDDING SCIENTISTS 
Four budding scientists from Willetton Senior High School have been selected to be sponsored by the Club to attend the National Youth Science Forum in residence at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra or University of Queensland, in January 2019 
 
 
Pictured here with Club Director of Youth Service, Simon Cubitt, are from left: Brett Nigli, Mutia Daruso, Bianca Stevenson and Mihan De Silva. 
 
Simon Cubitt conducted a Q&A session during which the fabulous four outlined their hopes, expectations and aspirations for the Forum and beyond. Each gave their impressions of the interview process and especially how the need to present at very short notice on a subject of their choice, was a challenging experience which took them out of their comfort zone and was very good for personal development.  
 
Brett spoke about different sources of energy, bio fuels and the future with electric cars; Mihan's topic was chemistry related; Mutia spoke on water and geology; and Bianca on energy, climate change and what an amazing country we live in. 
Read more...
Upcoming Events
Christmas Breakfast - Members and Partners
Pagoda Restaurant
Dec 02, 2018 8:30 AM
 
Club Meeting 10/12
MGGC
Dec 10, 2018
 
Christmas BBQ Members and Partners 17/12
MGGC
Dec 17, 2018
 
Presidents BBQ 07/01
Jan 07, 2019
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
 
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Member Birthdays
David Fraser
November 11
 
Spouse Birthdays
Darlene Trim
November 1
 
Sue Thorp
November 1
 
Bernadette Missen
November 2
 
Lannah
November 12
 
Anniversaries
Pushpa Pushpalingam
Mahes Pushpalingam
November 17
 
Join Date
Michael Nahan
November 15, 2010
8 years
 
Ernie Denham
November 20, 2017
1 year
 
Stories
A GIFT AT CHRISTMAS

Dear Rotary Club of Willetton members, 

​As you may know I work for Department of Communities.  

For the last seven years the Department of Communities have been running the Christmas Presents Drive to bring joy to the lives of children and young people in state care. 

As you can imagine, Christmas can be a tough time for many but especially young children in State care. Most do not get to spend time with their parents and family members. Others have experienced hardship or live with carers with limited financial means or the teenagers living on their own as they transition to independence. 

​In 2017 this Gift Drive was a great success and provided presents for 1280 children, many of whom would have received no gifts at all for Christmas.  The program allows staff, their families and friends to purchase gifts for children nominated by the Child Protection and Family support division. 

Sponsors are provided with the name, age, gender and interests of each child so that a present of around 30 dollars can be bought to truly brighten up their Christmas. Child Protection Agency worker collects the presents from the different collection points and then the presents go out to the children across the state during access visits. 

I have always been sponsoring two children and also since last year I have taken up a voluntarily responsibility of Gift Drive organiser for my section.  I truly believe the work that this Drive does is an exceptional and greatly impacts the less privileged children in our own neighbourhood.  

If anyone is interested in sponsoring a child or simply wants to know more information, please let me know. 

Thank you,

Neelam

npb66@hotmail.com

Mobile: 0439-654309

 
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A MATTER OF EXERCISE
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ClubRunner
Service Above Self
     PO Box 103
Willetton WA 6955