As you would be well aware, our Club has been and continues to be very involved in District Youth Programmes and the quality of the candidates we attract never ceases to amaze me; nor do the obvious benefits participants derive as exemplified by Ruixue Wu, a Year 9 student from Willetton Senior High School (WSHS) who attended the Rotary Youth Programme Of Enrichment (RYPEN) camp in September and recently emailed me to say:.
"I just want to say thank you so much for sponsoring me for the RYPEN camp of 23rd to 26th of September. The past 3 days were a blast, and the camp went above and beyond my expectations. The camp was wonderful, wacky and everything in between. I am just so grateful for the opportunity to go that I got because I could not have gone to it without you, so thank you from the bottom of my heart for your help"
And impressive is definitely the right description for what the WSHS Interact Club has done and continues to do in 2021. Pictured below are Interact facilitator, Helen Wong (left rear); Rotary Club Director for Youth Service, Simon Cubitt; Interact facilitator, Pippa Peake; and Interact President Emily Ong (centre front) with Vice Presidents Min-En Seet and Mehvish Mehboob who presented to the Club on 6 October 2021.
Emily, Min and Mehvish took turns to speak about of the activities and achievements of their Club in 2021 which aligned with their very clear goals to:
Increase community retention within the club, by increasing club member involvement in decision-making
Increase leadership opportunities within the executive team
Have more community activities, not just all fundraisers
This clarity of the goals enabled them to :
On State election day, team up with us to run a sausage sizzle and bake stall which raised $1352;
Provide many willing hands to assist our Club run the Willetton Rotary Community Fair.
Run an Easter Raffle which raised $212.25
Run a Mother's Day Stall which raised $307
Plant 3000 trees and raise $261 for the Fred Hollows Foundation
Participate in the Worlds Greatest Shave during which Club member, Praveen, alone raised over $1,000 for the Leukemia Foundation
Run Spring Cool Down-All about encouraging healthy eating
In term 4 they will:
Participate in Operation Christmas Child to send shoeboxes filled with all manner of gifts to vulnerable children around the world. I thank all our Club members who donated to pay the $10 postage per box
Celebrate World Teachers' Day including making cards for their teachers.
Join in a group project to run an Escape Room for which students can pay a small entry fee for a big Halloween fright.
Run a sticky note wall where students can leave positive messages
Run a Candy Grams project where are gifts of candy are given out with special messages from the sender.
Other beneficiaries of their fund raising include Zero 2 Hero; The Palenstine Childrens' Relief Fund; Relay 4 Life; The Esther Foundation; Living Child; GIVIT for people affected by domestic violence; Camp Quality; and The Alannah and Madeline Foundation.
And throughout 2021 they've also run a Leadership Development Programme (LDP) to. amongst other things, ensure a smooth transition from one leadership team to the next
All in all a very a successful year and an impressive list of achievements. We are mighty proud of them and of their facilitators. To view their power point presentationClick here; and for the full text of their speechesClick here
Thanks to GlennTrim and Greg Vines, two more toasts to Rotary Clubs around the world appear in the right hand column.
The same goes our Club Joker's Jokes which continue to be delivered in style byRaffle Master Stuart Diggins and also by Acting Sergeant-At Arms Vic CampClickhere.
To view the CLUB MEETING DUTY ROSTER for our next regular Club meeting and beyondClickhere. Kieran English, Ann Edgar, Greg Vines and Rob Webster are rostered for ARHHAT DAY on Wednesday 3 Novemober 2021.
GLENN TRIM TOASTS THE ROTARY CLUB OF STIRLING, SCOTLAND
The Rotary Club of Stirling is located just north of the mid point between Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland. I chose this city as Darlene and I had visited the area five years ago as part of an ancestral tour. All our family have been DNA tested and the results indicated we have a very high percentage of Scottish heritage.
The Club is located in District 1010 and held its first meeting on 13 October, 1926. They meet every Friday at the Golden Lion Hotel right in the centre of Stirling City. Their claim to fame is the only Club in Scotland to meet at Friday lunchtime. They led my President (Mr) Robin Sutton.and have thirty two (32) members including one lady.
The Club volunteer at the Stirling Railway Station to make the platforms look more attractive with plants and shrubs; they organise litter pickup operations in and around Stirling; transport handicapped people to local swimming lessons; and have youth activities similar to other reasonable sized Clubs.
They raise funds through several fishing and golfing competitions each year; and promote donation drives in the local shopping centre. They also have a gardening group who grow vegetables and flowers; support the Air Ambulance; promote the awareness of prostate cancer; and arrange film nights, support a Youth Orchestra and steam train excursions.
GREG VINES TOASTS THE ROTARY CLUB OF HOBART, TASMANIA
Rotary Club of Hobart, Tasmania is in District 9830 and was chartered on 5 August 1924. It is led by President David Berechree and has seventy five (75) members who meet at the Hotel GrandChancellor, Constitution Dock, Hobart on Thursdays at 1pm. Constitution Dock is the destination of the annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race It has extensive marina and ferry facilities and also the State's Museum and Art Gallery. The Club is very active and raise funds through an Art Show raising over $20,000pa; a Charity Sail Day raising over $1m over the past thirty one (31) years; and a Magic Show raising over $15,000pa. They are also involved in a Civics for Citizenship which is an Essay Competition for school children aimed at promoting an interest and involvement in civic duties.
